Morel Mashes, Crawdads win 4-1 on Saturday

Hickory, NC- Braylin Morel slugged a fifth-inning homer in his second Carolina League game to give the Hickory Crawdads a 4-1 win at LP Frans Stadium against the Augusta GreenJackets.

Morel, a 2024 Arizona Complex League All-Star, drilled the three-run drive to left field that plated Marcos Torres and Maxton Martin for a 3-1 lead.

The three-run shot was all the scoring Jake Jekielek needed to earn his sixth win of the year. The Michigan right-hander pitched 1.1 of scoreless relief to keep the Crawdads within a run of Augusta, who scored their lone run earlier in the fourth inning.

David Hagaman started the contest for Hickory (52-42, 19-10), pitching 3.2 innings, surrendering an unearned run in the fourth.

Aneudis Mejia bridged three scoreless innings for the Crawdads, preserving the lead for Jesus Gamez, who claimed his fourth save of 2025.

Antonis Macias collected two hits, including an eighth-inning triple to give the 'Dads a shot at an insurance run.

Ben Hartl cashed in the opportunity, scoring Macias on a sac-fly, stretching the lead to 4-1.

Augusta (47-46, 13-16) got a three-hit night from Isaiah Drake, while Seth Keller suffered the loss to drop to 2-4 on the year.

The nine-game homestand concludes tomorrow, as Hickory's Ismael Agreda faces off against Owen Hackman at 2pm on Sunday.