KANNAPOLIS, NC: After a lengthy period of quiet from the Augusta offense, the GreenJackets made the 9th inning interesting, ultimately falling short in their comeback bid against Kannapolis Thursday night.
For the 3rd consecutive day, Augusta faced difficulty in scratching across runs against the veteran stable of Kannapolis arms. Justin Sinibaldi, in his 4th start of the year, turned in a powerful performance that featured just two hits and one run allowed in five innings en route to his first victory.
While Augusta stayed slow early, Kannapolis, playing as the Kannapolis Q’s, used a barrage of strong contact to take a 1-0 lead in the 2nd. After Miguel Santos was thrown out trying to turn a single to a double, Nathan Archer crushed a double off the fence, before scoring on a knock from Ryan Burrowes.
Both sides traded runs in the 4th, with Augusta tying the game on an RBI double from Isaiah Drake. Drake continues to swing the bat well, and had the only two RBI over a 22-inning span from Tuesday to Thursday. The Q’s answered back immediately, as Santos barreled a long solo homer to left to retake the lead.
Both bullpens held firm in their initial chances, with Adam Shoemaker stranding four runners in two innings while Grant Umberger and Aric McAtee combined for three scoreless innings. The Q’s would double their lead in the 7th against Jackson Dannelley, as a two-out single from George Wolkow scored Ronny Hernandez.
Augusta’s last gap came in the 9th against Morris Austin, who Augusta was familiar with from his time in 2024 with the Carolina Mudcats. Owen Carey began the 9th with a double, while Eric Hartman drew a walk to put the tying run on.
Mac Guscette looped a one-out single to score Carey, and Hartman stole 3rd to put himself one base away from tying the score. Unfortunately for Augusta, Austin struck out Jake Steels and induced a grounder from Mason Guerra to end the game and preserve his second save of the year.
The GreenJackets have now lost three games in a row for the first time this year, and cede sole possession of second place in the Carolina League South Division to the Cannon Ballers. Augusta tries to end the skid tomorrow, as Owen Hackman takes on Gabriel Rodriguez in the first 7:00 start of the week.
