SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Bats Go Cold in 4-1 Loss to Tourists

Published on August 25, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - The rain began to fall hard at Fluor Field in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday night. Unlike the rain, the Greenville Drive's (60-71, 26-35) offense couldn't get started at all, as they suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of the Asheville Tourists (83-49, 36-26) in a slightly-shortened game.

Just as the bottom of the ninth was about to begin, the hard rain forced a 33-minute delay, and after deliberating, the umpires called the game.

Asheville got on the board quickly in the top of the first against Drive starter Noe Ramirez (2-7), as Trevor Story took the second pitch of the game and snuck it over the Green Monster for a solo shot.

The Drive answered with a run against Chris Jensen (12-3) in the bottom half. Nick Natoli drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a groundout. Keury De la Cruz's hard grounder then went through the legs of Asheville shortstop Taylor Featherston for an error, scoring Natoli to tie the game.

The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning, when the Tourists took a 2-1 lead. Ryan Casteel hit a leadoff double, and after a passed ball pushed him up 90 feet, he came in to score on David Kandilas' single.

The Tourists tacked on single runs to their lead in the sixth and the eighth. Taylor Featherston began the sixth with a triple to deep right against Drive reliever Scott Swinson, and Jordan Ribera's line drive single to center brought him home. In the eighth, Jared Simon reached on an error with one out, and after Casteel doubled and Kandilas walked, new Drive pitcher Nate Striz uncorked a wild pitch to make the score 4-1.

Jensen got the win for the Tourists with a nice outing. He threw six innings, allowing only three hits and an unearned run. He also walked three and punched out six Drive hitters. Tyler Gagnon threw the last two innings for Asheville and struck out three batters to pick up his first save of the year.

Casteel collected three hits on the evening for the Tourists. Featherston picked up two hits of his own. Blake Swihart was the lone Greenville hitter with two hits.

These two teams will meet for the final time in 2012 on Sunday afternoon, as Asheville looks to split the four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05. The Drive will send RHP Kyle Kraus (0-0, 1.59) to the mound, while the Tourists' starter will be RHP Daniel Winkler (10-10, 4.56).

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 25, 2012


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