SALEM, Va. – The Salem RidgeYaks (41-54, 16-14) fell behind early and could not recover in a 13-3 loss to the Augusta GreenJackets (52-44, 17-13) on Sunday afternoon at Carilion Clinic Field.
Augusta wasted little time in the series finale, scoring six runs in the opening inning to chase Salem starter Williams Montero in his Single-A debut. The GreenJackets sent 10 batters to the plate in the frame, drawing four walks while collecting just one hit before Yermain Ruiz entered in relief.
The RidgeYaks answered in the bottom of the second when Andruw Musett crushed a two-run homer to left-center field, his second home run of the season, scoring Louis Andujar to trim the deficit to 6-2.
Ruiz settled things down with 1 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen before Augusta broke the game open. The GreenJackets plated three runs in the sixth on back-to-back home runs by Conor Essenburg and Alex Lodise, then added three more in the seventh to extend their lead to 13-2.
Justin Barry provided Salem's final run in the seventh inning with his first home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center field.
Andrews Opata paced the RidgeYaks offensively, going 3-for-3 with two walks and two stolen bases. Musett finished 1-for-3 with the two-run homer, while Barry added a solo homer. Salem collected eight hits but went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 baserunners.
Opata stole two bases on the game, with his second swipe of the afternoon, in the third inning, giving him 41 stolen bases this season to break Salem's modern-era (since 2004) single-season record. The mark surpassed Matty Johnson's previous record of 40 steals, set in 2014.
Augusta's offense totaled 14 hits, led by Essenburg and Luis Guanipa, who each recorded three-hit performances. Essenburg finished with three RBIs, while Lodise added a home run and two hits.
Ryan Heppner (1-2) earned the victory for Augusta after allowing four hits over 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief. Montero (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing six earned runs in one-third of an inning.
The RidgeYaks will have Monday off before opening a six-game road series against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers on Tuesday night at Atrium Health Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Game Notes
- Salem split its sixth series of the season.
- Augusta and Salem split their 12 meetings this season, with each club taking three games in both six-game series at SRP Park and Carilion Clinic Field
- The RidgeYaks allowed 13 runs, their sixth-highest total in a game this season
- The loss marked Salem's largest margin of defeat in the 38-game history of the series against Augusta
- Salem got home runs from Andruw Musett and Justin Barry
- Barry's homer was his first of the season and the first Single-A home run of his career
- It was Barry's first home run since July 3, 2025, when he homered in the Florida Complex League
- Barry extended his hitting streak to nine games, dating back to July 5
- Andrews Opata went 3-for-3, recording his team-leading 23rd multi-hit game of the season
- Opata finished the series batting .429 (9-for-21) with one home run and seven RBI
- Opata stole two bases. His second steal gave him 41 on the season, breaking Salem's modern-era (since 2004) single-season record previously held by Matty Johnson (40 in 2014)
- Avinson Pinto went 1-for-4, finishing the series batting .353 (6-for-17) with a .774 OPS
- Kleyver Salazar went 1-for-2 and finished his five games in the series batting .615 (8-for-13) with two home runs, seven RBI and a team-best 1.953 OPS
- Nicolas De La Cruz tossed 1 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. He has now made four consecutive scoreless appearances and has allowed just two hits over his last nine outings since June 20
- Since July 2, Salem has won 12 of its last 19 games. During that span, the RidgeYaks lead Single-A with a .299 batting average and rank first among all 30 Single-A clubs with 132 runs scored and 198 hits
- Despite the loss, the RidgeYaks remain in first place in the North Division, holding a one-half game lead over Fayetteville
Printer-Friendly Version Available Here