Savannah 5, Rome 2

Second baseman Jordany Valdespin ended up a double short of the cycle as he went 3-for-4 with three RBI in a, 5-2, Savannah win in front of 2,046 on a Thirsty Thursday at Historic Grayson Stadium. Valdespin, who is now hitting .377, hit a home run to right field to start off the game for the Sand Gnats in the first. After being retired in the third, the 21-year-old singled in the fifth and cleared the bases with a triple to right-center field in the seventh. Not to be outdone, Jeff Kaplan (1-0) pitched five shutout innings and struck out eight Rome batters en route to his first win. Rhiner Cruz picked up his third save of the season by pitching a perfect ninth inning. The Savannah pitching staff struck out 12 Braves batters, a new season high. With the win, the Sand Gnats have now reached the 10-win plateau in just 14 games. It is the quickest that the Sand Gnats have gotten to 10 wins in over six years. Randal Delgado (0-2) suffered the loss for Rome in a tough spot as he gave up just one earned run in five innings. Josh Satin was the only other Gnat with multiple hits as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Satin is hitting .405 through 14 games thus far.