Dominant Pitching Paces Hub City to Win in Series Opener
SAL Hub City Spartanburgers

Dominant Pitching Paces Hub City to Win in Series Opener

Published on July 29, 2025 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hub City Spartanburgers News Release


SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Hub City pitching needed a bounce-back after a couple tough losses last week in Greenville. The Spartanburgers (18-13, 49-47) staff delivered on Tuesday against the Asheville Tourists (12-18, 41-54), tossing their sixth shutout of the season en route to a 4-0 victory.

Southpaw starter Mason Molina (W, 1-2) put together his best High-A start of the season with six scoreless innings and seven strikeouts. Anthony Susac and Wilian Bormie combined for three scoreless and six strikeouts out of the 'pen.

Both starting pitchers kicked the game off with scoreless frames, facing just three batters each. After each team left a runner on base in the second, Molina struck out three in the third.

Hub City scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third against starter Alain Pena (L, 2-6). With two outs, Anthony Gutierrez cranked a one-hop double to the left-center field wall. He was nearly picked off second but dove back to avoid Pena's throw. The next batter, Dylan Dreiling, chopped a big bouncer to second. Yamal Encarnacion tried to rush a throw to first but skipped it into the dugout to score Gutierrez. After Pena got out of the third, Asheville sent Derek True to the mound to take over.

Both teams went scoreless in the fourth, and Drew Brutcher led off the fifth with a double against Molina. Molina followed it up with a looking strikeout before Yamal Encarnacion dropped in another double down the right field line. Brutcher held up at first on the fly ball, and he was thrown out at the plate trying to score. Molina induced a groundout to then escape the jam unscathed. Hub City's starter set down the side in order in the sixth to finish his day. Susac took over in the seventh and faced the minimum for two innings; he struck out the side in the top of the eighth.

Hub City managed just two hits across the first four innings of work from True. Gutierrez led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. The Spartanburgers' leader in stolen bases swiped second and third before True walked Dreiling. Dreiling proceeded to steal second base, and Malcolm Moore drove a sacrifice fly to left to score Gutierrez. True walked one more batter and was pulled from the game. Cody Tucker entered and walked each of the first three batters he faced, making it 4-0 Hub City before Tucker got out of the inning.

Despite a single and a walk in the top of the ninth, Bormie struck out the side and put a bow on the 'Burgers' sixth shutout of the year.

The Spartanburgers and Tourists square off at 6:35 Wednesday. Southpaw Dylan MacLean (2-0, 3.74 ERA) and right-hander Yeriel Santos (0-8, 8.17 ERA) are the scheduled starters.

Check out the Hub City Spartanburgers Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 29, 2025


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