SALISBURY, Md. – Friday was another dominant night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium for the Augusta GreenJackets (14-18) as they demolished the Delmarva Shorebirds (13-21) by a score of 14-2.
The scoring began in the second inning with an RBI double by Braulio Vasquez to score Adam Zebrowski, making it 1-0 Augusta.
They’d score a few batters later as Francisco doubled home Vasquez to up the lead to 2-0. Eliezel Stevens capped off the inning with a two-run single to give Augusta a 4-0 lead.
The Shorebirds got one back in the bottom of the third on an RBI groundout by Elio Pradio to make it 4-1.
But it was always GreenJackets from that point on. In the third, one run would score on an error off the bat of Mahki Backstrom with another two-run single by Eliezel Stevens after that to score three in the frame and push Augusta’s advantage to 7-1.
One run scored in the fourth for Augusta on a passed ball as Geraldo Quintero touched home to up the lead to 8-1.
It remained 8-1 until the seventh when three more runs would come in for Augusta on RBI doubles by Mahki Backstrom and Eliezel Stevens with Kadon Morton supplying a run-scoring single to give the GreenJackets a double-digit lead of 11-1.
To put a bow on it, Mahki Backstrom launched a three-run homer in the eighth to extend Augusta’s lead to 14-1.
The Shorebirds scored one more run in the ninth inning on a home run, but it was not nearly enough as the GreenJackets closed out Delmarva by a score of 14-2 for their fourth straight win in Salisbury to secure a series victory.
James Acuña (3-2) earned the win in relief for the GreenJackets with Darlin Alcantara (0-2) taking the loss as the starter for the Shorebirds.
Eliezel Stevens had his best night in a GreenJackets uniform on Friday as he finished with four hits and five RBIs, both career highs. Mahki Backstrom also made his mark by driving in four with three coming in on his home run in the eighth as he also went on to score four runs. Kadon Morton and Braulio each had multiple hits and an RBI in the game with the offense drawing ten more walks, including Adam Zebrowski who walked a career-best four times.
Augusta will now look to make it five in a row on Saturday night as Sam Strickland toes the slab for the GreenJackets versus Juan De Los Santos for Delmarva with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The tenth homestand of the season for the GreenJackets begins on Tuesday, Aug. 16 against the Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay Rays) with $2 TWOsday and First Responder Tuesday. The week continues with Warrior Wednesday, the Corona Bucket Special, and Baseball Bingo. Thursday is a double-header at SRP Park starting at 5:05 with a special appearance from the Dueling Pianos Group and Thirsty Thursday. The weekend begins with Sweetwater Night at the ballpark with specialty jerseys with an
auction that will benefit North Augusta Forward/FROG in addition to Braves BUZZFest. The White Claw Pregame Concert Series starts off Saturday Night with live music from Greg Fortune from 4:30-5:30 with a postgame fireworks extravaganza to follow.
The homestand wraps up Auggie’s Birthday Bash as you can celebrate the birthday of the best mascot in CSRA!
