Luis Guanipa Walks off Fireflies for Fourth Straight Win
Published on May 20, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Augusta GreenJackets News Release
NORTH AUGUSTA, SC: Luis Guanipa capped a three-RBI evening with a screaming line drive up the middle in the ninth, breaking a 4-4 tie and scoring the winning run in a thrilling 5-4 win for the GreenJackets over the Fireflies Wednesday night.
Augusta (23-18) secured its second walk-off win of the year, while Columbia (18-23) was walked off for the third time this year, and is now 5-11 in one-run games this year. Both Augusta walk-offs have been singles up the middle, and both have been in situations where the game was tied entering the final frame.
Columbia scored in the top of the first for the second straight day, wasting no time as Henry Ramos clubbed Derek Vartanian's third pitch of the day over the right field wall for a solo homer. It was the second home run allowed to a Firefly by Vartanian this year, and the first home run allowed to a lefty by him in his pro career.
Augusta struggled to unsettle Jose Gutierrez through four scoreless innings, but Vartanian settled in nicely himself, and neither offense got on the board again until the top of the 5th. Once again, it was a leadoff long ball, as JC Vanek went the opposite way with his fifth home run of the year to double the advantage.
The pendulum of power swung back Augusta's way in the bottom of the fifth, as the GreenJackets turned to the bottom of their order to ignite the offense. Dallas Macias opened the inning with his second home run in as many nights to break the shutout, and the very next batter, Michael Martinez hammered his first Single-A home run out of the stadium entirely to tie the game. Gutierrez retired two of the next three men and looked to be able to escape the inning with the tie, but he hung a slider to Guanipa, who cracked a two-run blast to go in front.
The Fireflies did get a run back in the top of the sixth on an RBI groundout from Stone Russell, but Vartanian kept the Jackets ahead as he worked through a career-high nine innings. Augusta summoned Lewis Sifontes for the six-out save, and he retired the first five men he faced, but disaster struck with two outs, as Vanek turned a fastball around and over the right field wall for a game-tying two out home run.
The Jackets remained unphased in the bottom of the ninth, and chased long reliever Shane Van Dam after a Tate Southisene single put the winning run on base. New arm Andy Basora hit Alex Lodise to move Southisene to second, before Guanipa's base hit scored the winning run and extended Augusta's winning streak to four.
The GreenJackets have not won five in a row yet this year, and will try to extend their winning streak up to that number tomorrow night against Denis Samudio in his Single-A debut. Landon Beidelschies has the ball for Augusta, still searching for his first professional win.
Carolina League Stories from May 20, 2026
- Shorebirds Even Series in Wilson with a Pair of Big Innings Late - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Banks Guides Ballers to Third Straight Win in Wednesday Shutout over Pelicans - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Crawdads Knock 11 Hits in 5-4 Loss - Hickory Crawdads
- Birds Shut out 7-0 by Cannon Ballers on Wednesday Night - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Wilson Winning Streak Snapped in 12-6 Loss to Delmarva - Wilson Warbirds
- Fredericksburg Holds off Woodpeckers - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Salem Silences Howlers in Stifling Performance - Hill City Howlers
- Luis Guanipa Walks off Fireflies for Fourth Straight Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Vanek's Homers Twice as Fireflies Fall 5-4 - Columbia Fireflies
- Juan Cruz Leads FredNats to 3-2 Win Over Woodpeckers - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Guerrero Homers in Second Straight, RiverDogs Earn 5-4 Win - Charleston RiverDogs
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Augusta 5.20 - Columbia Fireflies
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