ROME – Trailing by one in the eighth, an Ethan Workinger double to deep center field brought in two Braves before a scoreless top of the ninth squashed the ‘Hoppers, 6-5.
Three consecutive hits from the likes of Keshawn Ogans, Justin Janas, and Ethan Workinger put the Braves up 2-0 in the second. Janas’ RBI triple down the right field line was his first of the year.
An inning later it was Drake Baldwin launching his third solo homerun of the series over the right field wall. Baldwin made four starts against Greensboro and finished the series 9-for-15 with five runs scored and another five driven in.
The ’Hoppers managed to tie the game after a three-run top of the fourth which saw a couple of errors from the Braves in the field. Rome stole one of those runs back in the fifth after Adam Zebrowski drew a leadoff walk and Baldwin singled him in to put Rome back out in front. Two runs given up in the top of the eights put Rome six outs away from a series split, but with two on and two out in the home half Ethan Workinger muscled a double over the head of Tres Gonzalez in center to bring in both runners.
Ian Mejia was the game six starter and, had it not been for the fourth inning miscues, could have extended his four-inning outing to possibly five or six. Mejia struck five while allowing just one hit. Hunter Riggins and Rolddy Munoz threw up three zeros before Jared Johnson secured the win.
With just 12 regular season games left on the slate Rome travels to Winston-Salem for six. That series begins Tuesday at 7:00 pm EDT.
