Savannah 6, Augusta 5

Game two of the four game series between the Savannah Sand Gnats and the Augusta GreenJackets was played in front of  2,068 fans Friday evening at Grayson Stadium. Fans saw lots of hits, as Savannah had 11 hits and Augusta had 10 hits.

It was an exciting game with Savannah able to hold on in the 9th inning to win 6-5.

Sand Gnats got off to a quick start scoring three runs in the first inning. Leading off the bottom of the first, Yucary De La Cruz singled and Jayce Boyd singled. Kevin Plawecki hit his 6th home run of the season over the left field fence for a 3-0 lead.

In the second inning, Augusta scored three runs on four singles and a sacrifice fly. Augusta took a 5-3 lead in the third inning on solo home runs by Mitch Delfino and Rafael Rodriguez.

Savannah had the bases loaded in the 5th inning when Plawecki walked to score a run. lf Stefan Sabol doubled driving in two runs.
Players with multiple hits for Savannah. Yucary De La Cruz was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Boyd was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Plawecki was 2-for-3 with 4 RBI’s and a run scored. Maiki De La Cruz was 3-for-4 with a double.

Starting pitcher for Savannah, Matt Koch (W, 3-2) gave up five runs on seven hits and struck out five in the five innings he pitched. Julian Hilario pitched two innings, allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out four. Hunter Carnevale pitched one inning and struck out two. Closer, Beck Wheeler, pitched, the 9th inning. He walked the first batter he faced, the speedster Jesus Galindo. Two singles followed to load the bases. The next batter struck out. A fly ball to center field was not deep enough to score the runner on third. The next batter struck out to end the game. It was save number four for Wheeler.

The third game of the series will start at 6:05 pm Saturday at Grayson Stadium.

Key Stats

Yucary De La Cruz: 2-for-5, 1 2B, 2 R

Jayce Boyd: 2-for-4, 2 R

Kevin Plawecki: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 4 RBI, 1 R

Stefan Sabol: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Matthew Koch: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 HR, 0 BB, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 K

Julian Hilario: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K

Hunter Carnevale: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Beck Wheeler: 1.0 IP, 2 H,  1 BB, 2 K