SAL1 Greenville Drive

Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo Pace Drive in 11-2 Victory

Published on May 14, 2009 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - The Drive (20-14) flexed their muscles offensively and on the mound Thursday night, throttling the Augusta GreenJackets (12-22) 11-2 in front of the 6,168 fans - the largest crowd of 2009 - at Fluor Field to close out the four game series with three consecutive wins.

Casey Kelly continued to baffle South Atlantic League opponents, tossing a season-high 6.0 innings in his fifth scoreless outing of 2009. The 2008 first round draft pick limited Augusta to just a pair of hits while inducing 11 groundouts.

The Drive plated a run in the bottom of the first on Anthony Rizzo's first of two round trippers, and never looked back. Kade Keowen collected an RBI on a fielder's choice in the fourth after David Mailman led off with a triple before Greenville exploded for four runs in the sixth.

Eight batters stepped up to the plate against Mike Loree (1-4) and Eric Stolp, highlighted by Oscar Tejeda's two-run double with the bases loaded and Michael Almanzar's two-run single.

Two innings later the Drive were at it again, plating four more runs as eight more batters took their swings. Rizzo, who finished with four runs scored, capped his evening with his second home run of the game becoming the first Greenville batter of 2009 to tally a multi-home run effort.

A pair of runs scored on Kade Keowen's fielder's choice which was aided by a throwing error on Juan Perez and another run scored on Pete Hissey's two-out single. Mailman closed out the Drive's scoring efforts with an RBI-single in the bottom of the eighth.

Tim Federowicz was nearly perfect at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 against the GreenJackets trio of pitchers. The former UNC standout tallied singles in each of his first four at bats before striking out in the eighth.

After Kelly and Armando Zerpa combined to hold the GreenJackets scoreless through eight innings, Augusta finally broke the string of goose eggs when Mike Loberg hit a two-run homer off Felix Ventura.

The Drive will now welcome the Rome Braves to town for a four-game series, beginning Friday at Fluor Field with first pitch set for 7:05 PM. Right-hander Caleb Clay will toe the rubber for first place Greenville as Rome counters with right-hander Zeke Spruill.

After the conclusion of Friday's game, fans will be treated to a spectacular fireworks display. Single-game tickets, group outings, and luxury accommodations can be purchased by calling (864) 240-4500 or visit www.GreenvilleDrive.com for more information.

NOTES: This was the Drive's fourth victory by nine runs this season

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 14, 2009


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