KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning, but fell just short, 6-5, as the Augusta GreenJackets evened up the series Wednesday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.
RHP Truman Pauley went 3.2 innings in another start in Kannapolis. Pauley allowed three hits, two runs, one earned, walked a pair and struck out four batters. LHP Trey Cooper hurled 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out four. RHP Marco Barrios followed up with 1.2 innings, allowing one hit, one earned run and notching two K’s. LHP Jordan Morales (L, 2-1) earned the loss, surrendering four hits and three runs late in the game.
Rylan Galvan opened the scoring for Kannapolis with a solo home run to the berm in the bottom of the second inning to go ahead, 1-0.
The Cannon Ballers harnessed more power in the bottom of the third when Javier Mogollon deposited his sixth long ball of the season over the left-center wall to score two. Just one batter later, Stiven Flores quickly followed up Mogollon with his second home run of the season, making it, 4-0, Ballers.
Augusta cut the lead in half in the fourth inning by getting on the board. Michael Martinez notched an RBI single, followed up by Dallas Macias, who brought home another with an RBI groundout.
The scoring paused until the top of the eighth inning, when Macias snatched the lead from Kannapolis with a three-run blast to left field, his third of the season. Moving to the top of the ninth, a throwing error from RHP Choyce Diffey tacked on one more for the visitors.
Trailing by two, the Ballers mounted a rally in the ninth. Jaden Fauske brought home a run to make it a one-run game and put two in scoring position. Mogollon hammered the first pitch he saw in the ninth to right-center field, but Luis Guanipa robbed him of a walk-off double with a smooth sliding catch to end the game and Kannapolis’ winning streak.
The Ballers plan to deploy RHP Blaine Wynk Thursday night in game three of the six-game series against the Augusta GreenJackets at Atrium Health Ballpark. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
The 2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers season is underway at Atrium Health Ballpark! Single-game tickets, season ticket packages, group experiences and 10-game mini plans for the 2026 season are available for purchase now. Call the Cannon Ballers ticket office at (704) 932-3267 or visit kcballers.com for more information.