No Hitter In Georgia

The Augusta Greenjackets showed one of the reasons they're leading the South Atlantic League South in the second half. On Thursday night, they beat SAL South first half champion Rome Braves 5-0. And did it in style. With a combined no-hitter.

Greenjackets starter Sergio Romo went 7 nearly perfect innings. He hit the 3rd batter he faced, but set down the next 19 batters and left the game with a 2-0 lead and a no-hitter. Relievers David Quinowski and Osiris Matos each pitched a perfect inning of relief to give Augusta the win.

It's the first time Rome has been no-hit since moving from Macon in 2003.

The Braves have thrown two no-hitters since moving to Rome prior to the 2003 season.

The first came in 2004, when three Rome pitchers combined on a five-inning no-hitter in a game the Braves actually lost. Last season, James Parr and Angelo Burrows combined on a no-hitter against Savannah in May.

Until Thursday, though, the Braves had never been on the other end of a no-no.

“It’s tough to take, but what can you say?” said infielder Derrick Arnold. “(Romo) got the best of us. He didn’t have overpowering stuff, but he knew how to work it.”

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Augusta has a 10-game lead with 23 games remaining in the first half. Barring a complete Greenjackets collapse, Augusta and Rome will meet in the SAL playoffs.