June 16, 2019–9:24 a.m.
KEVIN KAREL
Rome got an excellent start from RHP Alan Rangel and good relief work by RHP Ryan Shetter as the Braves defeated rival Augusta 3-2 on Saturday evening. With the win, Rome knocked Augusta out of first place in the Southern Division with one game left in the first half playoff race.
Rangel had perhaps his finest outing of the season, firing 6 innings and allowing two runs, both unearned, on four hits. He struck out six and walked two, throwing 102 pitches.
Rome opened the scoring in the 1st inning on a two-out RBI single by Henry Quintero which brought in Jeremy Fernandez. The Braves got another run in the 2nd inning on an RBI groundout by Fernandez to score Darling Florentino.
Augusta tied the game up at 2-2 in the 3rd inning against Rangel. With the bases loaded and two outs, a fielding error allowed both runs to score.
Rome responded with what turned out to be the game-winning tally in the Top of the 4th inning. Florentino reached with a leadoff single and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. He took third base on a groundout which gave him the chance to score on an infield hit by Greg Cullen up the middle. Augusta shortstop Nico Giarratano got to the ball but had no play and Florentino scored, giving Rome the 3-2 lead.
Rangel and Shetter made sure the advantage stood the rest of the way. Rome pitching did not allow a hit or a walk in the final 5 innings of the game. The only base-runner Augusta had after the 4th inning reached on an error.
The Rome pitching staff has allowed only one earned run in the last two games of the series against the GreenJackets offense.
Fernandez went 2-5 with a triple, RBI and a run scored. Florentino went 2-4 with two runs scored. Griffin Benson was 1-1 with three walks. Quintero went 1-3 with an RBI and a stolen base. Cullen was 1-5 with an RBI.
Rome and Augusta conclude their four-game series on Sunday afternoon at SRP Park. Game 4 is scheduled for 2:05 pm. It will be the final game of the first half of the 2019 season. Rome will start LHP Gabriel Noguera (2-4, 3.73) while Augusta will counter with RHP Keaton Winn (3-4, 3.90).
Rome Braves (30-38): 3 R 8 H 2 E
Augusta GreenJackets (35-32): 2 R 4 H 0 E
W: Alan Rangel (5-4)
L: Adam Oller (0-1)
S: Ryan Shetter (1)
Time: 2:36
Attendance: 4,591
