CHARLESTON, S.C. – After a late surge in game one was not enough to overcome an early hole, the Jackets avenged their 7-4 loss by outlasting the RiverDogs in an ugly game two by a score of 9-6.
Game one’s pitching matchup was highly anticipated, as two talented teenage hurlers in Cam Caminiti and Jose Urbina went toe to toe. It was Urbina who ran away with the advantage, however, retiring his first nine hitters and allowing just one run via a wild pitch in five innings. Caminiti, conversely, struggled with his command early and was lifted after just 2.1 innings with three runs allowed.
The RiverDog offense scored one run in each of the first four innings, and after being held scoreless in the fifth, broke the game open in the sixth against Seth Keller. Keller loaded the bases with nobody out on two walks and a hit by pitch, and a two-RBI single from Nathan Flewelling tacked on a pair. That swing, plus a fielder’s choice, made the deficit insurmountable, in large part due to the nine walks in six innings by Augusta pitching.
Augusta would fight valiantly in the seventh, chasing Kaleb Corbett and bringing the tying run up in their last gasp. A walk and single set the stage, and Luis Sanchez guided a base hit through the left side for an RBI knock. John Gil drew a free pass, and Owen Carey poked a two-run base hit to put the tying run aboard. The RiverDogs turned to Jonathan Russell, and he struck out back-to-back hitters to give the Dogs their fourth straight win.
The nightcap started much more positively for Augusta, who scored early and often against Jacob Kmatz to take an early advantage. The Jackets loaded the bases in the first, bringing home a run on a groundout from Colby Jones. With two outs in the second, the total tripled, as Leiker Figueroa and John Gil both found the barrel for RBI hits and a 3-0 lead. Kmatz appeared to be on the precipice of a scoreless 3rd, but walked four straight hitters with two outs to bring home another run and end his night.
David Rodriguez was flawless in his second start of the week, and could only be derailed by Mother Nature herself. After retiring each of the first nine hitters he faced, Rodriguez began his warmups for the fourth before the sky opened up, and the game was placed in a rain delay for over an hour.
With Rodriguez seated due to the lengthy layoff, Augusta had to turn to its pen, and it seemed no one had command upon resumption of play. Justin Long, one of the team’s most trusted relievers, walked the first four hitters he faced, and left with the bases loaded and two outs. Reibyn Corona ended the threat with a K, but he himself lost the zone the very next inning, falling behind a series of hitters in an inning than ended with three runs on three hits, including the game-tying double from Flewelling.
Shell-shocked after another blown lead, Wynston Sawyer was able to rally the troops in the top of the 6th, putting pressure on reliever Janzen Keisel to throw strikes. Keisel could not oblige, walking three of four hitters to load the bases with one out. Keisel worked a full count on Mason Guerra, but let him off the hook as well, bringing home a go-ahead run. Charleston handed the ball to Dalton Fowler, and after punching out Nick Montgomery, Fowler ran into Douglas Glod, who obliterated his second grand slam of the year on a ball out of the strike zone for a 9-5 advantage.
Nothing is easy in this rivalry, and the end of the game followed that trend, as Juan Sanchez lost his command in the seventh after a 1-2-3 sixth. Sanchez walked four of the first five hitters in the inning, bringing a run home and the tying run to the dish. Sanchez induced a fielder’s choice from Mateo, and was able to coax Woo Shin into a popup, caught by Carey and ending a doubleheader that lasted over six hours in total and saw a combined 34 walks and four hit-by-pitches over 14 innings.
With the year’s longest day in the rearview, the Jackets bus home for a much-needed off day. On the opposite side of the break, Augusta will host the Lynchburg Hillcats, who have won eight straight and clinched a first-half divisional crown earlier today against Carolina.
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