Augusta Wins 60th Game of the Season

GreenJackets Hold Off Pelicans to Regain Series Edge

Augusta Wins 60th Game of the Season

MYRTLE BEACH, SC: The Augusta GreenJackets (24-26) took game three of their series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (24-27) in an offensive showcase as they came out on top by a score of 10-8.

Augusta's offense got things rolling in the second inning as Stephen Paolini brought home two with a double into the right field corner as Mahki Backstrom and Francisco Floyd scored to make it 2-0 GreenJackets.

The Pelicans answered both of those runs in the bottom half of the inning on a wild pitch and an RBI double by Jacob Wetzel to make it a 2-2 game.

But the GreenJackets came back with an emphatic response in the top of the third as a bases-loaded walk and a double-play off the bat of Antonio Barranca scored a pair of runs. But the big swing came from Kadon Morton who launched his team-best tenth homer of the season over the left-center wall as his three-run blast gave Augusta their largest lead at 7-2.

Myrtle Beach chipped away with three in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI groundout by Kevin Alcantara, and a two-run single by Juan Mora trimmed the Augusta lead to 7-5.

The offense for the GreenJackets continued to have answers as they came back with two in the top of the fifth on an RBI, ground-rule double by Ignacio Alvarez, and an RBI single by E.J. Exposito with two outs to push Augusta's lead back to four at 9-5.

The Pelicans wouldn't go away easy as they scored a run in the bottom half of the fifth to make it 9-6.

In the seventh, the Pelicans scored another run on a bases-loaded walk, but Darling Florentino escaped the inning without further damage as he got Jacob Wetzel to fly out to right to end the frame with Augusta still ahead 9-7.

The GreenJackets manufactured a key insurance run in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Francisco Floyd to plate Mahki Backstrom, giving Augusta a three-run advantage at 10-7.

Florentino worked a scoreless bottom of the eighth to advance the game to the final inning with the GreenJackets still ahead 10-7, but things got dicey in the bottom of the ninth as the Pelicans singled three straight times to score a run, making it a 10-8 game. Estarlin Rodriguez entered and got the first out on an infield popup. A walk to Kevin Alcantara followed to load the bases with the tying run at second and winning run at first, but Rodriguez delivered by producing a double play 6-4-3 style to end the Pelican threat, securing a 10-8 win for Augusta.

James Acuña (4-2) earned the win in relief with Estarlin Rodriguez (3) notching the save. Koen Moreno (0-2) took the loss as the starter for Myrtle Beach.

Ignacio Alvarez was a key contributor for the GreenJackets in just his second game as he delivered three hits including an RBI double in the fifth as he finished just a homer shy of the cycle. Kadon Morton's three-run homer was the impactful swing of the night as it capped off Augusta's best inning of the night as they scored five runs in the third. Francisco Floyd also drove in a pair of runs with two hits in the game.

The GreenJackets will now look to take three of the first four games in the series as they'll send the Braves' first-round pick, Owen Murphy to the mound for his Augusta debut on Friday as he'll face Granyt Kipp for the Pelicans with the opening pitch slated for 7:05 p.m.

The final homestand of 2022 for the GreenJackets begins on Tuesday, August 30 against the Salem Red Sox with the CSRA Job & Career Fair, First Responder's Tuesday presented by Academy Sports & Outdoors, and $2 TWOsday with $2 Miller Lite Drafts. Wednesday is Warrior Wednesday along with the Corona Bucket Special, Baseball Bingo, and the SRP Park Health Fair. Get your football jerseys on for Thursday as it's Football Night at the ballpark along with the last Thirsty Thursday of the season to go along with another Atlanta Braves World Series Champions Replica Ring giveaway for the first 1,000 fans! You'll want to be at the park early again on Friday for a Specialty Collector's Cup giveaway in addition to the final Braves' BUZZfest of the year. Saturday is Hall of Fame Night with a throwback Shersey Giveaway to go along with live pregame music from Josh Hillley as part of the White Claw Pregame Concert Series from 4:30-5:30 pm. Sunday is the final home game of 2022 and it's Fan Appreciation/Luau Night with the final postgame Fireworks Extravaganza to close out the home season!

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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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