SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Swept by Braves Following 6-1 Loss

Published on August 15, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC -The Greenville Drive (56-64, 22-28) will hit the road again on Thursday, hoping to find the venue where they can get back to winning ways. After being swept in Savannah, the Drive found Fluor Field to be just as inhospitable, as they suffered a series sweep at the hands of the Rome Braves (50-71, 32-19), who picked up a 6-1 victory on Wednesday night.

Continuing a common theme in this series, Rome got their offense going early in the game, as they plated a pair in the top of the first against Drive starter Noe Ramirez (2-5). Tony Mueller and Ross Heffley greeted Ramirez with back-to-back singles leading off the game. Robby Hefflinger lifted a sacrifice fly to right to bring the first runner in, and Brandon Drury's single through the left side scored Heffley for the 2-0 lead.

Those first-inning runs proved to be enough for the Rome pitching staff. A.J. Holland (3-8) picked up the victory, allowing a single run in five innings while fanning six. His relievers, Ronan Pacheco, Wilson Rivera and John Cornely, pitched in with four shutout frames, combining for eight strikeouts.

The Drive scored their lone run of the evening in the bottom of the second. Henry Ramos and Blake Swihart each singled to begin the frame. After a double play and a walk, Nick Natoli lined a solid single to center to bring in Ramos.

Rome struck for their big inning in the fourth. After Drury reached on an error with one out, Will Skinner smacked a double off the wall in center, just out of reach of a leaping Cody Koback, to bring Drury in. Chase Anselment then took a Ramirez offering deep to right field for a two-run homer, extending the lead to 5-1.

The Braves tacked on their final run of the night in the fifth to chase Ramirez from the game. Mueller started the inning off with a double to left. He advanced to third on a groundout and came in to score on another sacrifice fly from Hefflinger.

Greenville got a notable effort out of the bullpen from Nefi Ogando, who relieved Ramirez in the fifth. He fired three and a third scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while punching out five Rome batters.

The Rome offense saw four players all collect two hits apiece. Anselment led the way, going 2-4 including the two-run homer. Drury, Heffley, and Mueller picked up a pair of hits as well. Swihart went 2-4 for the Drive in his first game back from the disabled list, and Ramos and Jordan Weems also collected two hits each.

The Drive will head to Asheville for a four-game series beginning on Thursday night. First pitch is at 7:05 PM. RHP Jason Garcia (5-5, 6.11) will take the mound for Greenville, while the Tourists' scheduled starter is RHP Vianney Mayo (4-6, 4.45).

The Drive return home to Fluor Field on Monday, August 20th when they begin an eight-game home stand in which they host the Augusta GreenJackets and Asheville Tourists. Michelin Challenge Education Day highlights the opening game, in which 350 students from Title I schools will be hosted at the ballpark. Each student will receive a new backpack to begin the school year, courtesy of Elliott Davis, Smoak PR, Harvest Hope, and Pinnacle Bank.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 15, 2012


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