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Drive Blanked by Braves, 5-0

August 14, 2012 - South Atlantic League (SAL1) - Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - To celebrate Green Day at Fluor Field on Tuesday, fans in attendance witnessed a fireworks display after the game. They surely weren't expecting the fireworks show from the Rome Braves (49-71, 31-19) in the first inning. Robby Hefflinger's three-run bomb proved to be all the runs Rome needed, as they cruised to a 5-0 win over the Greenville Drive (56-63, 22-27). It marked the first time all season that the Drive were shut out at home.

For the second consecutive night, Rome got the scoring started early. Ross Heffley drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on Kyle Kubitza's ground-rule double to right center. Hefflinger followed with some rude treatment of Drive starter Henry Owens (11-5), as he launched a mammoth three-run homer to left-center to stake Rome to a three-run lead.

Alex Wood (3-2) and his fellow Rome relievers made sure that lead stood up. Wood delivered five scoreless frames with four strikeouts. Navery Moore followed with three innings of his own, and David Peterson preserved the shutout by setting the Drive down in order to end the game.

Owens' rough first inning also ended up being his only inning. He surrendered three runs on three hits while also walking two and fanning two Rome hitters. Kyle Kraus came in and held the Rome offense in check with three shutout innings, striking out four. Kevin Brahney allowed one earned run in three innings, while Tyler Lockwood gave up only an unearned run in the final two innings.

Rome scratched across a run in the top of the fifth against Brahney. Kubitza led off with an infield single on a close play and swiped second. He advanced to third on a groundout and came in to score on a single to left by Will Skinner.

The Braves added a run in the top of the ninth for good measure. Elmer Reyes' popup in shallow left was dropped by Nick Natoli, putting a runner on second to lead things off. After Reyes stole third, he was plated when Heffley singled to right past a drawn-in Drive infield, extending the lead to 5-0 and capping the scoring for the evening.

Hefflinger led the way for the Braves, going 2-5 with the three-run homer. Kubitza collected two hits for the second consecutive night, and Brandon Drury chipped in with a pair of hits. Keury De la Cruz and Cody Koback each picked up two hits for the Drive.

Rome will go for the series sweep on Wednesday night at Fluor Field. Game time is 7:05 PM. RHP Noe Ramirez (2-4, 3.41) takes the mound for Greenville, while Rome counters with RHP A.J. Holland (2-8, 4.52).

Throughout tomorrow night's game, the Drive will recognize the students and faculty of AJ Whittenberg Elementary School of Engineering. Tickets for Wednesday's game are still available and can be purchased by calling (864) 240-4528, logging onto GreenvilleDrive.com, or visiting the Fluor Field Box Office.


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