Sports stats



SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Down Grasshoppers, 4-2, for Fourth Straight Win

June 14, 2010 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - The Drive (34-31) appear to be picking up some traction, as they defeated the Greensboro Grasshoppers (29-36), 4-2, Monday night at Fluor Field for their fourth straight win.

Shannon Wilkerson went 3-for-4 with two singles, a double, and an RBI for the Drive, who have now taken the first two games of this three-game set with Greensboro.

Drake Britton, again on a strict pitch count following his stint on the DL, pitched three scoreless innings for Greenville, yielding just one hit, one walk, and a hit batsman. Britton also struck out four batters.

Tom Ebert (5-1) came on in relief and got the win. He gave up only one run (unearned), one hit, and two walks in four innings while also picking up four strikeouts. Anatanaer Batista pitched the final two innings to earn his second save of the year, giving up one run in the ninth but escaping further trouble.

The Grasshoppers got on the board first, as Justin Bass scored on a two-base throwing error by Ebert. Chase Austin had dropped down a sacrifice bunt and reached on the error. He also advanced to second base while Bass, who had led off the inning with a double, scored to give Greensboro a 1-0 lead.

However, the Drive struck for three runs in the bottom of the fifth off Greensboro starter Natividad Dilone (1-2), who took the loss. Reynaldo Rodriguez, who finished the night 2-for-3, led off the inning with a double down the left-field line. After Zach Gentile reached on a throwing error by Dilone, which allowed Rodriguez to advance to third, Vladimir Frias drove in Rodriguez with a single to right field. An RBI-double down the left-field line by Derrik Gibson and an RBI-groundout by Ronald Bermudez closed out the inning's scoring and made the score 3-1 in favor of the Drive.

Greenville tacked on one more run in the eighth, as Shannon Wilkerson's infield single brought home Dan Butler to make the score 4-1. Butler and Michael Almanzar had led off the inning with consecutive singles.

The Grasshoppers put together a rally in the top of the ninth to make things interesting, as Chris Wade led off the frame with a double before advancing to third on a balk by Batista. An RBI-groundout by Jose Torres made the score 4-2, and Greensboro then loaded the bases thanks to two singles and an error at first base by the Drive's Rodriguez. However, Batista struck out Greensboro's Ryan Keedy to end the game and preserve the victory for the Drive.

The Drive will look to complete the three-game sweep tomorrow in the finale, with a Tuesday matinee as first pitch is set for 12:05 PM. Left-hander Manuel Rivera (2-6, 3.70 ERA) will toe the slab for Greenville, as Greensboro counters with right-hander Matt Montgomery (4-7, 3.38 ERA).

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from June 14, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central