Braves Minor League recap: Jeremy Celedonio homers to lead Augusta to win

Three out of the four teams in action on Friday came away with wins, with one squad winning via walkoff and the only loss on the day coming on the opposite end of a walkoff. Garrett Baumann made his debut with Augusta as Jared Shuster and Owen Murphy got starts for their respective clubs in what was a full day, so let’s dive in.

(63-71) Gwinnett Stripers 7, (73-62) Worcester Red Sox 1

• Braden Shewmake, SS: 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Hoy Park, RF: 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Jesus Aguilar, DH: 2-4, 2 RBI
• Drew Lugbauer, 1B: 2-2, HR, RBI, R
• Jared Shuster, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 5 BB, 7 K

Box score

Jared Shuster led the way for Gwinnett in their final Friday game of the season, spinning six innings of one-run ball as the Stripers beat Worcester 7-1.

The Stripers got on the board early in the bottom of the first inning as Andrew Velazquez and Dalton Guthrie hit back to back singles, with Velazquez landing at third and Guthrie advancing to second on a throwing error. Two batters later, Joe Dunand knocked a sacrifice fly into center field to give Gwinnett the early 1-0 lead.

Gwinnett’s offensive success continued into the bottom of the second with a homerun from Hoy Park, putting them up 2-0 on the Red Sox.

While neither squad plated a run in the third inning, Drew Lugbauer launched a home run of his own to center field in the bottom of the fourth, which allowed the Stripers to extend their lead to 3-0.

The Red Sox cut the deficit to 3-1 in the top of the sixth inning however the Stripers got that run back in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy of a single from Park and an RBI single from Lugbauer, giving the Stripers a 4-1 lead.

Brian Moran relieved Shuster in the top of the seventh and threw 2 scoreless innings to hold Worcester to one run. All-in-all, Shuster finished the start allowing just three hits while striking out seven on the night.

The bats were hot in the bottom of the seventh for Gwinnett, as Braden Shewmake reached on a single and advanced to second on a walk to Dunand, as both subsequently stole second and third. Jesus Aguilar then launched a two-RBI single, extending the Stripers lead to 7-1.

Grant Holmes would be brought in to finish off the Red Sox by throwing a scoreless ninth inning, securing the Stripers’ 7-1 victory over Worcester.

(58-71) Mississippi Braves 2, (69-60) Tennessee Smokies 1

• Cal Conley, 2B: 1-4, H, RBI
• Drake Baldwin, C: 2-4, 2 H
• Jesse Franklin V, PH: 0-1, 1 RBI
• Domingo Robles, SP: 6.2 IP, 2 H, R, ER, BB, 7 K

Box score

For the second time in the series, Mississippi walked off Tennessee in extra innings on Friday night.

Neither team scored through the first two innings, despite Mississippi tallying three hits through the first two frames. However, the Braves eventually took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third after Cody Milligan tripled which was followed by an RBI single from Cal Conley.

Domingo Robles led the way for the Braves, throwing four scoreless innings, striking out seven while allowing just two hits and one walk on the night. In the top of the fifth, the Smokies would tie the Braves 1-1 as Robles allowed one run in what was his only blemish in the game.

After two more scoreless innings for both sides, Brooks Wilson took the mound to relieve Robles in the top of the seventh, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out a pair.

Tied at 1-1 headed into the ninth inning, both teams went scoreless, sending the game to extras.

In the bottom of the tenth, Drew Campbell started on second base and would later advance to third on a stolen base, putting him just 90-feet away from scoring the winning run for Jesse Franklin V. Franklin V would secure the Braves’ walk-off 2-1 win after reaching on a fielding error from the Smokies’ second baseman, giving Mississippi the narrow win on the day.

(64-65) Rome Braves 4, (49-76) Asheville Tourists 5

• Nacho Alvarez, SS: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
• Justin Janas, 1B: 1-5, 2B, R
• Bryson Worrell, DH: 1-5, RBI
• Owen Murphy, SP: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 5 K

Box score

Unlike their Double-A counterparts, Rome was the victim of a walk-off on Friday, losing 5-4 to Asheville.

Owen Murphy got the start for Rome and gave up two runs in the top of the second inning as the Tourists took a 2-0 lead. Murphy settled down for a few frames, tossing three scoreless innings headed into the sixth. However, Asheville tagged Murphy for two more runs in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to 4-0 over Rome.

At the dish, it was a struggle for Rome through the first six innings, as the Braves tallied just two total hits.

Rome finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh inning, plating one run. With two outs in the frame, Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. walked before Nacho Alvarez doubled him home to cut the deficit to 4-1.

The Braves continued to chisel away in the home half of the eighth inning. David McCabe singled to leadoff as Justin Janas doubled him to third in the next at-bat. With Ethan Workinger at the plate, McCabe scored on a passed ball to cut the Asheville lead to 4-2 while Janas advanced to third. After Workinger struckout, Bryson Worrell singled into left field to plate Janas, making it 4-3 Tourists.

J.J. Niekro took over for Murphy in the seventh inning and kept Rome in the game by tossing three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk in his appearance.

Rome managed to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Kilpatrick Jr. tripled to kick things off before Alvarez singled to plate him, tying the game at 4-4, sending the game to extra innings.

Jonathan Hughes was tasked with keeping the game at bay in extras and managed to toss a scoreless tenth. However, in the eleventh inning — after Rome failed to score in the bottom of the tenth — Asheville tagged Hughes for a run to take a 5-4 lead, which would hold as the final as Rome lost.

(61-68) Augusta GreenJackets 5, (66-59) Down East Wood Ducks 2

• Jeremy Celedonio, RF: 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI
• Kade Kern, LF: 1-4, HR, 2 R, RBI
• Riley Gowens, RP: 4.0 IP, H, 2 BB, 8 K
• Garrett Baumann, SP: 2.0 IP, H, R, ER, 2 BB, K

Box score

Garrett Baumann made his Low-A debut on Friday against the Wood Ducks, tossing 2 innings allowing one run with two walks and a strike out. The 2023 draftee threw 33 pitches, 19 of which were strikes.

Augusta was held scoreless in the first inning despite a single from Ambioris Tavarez which was shortly followed by a single from Sabin Ceballos, who advanced to third after two balks in the first inning.

The Wood Ducks got off to an early 1-0 lead in the first frame and extended their lead to 2-0 after the third. Meanwhile the GreenJackets offensive woes continued, as they were held scoreless headed into the fifth inning.

The GreenJackets luck changed shortly thereafter, as they got their start with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Will Verdung singled on a line drive into left field, followed by Kade Kern reaching on a fielding error. Jeremy Celedonio then doubled on a line drive into left field, scoring Verdung to put Augusta on the board, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Kern later advanced to third base and was brought home by Tyler Collins, who notched a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.

Giomar Diaz tossed a scoreless inning and then gave way to Riley Gowens, who dominated, tossing four scoreless innings of his own to keep the Wood Ducks at bay.

Tied at 2-2, the seventh inning was where the GreenJackets got hot. Augusta got back-to-back homeruns from Kade Kern and Jeremy Celedonio, giving them the 4-2 lead. Later in the inning, Drew Compton tallied an RBI single to give Augusta the 5-2 lead.

Nolan Martinez would be called on to close the door on the win and would do so by tossing two scoreless frames of his own as Augsuta won by a 5-2 final.