Crawdads rout GreenJackets

HICKORY, N.C. - The Hickory Crawdads, the South Atlantic League Northern Division co-leaders, ripped Augusta pitching for 19 hits in a 14-3 win over the GreenJackets on Tuesday night at L.P. Frans Stadium.

Hickory (35-24) remained tied for first place with Lexington, a 6-4 winner over Columbus on Tuesday. Greensboro, which lost 7-2 at Charleston, S.C., fell one game behind the co-leaders.

Hickory first baseman Walter Young drew one of two bases-loaded walks by Korean reliever Byung Mok Yoo in the fifth, and increased his team-high RBI total to 41.

Young's home run, over the 36-foot wall of advertising in right field, was his 10th of the season, and fourth in Hickory's last 10 games.

The Crawdads' Manny Ravelo had four singles, including a two-run liner to center in the second. Jeff Keppinger, who had two hits in the fourth inning, knocked Yoo's first pitch to right-center for an RBI double in the fourth and walked with the bases loaded in the fifth.

Each Hickory batter had at least one hit before the fourth inning ended. The Crawdads went ahead 4-1 by scoring four times in the second inning. They sent 12 batters to the plate in a seven-run fourth and added two runs in the fifth, increasing their lead to 13-1. The Crawdads' 14 runs and 19 hits tied their season highs in both categories.

Augusta and Hickory play Game 2 of their four-game series at 7:15 p.m. today.