Sand Gnats Halt Greenville's Winning Streak at Six Games
June 29, 2010 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release
Greenville, SC - The Savannah Sand Gnats (44-32, 2-4) broke out for nine hits, and their pitching staff held the Drive to three hits as they defeated Greenville 6-1.
Ronald Bermudez had two of the Drive's three hits, and added a sacrifice fly to tally the only RBI for Greenville (41-35, 5-1).
The loss is the Drive's first of the second-half of the season, and ends their six-game winning streak, dating back to the last game of the first-half.
Greenville committed five errors on the day, with three of them leading to unearned runs.
Savannah opened up the scoring in the second inning off of Drive starter Ryan Pressly (2-5). With one out, Travis Ozga hit a single and Alonzo Harris reached on an error. Wilfredo Tovar loaded the bases with a single, and Pedro Zapata knocked in Ozga and Harris with a single of his own. Pressly escaped the inning without any further damage.
Pressly settled down over the next three innings. Only three batters reached base, and two of them were erased on the basepaths.
The right-hander ran into trouble in the sixth, however, when the first two batters singled. After a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout, Alonzo Harris drove a 1-1 pitch down the left field line and over the Green Monster to give Savannah a 5-0 advantage.
R.J. Harris reached on an error to lead off the seventh, and moved to third on another error. He later scored on a fielder's choice, scoring the final run for Savannah.
John Church pitched four innings of shutout baseball in his first start of the season for Savannah. Luis Rojas (1-0) pitched three innings in relief, earning the win.
Gabriel Zavala pitched the final two innings, allowing just one unearned run. Jeremy Hazelbaker reached on an error with one out in the eighth, and moved to third on a double by Derrik Gibson, the only other Drive player with a hit. Bermudez followed with his sacrifice fly, and Michael Almanzar struck out swinging to end the inning.
Zavala pitched a perfect ninth inning to seal the victory for Savannah.
The Drive will look to even up the series on Wednesday, sending southpaw Manuel Rivera (2-6, 3.24 ERA) to the mound versus Armando Rodriguez (5-5, 2.92 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 pm at Fluor Field.
Tomorrow night is also Mill League Night, in which the Drive will wear commemorative throwback-style uniforms, honoring textile and mill league teams from the Upstate. Each jersey will be available through a silent auction.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 29, 2010
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