GreenJackets Win Back-and-Forth Battle for Seventh Win in a Row

Draft Picks Show Out in Debut as Augusta Wins Slugfest in Fredericksburg

GreenJackets Win Back-and-Forth Battle for Seventh Win in a Row

*FREDERICKSBURG, VA: *Following a sweep in Delmarva last week, the Augusta GreenJackets (17-18) stayed hot by winning their seventh game in a row by topping the Fredericksburg Nationals (24-12) on the 13-11 on Tuesday night.

Prior to the game, the GreenJackets added seven players from the Atlanta Braves 2022 draft class for their Single-A debut and they made an immediate impact. Stephen Paolini started the night with a solo home run to right field to spot Augusta an early 1-0 lead. And then the 2022 draft selections began to make their mark as Justin Janas drove in fellow newcomer Drake Baldwin from second on an RBI single to make it 2-0. 16th-round pick E.J. Expositio then got in on the action with a two-run double to plate both Brandol Mezquita and Janas to give the GreenJackets a 4-0 lead after a half inning.

But the Fred Nats rallied quickly in the bottom half of the inning as they countered with five runs, with the majority scoring on a three-run homer by Trey Lipscomb to put Augusta behind 5-4.

The GreenJackets wouldn't be behind for long as Stephen Paolini unleashed the power swing again in the second, launching another solo homer to right for the first multi-homer game of his career to tie the game at five apiece.

A half inning later, the Nationals answered again with an RBI single by James Wood to Fredericksburg back in front 6-5.

It would remain a 6-5 game into the fifth until the Nationals added to their lead with a solo home run by Will Frizzell and an RBI single by Trey Lipscomb to put Augusta behind by their largest margin of three runs at 8-5.

The GreenJackets would then begin to come back in the sixth as E.J. Exposito struck again with a no-doubt, two-run homer to left-center to pull the GreenJackets within one at 8-7.

In the seventh, fourth-round pick David McCabe came through with a game-tying, RBI double off the left-field wall to score Brandol Mezquita from first to even the game at eight. Justin Janas then put the GreenJackets in the lead for the first time since the first inning with his second RBI single of the night to give Augusta a 9-8 advantage.

Fredericksburg would even things up again as they manufactured a run on a sacrifice fly by T.J. White in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at nine.

The GreenJackets counterpunched in the top of the eighth with David McCabe putting Augusta back ahead with a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to bring in Kadon Morton and make it a 10-9 game. Adam Zebrowski was the next batter and he delivered the goods with a three-run homer to match the GreenJackets' largest lead of four at 13-9.

It would stay 13-9 into the bottom of the ninth. After another home run by Will Frizzell and an RBI single by T.J. White, the Nationals brought the tying run to the plate, but Tyler Owens struck out Geraldi Diaz looking to end the game as the GreenJackets defeated the Nationals 13-11, securing their seventh consecutive win.

Rob Griswold (4-4) was the winning pitcher in relief for the GreenJackets with Marlon Perez (2-3) being saddled with the loss for Fredericksburg.

The offensive momentum from Delmarva carried into Fredericksburg for the GreenJackets as all nine starters recorded a hit for the second straight game. E.J. Exposito was the main catalyst offensively by reaching base four times with four RBIs, including his two-run homer in the sixth inning. Stephen Paolini recorded his 20th multi-hit game of the season with solo home runs in the first two innings. Justin Janas had two hits and two RBIs while the Braves' third-round pick Drake Baldwin also recorded a multi-hit performance with a 2/5 night with two runs scored. Fourth-round pick David McCabe produced two RBIs with Adam Zebrowski providing the decisive three-run homer to put Augusta over the top.

The GreenJackets will go for an eighth-straight win on Wednesday night with Jorge Bautista taking the mound against Jose Atencio for the Nationals with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. from Virginia Credit Union Stadium.

The tenth homestand of the season for the GreenJackets begins on Tuesday, August 16 against the Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay Rays) with $2 TWOsday and First Responder Tuesday. The week continues with Warrior Wednesday, the Corona Bucket Special, and Baseball Bingo. Thursday is a double-header at SRP Park starting at 5:05 with a special appearance from the Dueling Pianos Group and Thirsty Thursday. The weekend begins with Sweetwater Night at the ballpark with specialty jerseys with an auction that will benefit North Augusta Forward/FROG in addition to Braves BUZZFest. The White Claw Pregame Concert Series starts off Saturday Night with live music from Greg Fortune from 4:30-5:30 with a postgame fireworks extravaganza to follow. The homestand wraps up Auggie’s Birthday Bash as you can celebrate the birthday of the best mascot in CSRA!

About SRP Park/Augusta GreenJackets

The Augusta GreenJackets are the Carolina League Single-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves playing in the state of the art SRP Park located in North Augusta, SC. The GreenJackets 2022 Game and promotional schedule is out and available online at www.GreenJacketsBaseball.com. 2022 Augusta GreenJackets season seat memberships are on sale now. To learn more about the benefits and to get in on the action, visit www.gjmembers.comor call (803) 349-WINS (9467).

SRP Park is the anchor piece of Riverside Village, a live, work, "playball" development which includes apartment living, retail, restaurants, class "A" office space, and a Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. To learn more about SRP Park and hosting events and availability, visit www.thesrppark.com.

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