Game one of the four game series between the Savannah Sand Gnats and the Rome Braves was played in front of 1,708 fans Friday evening at Grayson Stadium.
Both teams had just six hits, but Savannah edged Rome 2-1.
Savannah scored in the first inning when shortstop Gavin Cecchini led off with a triple and then scored when Rome pitcher, Chuck Buchanan balked.
In the 6th inning, Savannah scored the deciding run. After two walks and a single by Cecchini loaded the bases, third baseman Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch to score what would be the winning run.
Rome scored their lone run in the 7th inning. After Joey Meneses led off with a single and right fielder Victor Reyes singled, Alejandro Piloto hit a ground ball which Savannah starter Miller Diaz fielded and threw the ball past the Gnats third baseman for an error that allowed Memeses to score.
So the three runs in the game scored on a balk, a hit by pitch and a throwing error.
The hitting star for Savannah, Cecchini, went 3-for-4 with 2 singles, a triple and a run scored.
Another solid outing by the Savannah pitchers. Miller Diaz, allowed 1 run and gave up 6 hits and struck out 6 in 6.1 innings of work. With the win he is now 2-0 and lowered his ERA to 2.21.
Reliever Robert Coles pitched the 9th inning, striking out 2 to earn his 4th save.
Game two of the series starts at 6:05 pm Saturday at Grayson Stadium.
I was at the game versus Lakewood last sunday and Cecchini looked really good. I’ve probably seen him 5-6 times live, and he’s already hit well when I’ve been in attendance, but that was the best I’d seen him. The ball was coming off his bat well. I think he had two doubles that day, one to left and one to right-center. Glad to see that he’s turning it around after a tough start.
He is a strong candidate for MMN player of the week. He has been tearing the cover off the ball.
Cecchini is a strong candidate for MMN player of the week. He has been tearing the cover off the ball.