NORTH AUGUSTA, SC: The Augusta GreenJackets kicked off the 2024 season in style, utilizing strong pitching and small ball to manufacture a 2-1 victory over the Columbia Fireflies on April 5th.
Both pitchers started off strong early, with Garrett Baumann and Maurecio Veliz trading zeroes through the first two innings. It was Augusta who struck first, as Robert Gonzalez led off the frame with a double that kissed off the fence in left field. Thanks to an error and a walk, the bases were loaded for Jace Grady, who earned a free pass of his own to bring home Gonzalez.
Columbia responded quickly in the next half-inning, with Erick Peña reaching on a leadoff error, and subsequently trotting home on a sac fly from Milo Rushford. That frame spelled the end of the night for Baumann, as he ceded the ball to LHP Adam Shoemaker.
The ‘Jackets regained the lead in the bottom of the 5th thanks to a pair of errors, as Leiker Figueroa led off the inning with a single and advancement to second on an error by third baseman Austin Charles. He moved to third on a fly ball from Jacob Godman, then intended to hold there on a soft pop up from Isaiah Drake. But the throw in from center fielder Erick Torres skipped through the legs of catcher Blake Mitchell, and Figueroa hustled home to tag Veliz with his second unearned run.
From there, the bullpens went blow for blow with neither side giving an inch. Adam Shoemaker posted four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. On the opposite side, Firefly relievers Jacob Widener and Connor Fenlong held Augusta in check at every opportunity. With a one-run game entering the ninth, Giomar Diaz took the hill and worked around a bloop single to induce three weak touches that never left the infield, and secure the W for Augusta.
Shoemaker took the win and moved to 1-0 on the young season, while Veliz drew a hard luck loss. Diaz earned his first save of the season, and third of his professional career. It’s the first managerial win in the career of rookie skipper Wynston Sawyer.
The two sides meet once again tomorrow for the middle game of the three-game series, with GreenJackets’ righty Adam Maier making his first professional start. The Fireflies will counter with righty Emmanuel Reyes, who made seven starts for the club in 2023.
