Walkoff Sac Fly Caps Thrilling 8-7 Win on Pimento Cheese Night

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Walkoff Sac Fly Caps Thrilling 8-7 Win on Pimento Cheese Night

Celedonio, Drake Lead Augusta Over Myrtle Beach for Second Straight Evening

NORTH AUGUSTA, SC: In arguably the most exciting game of the season, Augusta scored 5 unanswered in the final 5 innings of the game including 2 in the 9^th to defeat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 8-7 at SRP Park.

Playing as the Augusta Pimento Cheese for the only time this season, the home side welcomed nearly over 4,800 fans to SRP Park and treated the home crowd to a fantastic game filled with excitement. The Pimento Cheese began the fireworks early, as Jeremy Celedonio launched a two-run homer just inside the left field foul pole to open the scoring in the bottom of the first.

The Pelicans were in no way hesitant to get in on the action, jumping on Garrett Baumann in their second trip through the order. The Pelicans tagged Baumann for a career-high 7 runs and 9 hits, scoring 4 in the 3^rd and 3 in the 4^th to open up a big lead. Augusta got one run back as Isaiah Drake crushed the first home run of his professional career, but the Pimento Cheese still stared down a 7-3 deficit after 4 innings.

Augusta’s bullpen had a phenomenal showing, as Beau Philip, Adam Shoemaker, and Reibyn Corona refused to allow a run in 5 innings of work. Philip went 1.1 hitless, bridging the gap from Baumann to Shoemaker and beginning the process of giving the offense a chance. The bats would respond in kind, as Drake and Cam Magee each drove in a run in the 5^th to cut the lead to two.

Adam Shoemaker had one of his best performances of the season, striking out the first 6 batters he faced and punching out a season-high 8 in 3 innings. The 8^th inning got dicey for the lefty, as a single and two walks loaded the bases with two outs, but Shoemaker got Jacob Wetzel to roll over to first base and beat the batter to the bag to keep the run total at 7 for the Pelicans. Augusta added a run from a P-O Boucher single in the 6^th, setting the stage for an exciting conclusion.

After a Luis Sanchez double with one out in the 8^th put the tying run in scoring position, Pelicans’ manager Buddy Bailey turned to closer Shane Marshall for the 2^nd time this week. The righty out of UGA, who had yet to blow a save in his career, worked around a walk to strike out two and strand the runner in the 8^th. Corona worked a 1-2-3 top of the 9^th, and drama built further for the final frame.

The theatre of baseball was on full display in the bottom half, as Joe Olsavsky led off the inning with a fly ball to deep center field that had the crowd collectively drawing its breath before it was ran down at the wall. Drake then stepped up with one out, and turned the gasps into roars. The 18-year-old center fielder sliced a hanging slider over the wall in right field for his second homer of the day and his career, tying the game. Marshall then walked Cam Magee on 9 pitches, with Magee winning the lengthy battle and firing up the crowd. Magee sprinted to second on a wild pitch, and stole 3^rd while Will Verdung walked to put the winning run 90 feet away.

Buddy Bailey was forced to go back to the bullpen and see if Vince Reilly could continue his hot run from Tuesday, when he did not allow a hit in 2.2 innings. The first man he faced, with the game on the line, was the red-hot Celedonio. Reilly fell behind 3-0, and even with first base open after a Verdung steal, opted not to put Celedonio on first base. Celedonio was swinging freely on a 3-0 count, and skied a fastball to center field, plenty deep enough for Magee to score and send the crowd home happy with Augusta’s 3^rd walkoff win of the year. The win was the 3^rd in 5 tries this week for Augusta, ensuring that they would at minimum split the home series with the Pelicans.

The homestand concludes tomorrow night at 1:35, with a Sahlen Family Sunday and Grandparents Day at SRP Park. Families can play catch on the field pregame, and grandparents and kids can stroll the bases postgame. Tickets are available at greenjacketsbaseball.com. Cade Kuehler takes the ball for Augusta as they search for a 3^rd straight win, while Myrtle Beach counters with Kenten Egbert, who did not allow a run in 4.1 innings out of the bullpen in a win on Tuesday.

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