AUGUSTA—The recent success of the Savannah Sand Gnats has been a product of the team’s solid pitching staffs. And this year’s squad is no exception.
Another solid performance on the mound led the Gnats to a 1-0 win over Augusta Saturday night.
The win kept the Gnats tied atop the South Atlantic League’s Southern Division standings with Greenville, which beat Lakewood 3-0.
The Gnats entered the game tied for second in the South Atlantic League with a team ERA of 3.34, and started Ricky Knapp lowered that mark with a brilliant start.
The 23-year-old right hander from Florida Gulf Coast improved to 2-0 by striking out eight and walking just one in 7 2/3 innings of work. He allowed just five hits and lowered his ERA to 1.31 on the season.
Jimmy Duff recorded the last out of the eighth inning for the Gnats, setting the stage for David Roseboom, who struck out the side in the ninth to notch his eighth save of the year.
Roseboom fanned pinch hitter Will Callaway swinging to end the game.
Savannah scored its run in the fifth. With one out, Adrian Abreu reached on an error by Augusta shortstop Jeremy Sy. Later in the inning, Luis Guillorme had a two-out single to left, and Abreu scored on an error by Andrew Cain.
Augusta starter Mark Reyes was the hard-luck loser for the GreenJackets. He pitched seven innings, allowing the unearned run, while striking out six and walking three.
The Gnats will close out the first-half today at Augusta, with first pitch set for 5:05 p.m. Casey Meisner (6-2, 2.15 ERA) is set to start for the Gnats and Samuel Coonrod (4-1, 2.51 ERA) will start for Augusta.
Savannah ab r h bi Augusta ab r h bi
Johnson 2b 2 0 0 0 Fargas cf 4 0 2 0
Guillorme ss 4 0 3 0 Sy ss 3 0 1 0
Becerra rf 4 0 1 0 Garcia c 3 0 0 0
Garcia dh 4 0 0 0 Arenado 3b 4 0 0 0
Nido c 4 0 1 0 Ewing 1b 3 0 1 0
Mora cf 3 0 1 0 Davis rf 4 0 1 0
Rodriguez 3b 4 0 0 0 Pare dh 3 0 0 0
Lupo lf 4 0 0 0 Callaway ph 1 0 0 0
Abreu 1b 3 1 1 0 Cain lf 3 0 0 0
Totals 32 1 7 0 Jones 2b 3 0 0 0
Totals 31 0 5
0
Savannah 000 010 000 — 1
Augusta 000 000 000 — 0
E—Sy, Cain. LOB— Savannah 7, Augusta 7. DP—Augusta. 2B—Mora, Davis. SAC—Sy. CS—Johnson .
Savannah IP H R ER BB SO
Knapp(W,2-0) 7 2/3 5 0 0 1 8
Duff 1/3 0 0 0 1 0
Roseboom(S,8) 1 0 0 0 0 3
Augusta IP H R ER BB SO
Re
yes(L,2-3) 7 5 1 0 3 6
McCa
sland 2 2 0 0 0 1
T—2:58. A—2,516.
