Drive Races Past Gnats 9-3 Friday
May 20, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
SAVANNAH, GA - The Greenville Drive scored four times in the top of the first inning and then added four runs in the final three innings to cruise past the Savannah Sand Gnat 9-3, Friday night at Historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah. SS Robbie Shields extended his hitting streak to a Gnats' season-high 10 straight games by going 2-4 in the loss.
Over his last 10 games, Shields is hitting .452 (19 H/42 AB) with seven doubles, two triples, eight runs scored and eight RBI.
The Greenville Drive (21-21) increased their lead over the Gnats (19-22) for first place to 1.5 games with the win Friday night.
The Drive touched Gnats' starter Greg Peavey (3-2, 3.64) for five runs on seven hits in five innings. All five runs scored in the first two innings and four of the five runs came home with two outs. However, Peavey recovered, and retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced with the exception of one infield single.
The Gnats scored twice in the bottom of the first on a LF Rafael Fernandez single and added a run in the fifth on 3B Aderlin Rodriguez's RBI groundout to pull within two runs at 5-3. However, the Drive pulled away late, scoring in each of the final four frames.
The Gnats will hand the ball to RHP Taylor Whitenton (2-0, 2.35) against Drive RHP Anthony Ranaudo (3-1, 3.86) in game two of this four-game series Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 pm and gates open at 5 pm. The pre-game show on News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com begins at 5:50 pm.
• Discuss this story on the South Atlantic League message board...
South Atlantic League Stories from May 20, 2011
- Asheville edges Legends 3-2 - Lexington Legends
- Drive Races Past Gnats 9-3 Friday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Fifth Straight Win as Rome Tops Hickory - Rome Emperors
- Crawdads edged by Braves, 6-5, on Friday - Hickory Crawdads
- BlueClaws Win 3rd In a Row, Top Power 3-2 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Sneed Blesses GreenJackets, Charleston tops Augusta, 4-2 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Lakewood beats West Virginia - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Asheville gets past Lexington - Asheville Tourists
- Charleston Edges GreenJackets in See-Saw Affair - Augusta GreenJackets
- Delmarva doubles past Kannapolis - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Noel Pitches Shorebirds To 7-1 Win Over Intimidators - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Gnats Game Notes: Friday, May 20 Vs. Greenville - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Tourists Receive Tago, Three Other Pitchers Moved - Asheville Tourists
- GreenJackets Announce Changes to Kline Promotion - Augusta GreenJackets
- Shorebirds Game Notes: at Kannapolis - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Intimidators to Play Memorial Day Matinee Doubleheader - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
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.
