Southisene's Bat, Guanipa's Arm Give Jackets Wild Win
Published on April 24, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Augusta GreenJackets News Release
COLUMBIA, SC: The GreenJackets led five separate times Friday night, but the only one that stuck came at the very end, as the Jackets scored three runs in the top of the 9th and held on for an 11-10 win over the Columbia Fireflies.
Augusta was down to its final out in the ninth inning against Randy Ramnarace, with the bases loaded after three walks from Ramnarace and Yeri Perez. The fate of the night rested on Tate Southisene's shoulders, having already reached three times in the game. Southisene ambushed a 1-0 fastball, cracking it over the right fielder's head and to the wall, sending all three runners racing home for what would prove the go-ahead run.
The bottom of the 9th was as chaotic as the top half, if not more so, as Mathieu Curtis looked to grind his way through his third win of the year. Curtis issued a walk and a single to start the frame, and it looked as though the Fireflies may have one last comeback in their bag. Both men moved up 90 feet on a perfect sacrifice bunt from Daniel Lopez, putting the tying run at third and winning run at second for Connor Rasmussen.
Rasmussen did his job, lifting a fly ball to center that appeared deep enough to score the tying run from third. As Luis Guanipa made the catch, both runners took off, and Guanipa directed his cannon towards third base and the advancing Roni Cabrera. Guanipa's throw was perfect, and Cabrera was gunned down. Both sides waited with bated breath to see if the throw had beaten the runner home, as runner JC Vanek went diving into the plate. The call came that the run was waived off, and the Jackets celebrated the ninth inning comeback.
The Jackets survived a rough start from Ethan Bagwell, who was tagged for six runs on five hits and four walks in less than five innings. Jaylen Paden posted another scoreless relief outing, but Jay Woolfolk's pro debut was spoiled by two-strike mistakes that led to five hits and four runs in two innings.
Offensively, the Jackets totaled eleven hits and eight walks, as five men had multi-hit games. Southisene reached base four times, while Tanner Smith totaled three RBIs on a home run and double. Eight of nine starters reached base, and the GreenJackets scored seven runs in their eighth win out of eleven thus far.
The Jackets picked up a ninth-inning come from behind win for the first time this year, and have now evened the series at two wins each. Tomorrow is a 6:05 start in front of an expectedly large crowd, with Zach Royse trying to limit a Columbia lineup that has been incredibly adept at coming from behind this week.
Carolina League Stories from April 24, 2026
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- Pentecost Deals and Neyens Homers as Jumping Beans Clinch Series - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Southisene's Bat, Guanipa's Arm Give Jackets Wild Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Pentecost Deals and Neyens Homers as Woodpeckers Clinch Series - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Fireflies Fall, 11-10, in Back-and-Forth Affair - Columbia Fireflies
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- FredNats Score Eight Late in Wild Series-Tying Win - Fredericksburg Nationals
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- Warbirds Return Home Tuesday with Something for Everyone - Wilson Warbirds
- RidgeYaks Run Past FredNats in 10-4 Win - Salem RidgeYaks
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Augusta 4.24 - Columbia Fireflies
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