FREDERICKSBURG, VA: The Augusta GreenJackets (18-19) season-long, seven-game winning streak came to end on Thursday night as they fell in game one of the doubleheader versus the Fredericksburg Nationals (25-13) but quickly returned to winning ways as they held on to win game two.
GAME 1
The GreenJackets were put in an early hole in game one as the Fredericksburg Nationals scored two runs in the bottom first on a wild pitch and an RBI single by Will Frizzell to make it 2-0 Fredericksburg after one inning.
The Nationals put another run on the board in the third on a run-producing single by Jacob Young.
The deficit escalated quickly in the third as Fredericksburg scored four more runs with three of them coming in a homer by Jared McKenzie, with an additional run scoring on an error to give the Nationals a 7-0 advantage.
Brandon Boissiere singled in another run in the fourth to make it 8-0 Fred Nats.
Augusta would crack the scoreboard for the first time in the sixth courtesy of Andrew Keck who collected his first hit as a GreenJacket with a single to right field, scoring Drake Baldwin and Brandol Mezquita to cut the deficit to 8-2.
But the GreenJackets would run out of time as Fredericksburg closed it out from there as they took the first game of the doubleheader by a score of 8-2, ending Augusta’s seven-game winning streak.
Jose Atencio (2-1) was the winning pitcher with Jorge Bautista (0-3) taking the defeat for the GreenJackets.
GAME 2
Better fortunes came Augusta’s way in game two as they jumped ahead early in the second on a bases-clearing double by Kadon Morton to grab a 3-0 lead.
Justin Janas would supply an additional run of support in the third with an RBI double to score Brandol Mezquita from first base, extending the lead to 4-0.
The Nationals answered in the bottom of the frame with a successful first and third steal to cut the Augusta lead to 4-1.
It remained a 4-1 game into the sixth inning until Braulio Vasquez pushed the edge back to four with an RBI triple to bring home Keshawn Ogans to make it a 5-1 game. Francisco Floyd scored Vasquez shortly thereafter with an RBI single to give the GreenJackets their largest advantage at 6-1.
Fredericksburg would hang in there by scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth with RBIs from James Wood and Trey Lipscomb to make it 6-3.
The GreenJackets continued the tradeoff as they produced two more runs in the seventh on a two-run base hit by Francisco Floyd to give Augusta a five-run cushion of 8-3 going into the bottom of the seventh.
Those insurance runs proved to be the difference for the GreenJackets as the Fred Nats put together a serious rally by scoring four times in the bottom of the seventh. With the tying run at third and two outs, Juan Mateo got Trey Lipscomb to ground out to second to end the game with Augusta holding on for an 8-7 win.
Elison Joseph (2-2) was the winning pitcher in relief for Augusta with Karlo Seijas (1-1) taking the loss as the starter for Fredericksburg.
Francisco Floyd reached all four times for the GreenJackets in the nightcap with two walks and two hits that produced three RBIs. Kadon Morton also drove in three with his bases-clearing double in the second. Justin Janas also had himself a night with his second multi-hit performance in three starts by going 2/4 with an RBI double in the third. The Braves’ 11th Round Pick Ian Mejia made his debut in Augusta as he started game two and went 2.1 innings retiring seven of the eight men he faced with two strikeouts.
Augusta will look to take three of the first four matchups from the Fred Nats on Friday night with Sam Strickland (4-2) getting the start against Jackson Rutledge (5-5) for the Nationals. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
The tenth homestand of the season for the GreenJackets begins on Tuesday, August 16 against the Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay Rays) with $2 TWOsday and First Responder Tuesday. The week continues with Warrior Wednesday, the Corona Bucket Special, and Baseball Bingo. Thursday is a double-header at SRP Park starting at 5:05 with a special appearance from the Dueling Pianos Group and Thirsty Thursday. The weekend begins with Sweetwater Night at the ballpark with specialty jerseys with an auction that will benefit North Augusta Forward/FROG in addition to Braves BUZZFest. The White Claw Pregame Concert Series starts off Saturday Night with live music from Greg Fortune from 4:30-5:30 with a postgame fireworks extravaganza to follow. The homestand wraps up Auggie’s Birthday Bash as you can celebrate the birthday of the best mascot in CSRA.
