For the second straight night, the RiverDogs offense jolted to life after an early lull, rallying for a five-run sixth inning to defeat Augusta 5-4 on Thursday night in front of 4,816 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Charleston moves back to .500 with the win, improving to 30-30 and pulling ahead in the six-game series, two games to one. Charleston sits two games out of first place with six games remaining in the first half, trailing three teams within a game and a half of first-place Kannapolis, including Augusta.
RiverDogs starter Ryan Andrade battled through early trouble to eventually turn in a quality start.
Augusta jumped on the scoreboard in the second inning, scoring on RBI hits from Leiker Figueroa and John Gil. Nathan Flewelling ended the scoring in the inning there, though, catching Gil stealing at second base.
The deficit grew to 3-0 in the fourth inning, as Mason Guerra doubled to open the inning and later scored on a Roiber Niazoa RBI single.
GreenJackets starter Owen Hackman danced around runners in scoring position in the first two innings and completed five shutout frames, finishing with four strikeouts and just one walk.
Augusta turned to former RiverDog Samuel Mejia in the sixth, and Charleston welcomed him back to The Joe with a parade of base runners.
Angel Mateo got Charleston on the board after back-to-back walks opened the inning, lacing an opposite-field RBI single.
Ricardo Gonzalez followed with what appeared to be a traditional single up the middle, scoring Flewelling from third base. However, the ball was bobbled and dropped in center, allowing Mateo to scoot home from first base to tie the game.
Yirer Garcia delivered the lead for the RiverDogs, poking a single to right center to make it 4-3. Garcia later scored in a wild pitch after Mejia was removed, pushing the advantage to 5-3.
The extra run came into play in the eighth inning. Andy Rodriguez entered to start the inning and hit Colby Jones with his first pitch.
Jones moved to third on a Nick Montgomery single, and then scored as Douglas Glod chopped a single up the gut, just past the reach of shortstop Narciso Polanco.
Rodriguez bounced back by inducing a double play ball to Gonzalez at second base. Gonzalez’s throw retired Glod at second base, who slid into Polanco as the shortstop attempted to throw to first. Interference was called, resulting in an inning-ending double play.
Cade Citelli was handed the ball for the save in the ninth. Figueroa led off the inning with a single, putting the tying run on base. The next batter, Gil, scorched a line drive to left center field, where Woo Shin raced in to make a diving catch and possibly save a run.
Citelli retired the next two batters routinely to close out the contest.
Ballpark fun: In addition to dollar beers on Thirsty Thursday, presented by Budweiser, fans also enjoyed Pickleball night and a celebration of all things pickles. Charlie T RiverDog battled a Pickle Mascot in a pickleball match on Doby’s Patio as fans spectated on the video board. Later, three fans participated in a pickle-juice drinking contest on the third base dugout.
The series continues Friday night at 7:05 pm. Fans can purchase tickets at RiverDogs.com. For an upgraded experience, fans can purchase tickets to the inclusive, air-conditioned Segra Club.