RiverDogs Sweep Saturday Doubleheader From Augusta
August 29, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release
CHARLESTON, SC - Andrew Brackman won his first game since May 21 and Addison Maruszak drove home the winning run in the 11th inning as the Charleston RiverDogs swept a doubleheader from the Augusta GreenJackets in front of 5,009 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Saturday.
In the nightcap, the RiverDogs came back from an 8-0 deficit to take the game into extra innings. It marked the second time in the homestand that Charleston has erased an eight-run disadvantage, tying the largest comeback win in Riley Park history with Tuesday's win over Rome, when the RiverDogs trailed 9-1 only to come from behind with a 10-9 triumph in 12 innings.
In the first game, Brackman finished the final two frames and fanned two of the eight batters he faced in collecting his second win of the season to improve his mark to 2-12. The 6-10 righty from NC State had been a starter before moving to the bullpen in late July.
With the victories, Charleston improves to 28-31 in the season's second half and 67-62 overall while Augusta slips to 34-27 in the second half and 69-61 on the campaign.
Runs were at a premium until the fourth inning in Game 1, when Augusta struck for a 2-0 advantage against Charleston starter Trent Lare. With two outs, Charlie Culberson lined a double off the leg of Lare, Ehire Adrianza walked, then Eliezer Zambrano followed with an RBI single to left and James Simmons looped an RBI double to left-center for the lead.
Charleston knotted the game at 2-2 against Augusta starter Aaron King in the fifth inning. Garrison Lassiter and Neall French hit back-to-back singles to lead off the frame, then Lassiter stole third on an attempted pickoff throw to second by Zambrano. French advanced to second on a wild pitch before Ray Kruml hit a sacrifice fly to shallow center, but the ball was misplayed by Francisco Peguero for an error to score Lassiter. With two outs, Abraham Almonte lengthened his hitting streak to 19 games with a line single off the glove of King.
The RiverDogs seized a 3-2 lead in the sixth on Jeff Farnham's RBI single barely over the glove of the leaping Vladimir Frias to score Melky Mesa, who walked to lead off the inning.
Augusta got three hits in the seventh against Brackman, including a two-out hit by Josh Mazzola to right field, but Almonte nailed pinch-hitter Johnny Monell at the plate for the final out and his third outfield assist of the homestand.
French had two of the RiverDogs' five hits as Charleston came from behind with two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to eclipse the GreenJackets' 2-0 advantage in which they secured in the fourth inning.
Lare went the first four stanzas and surrendered two earned runs on six hits while striking out two and walking one. Chuck Nolte threw an uneventful fifth frame to set up Brackman.
King suffered the loss to balance his season mark to 6-6 as he pitched five complete innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits while walking three and striking out seven.
Augusta recorded eight hits with Frias, Culberson and Zambrano each accounting for a pair.
In the nightcap, the GreenJackets got three hits in a two-run second against Charleston's Cory Arbiso to claim an early lead. James Simmons' chop single to right scored Monell and Perez for the lead.
A four-run, five-hit eruption in the third increased the score to 6-0 on consecutive RBI singles by Andy D'Alessio and Monell. Perez followed with a one-out RBI single, then Simmons drove a sacrifice fly to right.
Two more runs came plateward in the fourth on a Monell 2-run home run to right-center, his sixth circuit clout of the year, for an 8-0 count.
But Charleston got three straight hits with no outs in the fourth against starter Orlando Yntema to load the bases, but could not score a run.
However, with the team facing its second 8-run deficit of the homestand, the RiverDogs rallied again scoring six times - all with two outs - in the sixth to thin the margin to 8-6.
Taylor Grote hammered an RBI double to score Corban Joseph for an 8-1 score. After Maruszak walked, Lassiter stroked an RBI double to make the score 8-2. The inning continued on Mitch Abeita's line RBI to left, and following a walk to French, Jose Pirela knocked an RBI single of his own to make it 8-4. Then, on a 3-2 pitch with runners moving, Almonte, who increased his hitting streak 20 games earlier in Game 2, roped a two-run single to left-center to finish the 6-run campaign.
The seventh inning saw Charleston tie the game at 8-8 with a dramatic rally against Edwin Quirarte. Quirarte, who just five days earlier gave up five runs in the top of the 10th in the RiverDogs' 7-2 win, allowed two runs on four hits to send the game to extras.
Grote hit a one-out infield single, then Lassiter hit his second RBI double in as many innings to cut the advantage to 8-7. Ray Kruml pinch-ran for Lassiter, as Abeita hit an infield single to shortstop. Kruml attempted to break home as the ball eluded Adrianza and slid in safely as the throw to the plate sailed wide.
The game remained tied until Charleston's half of the 11th, when Grote led off with a single against Kyle Woodruff (3-2), took second on his errant pickoff throw and came home with the winning run on Maruszak's RBI single to right-center and a 9-8 final.
The RiverDogs' bullpen picked up starter Arbiso by spinning seven shutout innings, allowing just two Augusta base hits while fanning nine and walking none. Luke Prihoda secured the win to improve his mark to 3-0 as he threw the final two frames and allowed one hit while striking out three. All told, the RiverDogs fanned 11 GreenJackets.
Charleston collected 17 hits in Game 2 with Almonte and Grote each getting three while Augusta, which had 13 knocks, were led by Monell's three.
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