By: RiverDogs Media
North Augusta, SC – In one of the most thrilling games of the 2022 season, the Charleston RiverDogs outlasted the Augusta GreenJackets 10-9 in 10 innings on Sunday night at SRP Park. Following a nearly hour-long rain delay the RiverDogs emerged with a wild win to end the series with a 5-2 record and move 3.5 games ahead of Columbia at the top of the South Division standings.
Over Galue worked 6.0 scoreless innings against the GreenJackets (22-25, 58-55) on Tuesday night, but was not as successful in his second appearance of the series. The right-hander tossed a scoreless first inning and then allowed the first five batters of the second to reach base safely. Adam Zebrowski began the attack with a single into shallow center field. Justin Janas put two in scoring position by slapping a double into left field and Galue walked E.J. Exposito to load the bases. Kevin Kilpatrick kept the line moving with an RBI single to left, but Janas was thrown out at the plate for the first out of the frame. Kadon Morton made sure the GreenJackets wouldn’t leave any runners on base when he blasted a three-run home run onto the concourse in right center to give Augusta a 4-0 advantage.
The RiverDogs (30-18, 76-38) started slow offensively, but came alive in the fourth inning against the third pitcher Augusta put on the mound in a bullpen game, Estarlin Rodriguez. Spikes and Junior Caminero started the inning with consecutive groundball singles up the middle. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance into scoring position, but it didn’t matter when Robertson went the other way to left for his first professional home run. The three-run blast pulled the RiverDogs within 4-3.
Trailing by the same total entering the seventh, Alejandro Pie and Shane Sasaki each worked walks off of Darling Florentino with one out. Carson Williams moved the tying run to third with a deep fly ball to right, setting the stage for Spikes. The shortstop then drove a fastball over the wall in right center for his 10th home run of the season to give the visitors their first lead.
Following the big swing by Spikes, the RiverDogs added important insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Daiwer Castellanos drove in Robertson from third base by beating out an infield single on a chopper toward third to make it 7-4 in the eighth. Augusta scored one run in their half of the eighth as well to move back within a pair. In the top of the ninth, it was Spikes who brought in Sasaki with a tapper to third to reestablish a three-run lead at 8-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, Augusta put together a furious rally aided by a couple of miscues. The inning began with an error by Spikes at short. After Drake Baldwin flied out to left, David McCabe hit a groundball up the middle that rolled under the glove of Spikes and into center field. Kamron Fields walked the next batter to load the bases and then hit Janas with a pitch to force in a run. Fields was able to glove a bouncer back to the mound in the next at-bat and get the lead runner at home plate for the second out. However, Kevin Kilpatrick’s smash to the left side resulted in an infield single off the glove of Pie to bring Augusta within a run. The tying run scored on an 0-2 breaking ball from Sean Harney that popped away from Kenny Piper for a wild pitch. Harney ended the inning on the next pitch.
In the extra frame, Junior Caminero began the inning at second base. He advanced to third on Robertson’s groundball and scored on a base hit by Piper. Oneill Manzueta continued the attack by reaching on a fielder’s choice and stealing second base. That allowed him to race home on a line drive into right field from Castellanos, putting the RiverDogs in front 10-8.
Galue allowed four runs in 3.2 innings as the starter and did not factor in the decision. Antonio Menendez tossed 2.1 scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 0.83 on the season. Matthew Peguero allowed a single run in the middle innings to help carry the lead into the ninth. Fields was charged with three unearned runs in 0.2 innings. Harney earned the win by striking out three over 1.1 innings in his second game as a member of the RiverDogs.
Spikes finished the game 2-5 with four runs batted in. Robertson also collected two hits and tallied three RBI. Sasaki and Castellanos added two hits for the RiverDogs. Augusta received two hits each from Baldwin, Janas and Kilpatrick.
The RiverDogs will have off on Monday before hitting the road once again to North Carolina to visit the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at Segra Stadium Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Nick Bitsko is scheduled to make his RiverDogs debut as the starter in game one. Fayetteville has not yet announced a starter.
Single-game tickets are available for all RiverDogs home games at riverdogs.com. RiverDogs season tickets, flexible ticket plans, and group tickets, including options to the Segra Club at Riley Park, are available at riverdogs.com/tickets or by contacting the RiverDogs front office at 843-577-3647 (DOGS).
