GreenJackets Hand West Virginia 6th Straight Loss
May 8, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL) - Augusta GreenJackets News Release
North Augusta, SC: Sean Hjelle went five innings, allowing just one run on the mound, and the GreenJackets (16-14) offense collected nine hits, including a big Aaron Bond three-run home run in the 4th, to help beat the West Virginia Power (17-13) by a final of 8-3.
The Power have now lost six games in-a-row, and left 10 men-on-base for the night, while outhitting the GreenJackets at the plate.
Ismael Munguia led the game off with a walk. He stole 2nd base, and moved to 3rd base on a wild pitch. It was Munguia's 1st stolen base since April 7th, as he would go on to steal two bases for the night.
With Munguia on 3rd base, Diego Rincones singled and the Jackets led it 1-0 after the first inning.
In the 2nd inning, after GreenJackets starting pitcher Sean Hjelle worked out of trouble in the first, West Virginia's Bobby Honeyman hit a leadoff home run to tie the game at one.
In the 4th inning, the GreenJackets batted around. The inning was headlined by an Aaron Bond three-run home run. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Rincones broke his bat and on the groundball to 3rd base, Bobby Honeyman mishandled it and it rolled into left field. Two runs scored and the Jackets held a 6-1 lead.
Hjelle finished his night going five innings on the hill, while striking-out eight. It was the first win of his professional career, and it was the 3rd time he's gone at least five innings this year.
In the 6th inning, Rincones grabbed his 3rd RBI of the game with Munguia on 3rd base. An infield hit scored Munguia making it 7-1. West Virginia responded in the home-half on a two-run homerun off the bat of Cesar Trejo, it cut the Augusta lead to 7-3.
Andres Angulo came up in the 8th inning, and on the first pitch he saw, he belted a home run to extend the lead to 8-3. It was Angulo's first home run since August of 2017.
After Solomon Bates allowed two runs in the 6th and 7th, it was Ryan Walker to close down the 8th and 9th innings and win it for the GreenJackets, a final of 8-3.
Player of the Game: Sean Hjelle, 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 8 SO
After he celebrated his 22nd birthday yesterday, Sean Hjelle came to the park and had a career night. Hjelle received his 1st win of his career and had eight strikeouts, a career high.
Tomorrow's Game: Doubleheader
Game #1: 6:05 PM @WV (AUG) RHP Jesus Ozoria (0-2, 3.04 ERA) vs (WV) RHP Clay Chandler (3-1, 0.75 ERA)
Game #2: (AUG) RHP Keaton Winn (1-1, 2.74 ERA) vs (WV) RHP Deivy Florido (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
It's a twin-bill for Thursday. In Game #1, the GreenJackets will give Jesus Ozoria the baseball. Ozoria, will make his 3rd start as a GreenJacket. In his first two, he has struggled early on in each outing, but has responded nicely, to go at least four frames both times.
Clay Chandler will start for West Virginia in the 1st game. Chandler has been impressive early this season. He has gone at least five innings in every outing this season and his 0.75 ERA is 2nd best among qualified players in the SAL.
In Game #2, Keaton Winn will make his 1st start of the season. Winn has been the long-reliever out of the GreenJackets bullpen, and has been tough on hitters all season long. He has gone five innings out of the bullpen twice this year, and batters have just a .233 average against him.
For West Virginia, they will have Deivy Florido take the mound. Florido, who was signed by the Mariners as an International Free Agent in 2017, went 3-2 with a 3.47 ERA over 62.1 innings in the Dominican Summer League last year.
• Discuss this story on the South Atlantic League message board...
South Atlantic League Stories from May 8, 2019
- Rome Takes Opener 4-3 over Drive - Rome Braves
- Suns Lose Opener in Extras - Hagerstown Suns
- Huff Hits MiLB-Leading 15th Homer, But 'Dads Fall - Hickory Crawdads
- Greenville Drops Series Opener at Rome - Greenville Drive
- Honeyman, Trejo Homer in 8-3 Loss - West Virginia Power
- GreenJackets Hand West Virginia 6th Straight Loss - Augusta GreenJackets
- 'Birds Fall Silent, Bow to 'Hoppers in Opener - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Orozco Dominates as RiverDogs Win Third Straight - Charleston RiverDogs
- Hard Fought Win for Tourists Includes Late Comeback - Asheville Tourists
- Molina's Hot Start Stretches to Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
- Fireflies Game Notes: May 8 at Charleston (Game 31) - Columbia Fireflies
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
- Home, Sweet Home; Legends Walk off in Tenth Inning over Intimidators - Lexington Legends
- Game Notes (May 8) - West Virginia Power
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.
