Tetreault K's Eleven in Walk-Off Loss; Game Two Canceled

North Augusta, SC - Jackson Tetreault struck out 11 batters, becoming the second Hagerstown Suns pitch to have double-digit strikeouts in a game this season, as the Suns took a walk-off loss 3-2 to the Augusta GreenJackets late Thursday night. Game two of the double header was canceled due to darkness and will not be made up as the Suns fall to 43-68 overall with a 16-27 record in the second half. The Suns begin a four-game series with the Charleston RiverDogs on Friday with a 7:05 PM first pitch in the series opener.

After a delayed start that lasted three and a half hours, game one of the twin-bill began at 9:32 PM. The Suns took the lead in the top of the third against Augusta starter Aaron Phillips. Kameron Esthay led off with a single to right and went to second thanks to a throwing error that also allowed Armond Upshaw to reach. Cole Freeman bunted for a single to load the bases and Gage Canning grounded out to first, allowing Esthay to score while giving the Suns a 1-0 lead.
Augusta quickly answered back in the bottom of the frame against Suns starter Tetreault. With two outs, Ismael Munguia reached on a fielding error and Heliot Ramirez hit his ninth homer of the season to give the GreenJackets a 2-1 advantage.
The Suns tied the ballgame in the fourth thanks to Phillips and a wild pitch. Omar Meregildo singled to center and Phil Caulfield laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Meregildo into scoring position. He went to third when Juan Pascal singled and Pascal moved to second on a wild pitch, while Meregildo remained at third. Phillips uncorked another wild pitch in the same at bat that allowed Meregildo to score, tying the game at 2-2.
The GreenJackets walked off Hagerstown in an unusual way in the eighth inning against Suns reliever Jhonatan German. Munguia began the inning as the designated runner at second and, with one out, advanced to third when Manuel Geraldo grounded out to short. With two outs, Munguia scored on a balk by German to walk off the Suns for the second consecutive night in a 3-2 Hagerstown loss.
Tetreault threw five and two-thirds innings while allowing two unearned runs on three hits with three walks and 11 strikeouts in a no decision. German (0-1) threw two innings while allowing one run on one hit with three strikeouts in his first loss of the season.
Game two of the doubleheader was set to begin with a 12:55 AM first pitch, but after further consideration the game was canceled. Hagerstown and Augusta do not meet up for the rest of the 2018 regular season, so the game will not be made up and August takes a 2-0 series win.
Notes: Tetreault struck out a career-high 11 batters… It's the second-most by a Suns pitcher this season behind Andrew Lee's 12 K's on August 1 against Lexington… The righty has 27 strikeouts over his last three starts, spanning 17 and two-thirds innings… Freeman extended his hitting streak to five games… Canning's hitting streak has run to five games… It's two games short of his career-high (seven) which he set earlier this year with short-season Auburn… Esthay has a three-game hitting streak and also collected his 10^th multi-hit game of the season… Meregildo collected a hit for the third consecutive game and had his eight multi-hit effort of 2018… It's also the third time this season he's had three hits in a game… Through the first nine days of August, Hagerstown has yet to play a regulation nine-inning game… The Suns played a 10-inning contest against Lexington on August first and has played six seven-inning games since… Hagerstown finishes their season series with the GreenJackets with an 0-2 record… ­The Suns begin a four-game series against the Charleston RiverDogs on Friday with a 7:05 PM first pitch.
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