NORTH AUGUSTA, SC: A humongous surge from the Charleston RiverDogs turned a 7-run lead into a tie game, but Roiber Niazoa’s first Single-A RBIs put the GreenJackets in front for good in a 13-11 thriller at SRP Park.
For the second night in a row, Charleston scored early, getting an RBI single from Connor Hujsak in the top of the first against Owen Hackman.
That RiverDog lead was not built to last, however, as the Jackets posted six runs in the bottom half to chase starter Janzen Keisel in less than an inning.
Keisel walked Colby Jones to begin the frame, who immediately stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Jones trotted home one pitch later, as Owen Carey tied the game with an RBI single. After two more walks loaded the bags, Douglas Glod roped a line drive to score two.
Another walk forced Keisel from the game, and reliever Andres Galan’s Single-A debut got off to a rocky start, as Josnaider Orellana obliterated a fastball for his first pro homer, capping the six-run frame.
Hackman and Galan would each settle in after the first, as a solo homer from Glod was the only run scored in innings 2-4. Each side tacked on in the 5th, as Theo Gillen’s inside-the-park homer was matched by an RBI knock from Luis Sanchez.
Woo Shin began the 6th with a more traditional home run, but Hackman sped through the rest of the frame to post his second quality start of the year.
Two more RBIs from Glod in the bottom of the 6th gave him a career-high five and put the Jackets up 10-3 after 6, a seemingly comfortable lead for a team that has pitched phenomenally all season. But with Hackman’s night done, the GreenJackets pen faced immediate difficulties.
Albert Rivas walked the first two batters of the 7th, and Jose Perez cracked a double to add to Charleston’s tally. Additional RBIs from Gillen and Hujsak chased Rivas from the game, and made the night much more interesting.
Augusta got one run back in the bottom of the 7th on Leiker Figueroa’s first GreenJackets homer, but Adam Shoemaker’s 8th inning turned into a back-breaking RiverDog rally.
Shoemaker had recorded the last out of the 7th, and struck out Shin to begin the 8th, but the wheels came off after that. Two walks and two hit by pitches brought a run home and loaded the bases before Brailer Guerrero spanked a two-run single that put the tying run aboard.
Shoemaker was left in to face Hujsak, and the righty plugged the gap for a game-tying double, giving himself a season-high four RBIs.
Reeling from the sudden disappearance of a seemingly secure lead, Augusta brought in Jackson Dannelley for the second time this week, who got a groundout to strand the go-ahead run at 3rd.
The bottom half was no less chaotic, as Eric Hartman bunted his way on and went first to third on a stolen base and throwing error.
Augusta would attempt to score on a roller back to the mound, but the go-ahead run was cut down for the second out.
A grounder from Glod had the RiverDogs believing the inning was over, but the umpires converged and determined that first baseman Tyler Herron had come off the bag at first, and the defense was forced to sheepishly exit the dugout.
After all the chaos and disagreement, Roiber Niazoa met the moment, whacking the first pitch of his at bat for a two-run double that gave the Jackets the lead for good.
Dannelley went 1-2-3 through the 9th, and earned his second win in three nights. Despite blowing their largest lead of the year, the Jackets have now won five straight games, and sit in sole possession of second place in the South Division.
