NORTH AUGUSTA, SC: The first official game with the Augusta Azaleas moniker came to a quick and unceremonious finish, as Augusta fell to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in two hours and four minutes, the team’s fastest game of the year.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 5,649 patrons, the Azalea offense was unable to solve Myrtle Beach’s Evan Aschenbeck, as the lefty continued his blistering debut with 5.1 scoreless innings. The former Texas A&M Aggie has thrown 14.1 innings so far as a pro, and has zero earned runs to his name in three starts.
While Aschenbeck diced his way through the home offense, Azalea starter Ethan Bagwell held his own well, but was ultimately unable to keep pace with the Pelicans. Bagwell took his first pro loss over 5.1 innings, the longest start by an Augusta arm this year.
A 2nd inning solo shot from Cameron Sisneros (his first in pro baseball), and a 4th inning RBI double from red-hot Georgia native Cole Mathis, were the only blemishes for Bagwell.
Augusta’s best opportunity for runs came in the 6th, after a one-out walk chased Aschenbeck and brought the tying run to the plate against reliever Mathew Peters. Peters struggled to find his footing, walking Luis Sanchez and John Gil to load the bases with one out. But a visit from pitching coach Bruce Billings settled Peters nicely, and he induced back-to-back pop-ups from Colby Jones and Eric Hartman to escape the jam.
Both bullpens flourished under the Friday night lights, as Bagwell’s successor Logan Samuels was as impressive as anyone else on either side. Samuels worked 3.2 hitless innings with a career-high six Ks to keep the Azaleas within striking distance, and has now thrown 8.2 innings at home without a run allowed.
Peters was replaced on the hill by Christian Gordon for the 7th, and the lefty flummoxed Augusta throughout two scoreless innings to set the stage for the 9th.
The Azaleas fought to the last against closer Brayden Risedorph, as Hartman drew a two-out hit by pitch to bring the tying run up. Isaiah Drake, no stranger to the big moment, ambushed a first-pitch changeup and sent it screaming to the wall, but came up just short, as Leonel Espinoza corralled the liner at the fence to give the Pelicans the win.
Both teams have picked up a pair of wins so far in the series, and will settle the week’s debts with two more contests at SRP Park.
The highly anticipated botanical identity that Augusta is so proud of sings its swan song tomorrow evening, with a post-game jersey auction set to follow the final out, benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Augusta. First pitch is set for 6:05, with fireworks also in store after the finalization of the in-house auction.
