NORTH AUGUSTA, SC: Left-hander Riley Frey worked seven scoreless innings, the longest outing of the year by a GreenJackets pitcher, en route to a 5-2 win at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach Tuesday night.
Frey was tasked with starting the season opener after his scheduled start Sunday was cut short. Frey had thrown 1.2 innings before the rain canceled the tilt with the RiverDogs, so it remained a mystery how prepared Frey was to bounce back on short notice. The Milwaukee product erased any worries expeditiously, going hitless through 5.2 innings and collecting his third win in as many starts. Frey allowed two hits and a walk, and found four of his seven strikeouts in his final two innings of work.
Despite Frey’s best efforts, the game was far from a sure thing. Augusta’s offense was held in check just as much as Myrtle Beach’s was, as starter Ty Johnson and reliever Vince Reilly combined to hold the GreenJackets hitless in their first six innings. A walk and a hit by pitch in the first were the only base runners allowed by Johnson, who struck out a career-high nine batters but departed after just four innings due to a high pitch count.
Augusta threatened in the 7th against new arm Garrett Brown, as a walk, pickoff error, and single put men at first and second with nobody out. But Kade Kern hit a ground ball up the middle that seemed to be a routine double play, but turned even worse for Augusta when Drew Compton slipped rounding third and was tagged out for a Pelicans’ triple play, the first in the Carolina League this season.
Despite the subpar end to the 7th, it was déjà vu all over again in the 8th, as Diego Benitez walked and then advanced on a pickoff error from Brown. Benitez moved to third on a Robert Gonzalez base hit, then scored on yet another errant pickoff throw from Brown, this one bouncing off the ribcage of Gonzalez. The GreenJackets would use a Jace Grady single, wild pitch, and Will Verdung sac fly to post a total of 5 runs in the inning against Brown and Francis Reynoso.
After the lengthy inning and now safely with the lead, manager Wynston Sawyer handed the ball to Adam Shoemaker to preserve the lead. Shoemaker pitched a clean 8th, and bounced back from allowing two runs (one earned) in the 9th to give Augusta it’s 3rdwin in a series opener this season. Frey is now 3-0 on the year, while Brown took his first loss of 2024. The win brings the GreenJackets within a game of .500, and puts them 2.5 games behind the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at the top of the Carolina League South Division.
Cade Kuehler takes the mound tomorrow for Augusta, matching up with Mason McGwire. McGwire has been on a strict pitch count and innings limit so far this year, so the GreenJackets can expect to see multiple arms waiting in the wings. First pitch will be at 7:05 from Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, SC.
The GreenJackets will be back home at SRP Park Tuesday, May 14th, beginning a season-long 12 game homestand against the Salem Red Sox and Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. The first six games feature giveaways, alternate jerseys, and specials galore.
More info about all the exciting occurrences can be found here: https://www.milb.com/augusta/fans/gj-homestand-preview.
