The FredNats split a doubleheader with the Augusta GreenJackets Friday at SRP Park, falling 9-4 in the opener before bouncing back for a resounding 10-2 win to finish strong.
The FredNats lost the opener despite a strong game from DH Drew Millas. Millas went deep as part of a 2-for-3 opener, but a six-run explosion by the Augusta offense in the fourth put the game out of reach.
Millas launched a solo homer in the first to put the FredNats up 1-0. He added a stolen base to his resume after a single in the fourth. JT Arruda enjoyed a productive day as well, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of runs scored.
Andry Lara (2-5) suffered the loss. He stuck out the side in the third before surrendering the six in the fourth. James Acuna (2-2) earned the win in relief for the GreenJackets.
Game two was a different story. After Augusta starter Luis Vargas walked the bases loaded in the 1st inning, Branden Boissiere had the first of three hits in the game, an RBI single to left field to score Jacob Young and make it 1-0 FredNats.
A solo blast for Caleb Durbin of Augusta to lead off the bottom of the 1st tied the game at one. The GreenJackets took their first lead of the game in the 4th on an RBI double from Braulio Vasquez, but that was all the offense Augusta would muster off Jackson Rutledge (3-5). The 2019 first round pick earned his first road win of the season, pitching six innings, allowing six hits and two runs, and he struck out seven with no walks. Riggs Threadgill pitched the 7th inning scoreless to finish off the win.
The FredNats got a big hit from Yoander Rivero in the top of the 5th inning with two outs to tie the game. Rivero sent a double down the left field line to score Junior Martina and tie the game at two.
Then, the floodgates opened in the 6th. With two outs and the bases empty, Boissiere cranked his second home run of the season to left center field, and the FredNats would not look back. In total, nine straight FredNats reached base with two outs in the inning, and the team scored eight times in the frame to take a 10-2 lead.
Jacob Young and Steven Williams both had two-RBI base hits in the 6th, and T.J. White also had an RBI single. Poor defense and five walks from Augusta also fueled the rally.
With the game two win, the FredNats break a three-game skid at the hands of the GreenJackets, and will look to make it two wins in a row tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. with RHP Bryan Caceres on the mound.
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Chris Graham
