Rome plated five runs in the first inning thanks in part to some timely hitting and sloppy play by Augusta.
Rome plated five runs in the first inning thanks in part to some timely hitting and sloppy play by Augusta.
Brett Cumberland, Kurt Hoekstra, Kevin Josephina, and Yeudi Grullon all had RBI singles plus a wild pitch scored a run giving Rome the 5-0 lead. Three of the five runs were unearned. Augusta scratched the scoreboard in the fifth with two runs as Cristian Paulino added a run scoring single and Brandon Van Horn grounded into a force out to score the second run making it a 5-2 game.
Nine runners crossed the plate in the bottom of the fifth thanks to run scoring singles by Josephina, Justin Ellison, and Grullon. Cumberland added a three run double and Hoekstra stroked a triple to score a run. A passed ball and wild pitch allowed two more runs to cross the plate to make it a 14-2 score. The nine runs in the fifth were the most to score in an inning so far this season. Rome went on to get the 17-3 victory while banging out 19 hits.
Starter Joey Wentz (3-3) enjoyed a good outing going six innings allowing five hits and two runs to get the win. Melvin Adon (1-6) gets the loss for Augusta.
Rome and Augusta square off again tomorrow afternoon at one in game two of the series.
