By: Riverdogs Media North Augusta, SC – The Charleston RiverDogs used two big innings at the plate and solid all-around work on the mound to take down the Augusta GreenJackets 9-1 on Wednesday night at SRP Park. Four RiverDogs pitchers limited the GreenJackets to just three hits while striking out 11. Paired with a loss by the Carolina Mudcats, the victory increased the RiverDogs Low-A East lead to 8.0 games with 22 games remaining in the regular season. Charleston (68-30) jumped ahead in the second inning. With two outs against Ryan Cusick, the Atlanta Braves 2021 first round draft pick, Johan Lopez walked and Michael Berglund singled to place runners on the corners. A wild pitch allowed Berglund to move into scoring position for Jelfry Marte. In his first at-bat with the RiverDogs, Marte chopped a ball to the left side that was thrown low to first by Vaughn Grissom, allowing both runners to score for a 2-0 lead. A fifth inning outburst allowed the RiverDogs to pull away. Beau Brundage pushed the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single to right field. Later in the frame with the bases loaded, Patrick Merino yanked a groundball just inside of the third base bag for a three-run double that extended the advantage to 6-0. Augusta (41-57) scored their only run of the night via a Cade Bunnell solo home run as the first batter to face Andrew Gross in the seventh inning. However, the RiverDogs removed all doubt about the outcome by scoring three runs without the aid of a hit in the top of the ninth. Malcolm Van Buren issued three walks, hit a batter and unleashed two wild pitches with a runner at third to help the cause. Ben Brecht earned the win, entering the game in the second inning and allowing just one hit over 5.0 scoreless innings. Neraldo Catalina opened the game by pitching a single inning and stranding a pair of baserunners in the first. Gross allowed one run in 2.0 innings on the hill and Joe LaSorsa finished the game by striking out two of the three batters that he faced in the ninth inning. Diego Infante led all players with a 3-5 showing at the plate. He was the only hitter in the game with multiple knocks. RHP Sandy Gaston (0-0, 3.00) will start game three of the series on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. in Augusta. He will be opposed by RHP Andrew Hoffman (0-0, 5.63) of the GreenJackets. Playoff tickets for the Low-A East Championship Series in September are on sale now at riverdogs.com. For a limited time, fans who purchase tickets to the team’s first home playoff game will receive all subsequent home games for free. Purchase playoff tickets here. All RiverDogs games are broadcast worldwide on riverdogs.com. A television broadcast of all 60 home games during the 2021 season will also be available via MiLB.TV. Games are also available on the MiLB First Pitch app. RiverDogs season tickets, flexible ticket plans, and group tickets, including options to the Segra Club at Riley Park, are now available for the 2021 campaign at riverdogs.com/tickets or by contacting the RiverDogs front office at 843-577-3647 (DOGS). A full schedule for the 2021 season is available at riverdogs.com.
