NORTH AUGUSTA – The Augusta GreenJackets (22-24) lost a close battle against the Charleston RiverDogs (29-18) on Saturday night as the Tampa Bay Rays affiliate edged the GreenJackets 9-6.
The RiverDogs took an immediate lead on a leadoff home run from Shane Sasaki to put Charleston quickly ahead 1-0.
But the GreenJackets made their move in the second by taking the lead on a two-run double by Ethan Workinger to score Kevin Kilpatrick and Braulio Vasquez, making it a 2-1 game in favor of Augusta.
The offense would produce another run in the third courtesy of Adam Zebrowski who singled home Kadon Morton from second to up the lead to 3-1.
The GreenJackets would hold their three-run lead for a while as starter Rainiery Rodriguez settled in for Augusta and retired 13 batters in a row, stretching from the first inning until the fifth.
However, the RiverDogs would get to Rodriguez in the sixth as Shane Sasaki went yard on him again with a two-run homer that tied that game, followed by an RBI single by Willy Vasquez to put Charleston back in front 4-3.
The lead would grow in the next two innings with a Julio Meza infield hit that scored another run in the seventh. Two more runs came home in the eighth on a two-run single by Daiwer Castelanos to give the RiverDogs their largest lead at 7-3.
But Augusta wouldn’t go down easy. They’d rally in the eighth starting with an RBI groundout by Ethan Workinger, scoring Kevin Kilpatrick to make it 7-4. Two batters later, Kadon Morton launched a home run over the left field wall to score two and make it a one-run game at 7-6.
Charleston came through with a ninth-inning response on a two-run home run of their own off the bat of Carson Williams to put the RiverDogs ahead 9-6. They’d go on to win by that score as Augusta went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Aneudy Cortoreal (3-1) was the winning pitcher for Charleston in relief with starter Rainiery Rodriguez (2-4) taking the loss for the GreenJackets. Roel Garcia (1) earned the save in his first appearance for the RiverDogs.
Adam Zebrowski led an 11-hit effort for Augusta with three knocks that included an RBI single in the third. Braulio Vasquez also had three hits to extend his on-base streak to 15 games while scoring two runs. Kevin Kilpatrick also contributed two runs of his own, while Kadon Morton also touched home twice to go along with his two-run homer in the eighth.
The series against the RiverDogs concludes on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. with game one starters set to match up again as Jorge Bautista faces Over Galue for Charleston.
The tenth homestand of the season for the GreenJackets wraps up on Sunday with Auggie’s Birthday Bash as you can celebrate the birthday of the best mascot in CSRA!
