North Augusta, SC - Three Charleston RiverDogs pitchers combined to hold the Augusta GreenJackets to a single run while striking out 14 in a 4-1 win on Thursday at SRP Park. Gary Gill Hill, the starter, lowered his earned run average to 2.06 for the season, the second-lowest mark among qualified pitchers in the Carolina League.
The game began as a showdown between two of the top young pitchers in the Carolina League, Gill Hill and Didier Fuentes. The RiverDogs (3-3, 30-41) broke through first with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fourth. Jhon Diaz started the inning with a single and moved into scoring position with a stolen base. Angel Mateo followed with a walk to put two on base with no outs. Enderson Delgado struck out and Woo Shin followed with a groundball to third baseman Leiker Figueroa. The infielder stepped on the bag at third and fired across the diamond in an attempt to end the inning with a double play, but the throw sailed high. Mateo raced all the way around from first to score the first run of the game. Raudelis Martinez doubled the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single on the first pitch of the next at-bat.
A pair of two out hits extended the lead in the fifth inning. Diaz chased Fuentes from the game with a triple to the power alley in right center. Mateo then greeted reliever Juan Sanchez by sneaking a base hit through the right side to widen the gap to 3-0.
Both clubs reached the board with a solo blast in the sixth. Delgado connected for his second home run of the season in the top half of the frame to make it 4-0. In the bottom half, Augusta (2-4, 29-42) scored their only run of the game against Gill Hill on a solo shot from Kade Kern. Gill Hill earned the win with 6.0 quality innings, allowing one run on five hits. He recorded seven strikeouts.
Alexander Alberto and Gerlin Rosario combined to close out the game over the final 3.0 innings. Rosario struck out back-to-back hitters with the bases loaded in the eighth to keep the GreenJackets from pulling closer. Alberto worked 1.1 scoreless innings in his RiverDogs debut with a pair of strikeouts. Rosario earned his second save of the year by striking out five over the final 1.2 frames.
Delgado sparked the RiverDogs offense with a 2-4 day that included a double and a home run. Diaz added two hits of his own. Kern and Luis Sanchez both tallied a pair of hits for Augusta in defeat. The RiverDogs edged the GreenJackets in the hit column 8-7.
The second half of the series will get underway on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. LHP Chris Villaman (3-1, 2.03) will toe the rubber initially for the RiverDogs. Augusta will call on RHP Kadon Morton (0-1, 9.00) for his third start of the season.
The RiverDogs continue their hunt for a fourth-consecutive Carolina League championship in 2024. The full schedule of games is available here.
Charleston 4, Augusta 1
June 27, 2024
Click here for the box score
Charleston (R-H-E): 4-8-1-8
Augusta (R-H-E): 1-7-2-11
Win: Gill Hill (3-0)
Loss: Fuentes (2-4)
Save: Rosario (2)
HR: Charleston: Enderson Delgado (2, 6th inning, 0 on base)
HR: Augusta: Kade Kern (4, 6th inning, 0 on base)
