Road Woes Continue in Ninth-Inning Loss
Published on August 9, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Augusta GreenJackets News Release
Salisbury, MD - The Augusta GreenJackets second-half struggles away from Lake Olmstead Stadium continued on Thursday against the Delmarva Shorebirds. The Shorebirds got the winning run in the ninth inning on a bizarre play in a 6-5 win over Augusta to move the GreenJackets' road record in the second half to 8-19.
For the GreenJackets, it's their fifth loss in their last 12 road games in their opponent's final at-bat.
With the game tied at five, Delmarva's Jason Esposito singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Roderick Bernadina took first on an error that pushed Esposito to third base. After Glynn Davis struck out, Joe Staley's throw to first completed the strikeout with Esposito breaking for the plate simultaneously. Garrett Buechele's return throw home was late and Esposito scored while advancing on the throw to provide the winning run in odd fashion for the Shorebirds.
The GreenJackets dominated the first few innings of the back-and-forth contest, holding a three-run lead at one point. Augusta got on the board in the second inning when Myles Schroder's RBI groundout plated Staley to give the GreenJackets a 1-0 advantage. Shawn Payne made it a 2-0 game an inning later when he tripled with one out and scored on a wild pitch. In the fourth, Brett Krill singled and took second on an error and third on a groundout before scoring on a wild pitch to give the GreenJackets a 3-0 lead.
The Shorebirds got back into the game off Bryce Bandilla in the fourth, sending eight to the plate in an inning that sent Bandilla to the showers. With runners at first and second and no one out, Esposito singled home a run to make it a 3-1 game. After an error kept the inning alive, Bandilla committed a bases-loaded balk to make it a one-run game. Connor Narron struck out looking to end the inning.
In the fifth, the Shorebirds batted around to take the lead. Esposito's sacrifice fly tied the game at three. Mychal Givens followed with an RBI single to put the Shorebirds up 4-3. With the bases loaded, Glynn Davis was hit by a pitch to make it a 5-3 game. DeMondre Arnold buckled down to get the next two outs to end the inning - the second straight inning the Shorebirds ended with the bases full. All told, Delmarva stranded 14 baserunners.
Augusta stormed back in the eighth inning to take the lead. Payne singled to lead off the inning, stole his way to third and then scored on Jose Flores's single to make it a one-run game. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Garrett Buechele's sacrifice fly tied the game at five.
In the top of the ninth, Elliott Blair led off with a double to put the go-ahead run in scoring position for Augusta with no one out. But the GreenJackets couldn't push him across the plate and the Shorebirds would capitalize in the bottom half of the inning.
Gene Escat (2-0) allowed one hit in two scoreless innings of relief to get the win for Delmarva while Chris Marlowe (1-7) drew the loss for the GreenJackets.
Adalberto Mejia (7-7, 4.86) gets the ball for the GreenJackets on Friday night in the third game of the series and will face righty Zach Davies (4-3, 3.96). First pitch from Delmarva comes at 7:05 p.m. with radio coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1340 AM and www.greenjacketsbaseball.com.
On Monday, the GreenJackets return home to open a three-game series with the Lakewood BlueClaws. 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 August 9, 2012
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- Shorebirds Walk off with Wild 6-5 Win - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Road Woes Continue in Ninth-Inning Loss - Augusta GreenJackets
- Two Run Ninth Gives Greensboro Victory - Rome Emperors
- 'Claws Win Third Straight, 2-1 over Kannapolis - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Suns Edged by RiverDogs 4-3 - Hagerstown Suns
- Drive and Gnats Postponed Due to Rain - Greenville Drive
- Gnats and Drive Game Postponed Due to Rain on Thursday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Thursday's Game Postponed; Doubleheader Friday - Hickory Crawdads
- Legends Update: Pennant Race Tightens; Individual Record Watch - Lexington Legends
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
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