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Jackets Blasted by Crawdads in Lopsided Loss
Largest Margin of Defeat This Season Comes on Rain-Soaked Saturday in Hickory
HICKORY, NC: The Hickory Crawdads (29-11, 63-41) took a lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back, steamrolling the Augusta GreenJackets (22-17, 57-48) to the tune of a 10-1 thumping Saturday night.
The ballgame began inauspiciously, as for the third time in four nights, rain forced a delayed start at LP Frans Stadium. It was not until after 8:15 that the ballgame got off the ground, despite a 7:00 scheduled start, and the layoff was not a helpful one for the GreenJackets.
Things did not improve much for Augusta after the delay, as starter Luis Arestigueta lasted just one inning, needing 36 pitches to survive a two-run first that ended with the bases loaded. The second frame was a near-mirror image of the first, as intended long reliever Yander Pinero also threw over 30 pitches, also allowed two runs, and also had the bases loaded when he escaped his only inning of work.
Lewis Sifontes held Hickory to just one run over the next two innings, but things imploded in the 5th as the Crawdads pushed the game out of reach with some help from Augusta. Deward Tovar led off the inning with a towering solo homer, before a single ended Sifontes’ night. Cristobal Abreu allowed a two-out walk before an E6 loaded the bases, and then Pablo Guerrero hit an RBI single that turned into a Little League grand slam when Abreu cut off the throw to home and fired it into right center field in an effort to catch Guerrero advancing.
While Augusta couldn’t keep the Crawdads off the scoreboard, Hickory had no such qualms, carrying a shutout into the 7th inning. Starter Jacob Johnson continued his return from injury with two scoreless innings, before handing the ball off to reigning Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Moises Morales. Morales went five hitless innings last week, and he was nearly as dominant in five frames this week in Hickory.
Augusta’s only run of the game came in Morales’ final inning on the mound, as Juan Mateo continued his strong stretch of play with a two-out RBI double to score Junior Tilien and break up the shutout. Morales would still finish the inning and secure his team-high eighth win of the year, before Frank Martinez closed things out with two perfect innings to tie up any lose ends in the blowout win for the Crawdads.
Hickory has now guaranteed a series split at minimum, with a chance to claim a series victory tomorrow afternoon in the series finale. The last matchup of the year between the GreenJackets and Crawdads comes at 2:00 tomorrow, and pits Brody Fowler against hard-throwing Jesus Lafalaise with the Jackets trying to split the set.
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