KANNAPOLIS, NC: The GreenJackets’ woes at Atrium Health Ballpark continued Friday night, as Augusta lost their 4th straight game of the series in Kannapolis, and 7th straight dating back to last season.
Augusta’s young offensive core continues to look fatigued on the back end of the year’s longest road trip, as the offense mustered one run for the 2nd time in three nights. The lone run of the game came in the 3rd inning, when reliever Wardquelin Vazquez committed a bases loaded balk to bring Colby Jones home from 3rd.
The GreenJackets had a series of chances beyond and including the 3rd inning, but continued to come up empty in their search for a hit. Augusta left a dozen men on base, and was 0-10 with runners in scoring position.
Frustration boiled over in the 4th inning, when a ball that appeared to overtly hit Owen Carey’s foot in the box as a foul ball was called fair to end the inning, leading to the first ejection of the season for manager Wynston Sawyer.
While the GreenJackets’ bats lay dormant, Kannapolis used a trio of big innings to run up the score on Augusta and hand Owen Hackman his first loss of the year. The Ballers began their barrage with a two spot in the 2nd, as Lyle Miller-Green led off the inning with a mammoth 439 foot home run that went halfway up the batters’ eye. Kannapolis doubled the lead on a Ryan Burrowes single.
After Augusta got one back in the 3rd, both sides were scoreless until the bottom of the 5th, when Hackman began to get battered as his night came to a close. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out, and Calvin Harris bounced an infield single off of Luis Sanchez to score a run.
Two more men came home thanks to George Wolkow, who launched a fly ball to the deepest part of the yard that brought runners home from second and third. Miguel Santos laced an RBI single, and Hackman departed with six runs and nine hits to his name.
While a handful of relievers for Kannapolis kept the Jackets at bay, the Ballers put the game out of reach in the 7th. Seth Keller walked four straight hitters to bring in a run, and a soft single from Santos ended Keller’s evening. Jacob Kroeger allowed one more man to score before 3 straight Ks abated any further threat.
The GreenJackets did not muster a run in 6.1 innings of relief between Vazquez, Hale Sims, Liam Paddack, and Jack Young, as Augusta continues to struggle against the Carolina League’s oldest team. The Jackets have now lost four straight games, and are still looking for their first win in Kannapolis since April 14th,
2024. The GreenJackets will battle the Ballers, the elements, and themselves tomorrow, as a rain-soaked 7 p.m. start is on the docket for Saturday night.
