KANNAPOLIS, NC: The Augusta GreenJackets (69-62) wrapped up the 2022 season on Sunday afternoon with a narrow, one-run defeat to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (32-34) by a score of 6-5.
Augusta jumped on Kannapolis in a big way early by scoring five runs in the third inning with Drake Baldwin getting it started with an RBI single to score Noah Williams, making it 1-0 GreenJackets. David McCabe followed with a two-run double to the right-center gap to bring Ignacio Alvarez and Baldwin home to push the lead to 3-0. E.J. Exposito kept the beat going with a run-producing hit of his own as McCabe touched home to increase the margin to 4-0. Stephen Paolini capped off the inning with an RBI single to score Exposito, giving the GreenJackets a lead of 5-0 after three innings.
Kannapolis would look to chip away at that lead in the fourth as they plated their first run on a dropped third strike that resulted in a throwing error at first base as Jacob Burke scored to make it a 5-1 game.
In the fifth, the Cannon Ballers kept the momentum going by scoring three runs on an RBI single by Brooks Baldwin followed by a two-run single by Jacob Burke to cut Augusta’s lead to 5-4.
An inning later, the Cannon Ballers loaded the bases with two outs and a ground ball by Jordan Sprinkle, the throw to first by shortstop Ignacio Alvarez hopped away from Ethan Workinger to plate the tying and go-ahead run for Kannapolis to give them their first lead at 6-5.
The GreenJackets were then sent into rally mode but unfortunately were turned back on a pair of occasions in the seventh and eighth inning as they stranded a pair of bases runners in both innings. They’d go down in order in the ninth as they fell just short in the final game of the regular season by a score of 6-5.
Billy Seidl (1-0) was the winning pitching in relief for Kannapolis with Frander Veras (3) earning the save. Peyton Williams (3-3) was the losing pitcher for the GreenJackets.
After Sunday’s result, the Augusta GreenJackets concluded the 2022 campaign with a 69-62 record, good for the fourth-best in the Carolina League. The team was 36-30 in the first half and 33-32 in the second.
