Delays, Drive Not Detrimental in 4-1 Win
Published on July 10, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Augusta GreenJackets News Release
Augusta, GA - The Augusta GreenJackets survived two rain delays and a comeback from the Greenville Drive in the middle innings of a rain-shortened 4-1 win over the Drive in the series opener between the teams on Tuesday night at Lake Olmstead Stadium.
Two rain delays - totaling nearly two hours - pushed the game later into the night than all involved would have preferred. The GreenJackets picked up an early run in the first inning on an RBI groundout from Ben Thomas to take the first lead for the second straight game. Leading 1-0 with Shawn Payne at second after a leadoff double in the fourth inning, the rains came and the game was delayed for an hour and 21 minutes.
After the delay, the GreenJackets were not able to capitalize on the scoring opportunity and momentum quickly shifted to the Drive. In addition to stranding Payne at second with no outs, the GreenJackets also lost ace starter Clayton Blackburn due to the length of the delay. In four scoreless innings, Blackburn - a winner in his last five starts coming into the game - allowed two hits and struck out six.
Against reliever DeMondre Arnold, the Drive tied things in the fifth. Henry Ramos walked to lead off the inning and scored on the second of back-to-back, one-out singles to tie the game at one.
In the seventh, the GreenJackets finally broke through against Greenville's Mike McCarthy, who'd thrown three scoreless innings after the delay. With the bases loaded and one out thanks to a hit, a Greenville error and a walk, Jose Flores drilled a liner through the left side to break the tie and give the GreenJackets a one-run lead. With the bases still full, Joe Staley grounded out to bring home a second run and give the GreenJackets a 3-1 edge.
Augusta added another run in the eighth on Jeff Arnold's one-out RBI double that scored Shawn Payne. But as soon as Arnold touched second, the rains began to fall again. After the second out of the inning, things intensified to the point where the umpires again called for the tarp and after a delay of 30 minutes, the call was made to end the game early.
Steven Neff (2-1) earned the win by retiring six of the seven hitters he faced in two scoreless innings of relief, striking out three. Derek Law allowed a hit in a scoreless eighth inning to qualify for his second save of the year. McCarthy (1-3) allowed two runs - one earned - on a hit and two walks in 3.1 innings to take the loss. McCarthy struck out five GreenJackets hitters.
Bryce Bandilla (1-3, 2.18) returns to the roster on Wednesday in the second game of the series to make the start against Greenville's Henry Owens (9-2, 5.09). First pitch comes at 7:05 p.m. with radio pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1340 AM and online at www.greenjacketsbaseball.com. Single-game tickets for any GreenJackets home game are currently available by calling the GreenJackets front office at 706-922-WINS and online at www.greenjacketsbaseball.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 10, 2012
- Delays, Drive Not Detrimental in 4-1 Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- BlueClaws Drop Game 1 to Hickory, 5-4 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- 'Dads Crack BlueClaws, 5-4 - Hickory Crawdads
- Foltynewicz Earns 10th Victory as Legends Win 2-0 - Lexington Legends
- Suns Hold on to Defeat Grasshoppers, 9-7 - Hagerstown Suns
- Lexington Takes 2-0 Win over Kannapolis - Lexington Legends
- Anderson, Tourists Take Series Opener in Charleston - Charleston RiverDogs
- Shorebirds Fall 2-0 in Pitcher's Duel - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Braves and Power Suspended - Rome Emperors
- Endy Chavez to Rehab with Shorebirds - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Moylan to Pitch for Rome Braves - Rome Emperors
- Robert Refsnyder Begins Professional Career in Charleston - Charleston RiverDogs
- Legends Welcome 'A Minor League Season' Producers and Former Campbellsville Star Curley - Lexington Legends
- Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame Releases 2012 Candidates - Charleston RiverDogs
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
