SAL1 Greenville Drive

Owens Masterful in 2-1 Win

Published on May 12, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Augusta, GA - Building off each of his last two starts, 19-year-old Henry Owens continued to gain momentum on the mound in his first professional season. The 36th overall selection in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft tossed a career-high 6.0 innings, matching his best performance with eight strikeouts as the Drive (16-19) defeated the Augusta GreenJackets (16-18), 2-1, Saturday night at Lake Olmstead Stadium.

The left-hander didn't allow a base-hit until the bottom of the fourth inning, walking a batter in the second and third innings - one of which was erased when catcher Blake Swihart gunned down Carlos Willoughby attempting to steal second.

The Drive offense provided their pitching staff with only a pair of runs, but it proved to be enough to even the series through four games. Greenville scored the game's first run in the second when David Renfroe was hit by a pitch to leadoff the inning. He later scored from second on Swihart's two-out single.

Showing his speed, Jose Vinicio accounted for the Drive's final run in the top of the fifth. The shortstop bunted his way on, advanced all the way to third on Bryan Johns' single, and scored on Keury De la Cruz's groundout.

With the Drive up 2-0, the closest the GreenJackets came to scoring on Owens (3-1) came in the bottom of the fifth when they had runners on the corners. Owens, however, kept his shutout outing in tact as he struckout Alberto Robles to end the inning.

It wasn't until the bottom of the seventh, against reliever Tyler Wilson, that Augusta was finally able to push across a run on John Eshleman's two-out, RBI-single.

Tyler Lockwood, who pitched a perfect ninth inning on Tuesday when the Drive completed their first nine-inning no-hitter, came in and earned his third save - but not before the GreenJackets provided some drama.

Augusta had the tying run on second, and the winning run on first, with only one out before each of them moved up when Lockwood issued a walk to Joe Staley. He was able to get out of the bases loaded jam when he induced Robles into a game-ending groundout.

The Drive and GreenJackets continue their series on Saturday, with first pitch set for 7:05 PM. Southpaw Henry Owens (2-1, 6.17 ERA) will toe the rubber for Greenville, while Augusta counters with right-hander Kyle Crick (1-1, 1.66 ERA).

The Drive return home on Monday, May 14th for a seven-game homestand, beginning with the Asheville Tourists. The Drive and Michelin will celebrate the Reading All-Stars from Greenville County elementary schools, and Pickens County elementary and middle schools during the home stand opener. For more information, or to purchase single-game tickets, group outings or luxury accommodations, please call (864) 240-4500 or log onto GreenvilleDrive.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 12, 2012


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