KANNAPOLIS, NC: The GreenJackets battled well early against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, but deteriorated down the stretch, as the Ballers turned a close tilt to a one-sided shellacking as they won their fifth straight.
While Rayven Antonio was scheduled to take the ball for Augusta, a 73-minute delayed start scratched him and put Jacob Gomez on the hill for his first pro start. Gomez worked well through three strong innings, allowing one unearned run as he navigated around four walks to keep the Ballers at bay.
On the other side, Augusta unleashed an array of singles against Luis Reyes, but continued their woes with runners in scoring position.
The Jackets drew first blood in the top of the 2nd, scoring Isaiah Drake on a two-out, two-strike single from Luis Sanchez. Reyes would allow no further slack, posting zeroes in his next three frames as he grabbed his second win of the year.
The Ballers took the lead against reliever Reibyn Corona, once again utilizing a defensive miscue to their advantage. After Nathan Archer’s triple gave Kannapolis the lead in the 4th, Caleb Bonemer led off the 5th with a single, and advanced to 2nd on a pickoff error. One batter later, Ronny Hernandez clubbed a base hit to score Bonemer and double the advantage.
Augusta’s best chance came to pass in the 7th, as two walks and a hit by pitch from reliever Carlton Perkins loaded the bases with nobody out.
The Ballers summoned Eric McAtee from the pen, and when McAtee walked in a run, Augusta seemed poised to regain the lead. But the top of the order fell flat, as McAtee punched out two men and forced a third to pop up to end the inning.
When Albert Rivas touched the mound in the bottom of the 7th, the game was within reach for Augusta. The Ballers got the run back immediately, as Javier Mogollon unloaded on a hanging slider for a solo shot.
Kannapolis proceeded to load the bases with one out, but Miguel Santos rolled a double play to end the threat.
That threat would reemerge, multiply, and strike in the 8th, as the Cannon Ballers stunned Rivas to put the game out of reach. Three walks and a single set the stage, and saw Rivas pulled off the mound.
With Augusta low on pitching, the Jackets were forced to put outfielder Jake Steels on the mound, and Kannapolis predictably teed off. When the dust had settled, the Ballers had scored seven runs in the inning, and secured an easy 11-2 win in the 9th.
Sunday, May 4, marks Augusta’s final chance to avoid a sweep on the road before the season’s longest roadtrip mercifully comes to an end.
Luis Arestigueta is scheduled to start against Nick Pinto in a 1:30 p.m. matinee. Immediately after the game, Augusta will head back home, taking a much-needed day off before hosting the Crawdads for six.
