Drive Complete Sweep of Braves on Friday
Published on July 13, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release
Greenville, SC - The Greenville Drive continued their strong month of July on Friday at Fluor Field, as they swept a pair of games from the Rome Braves to complete a three-game series sweep.
The seven-inning nightcap saw the Drive (13-9, 38-53) receive a complete game from Enmanuel De Jesus (3-2). The southpaw allowed just one unearned run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts in the Drive's second complete game effort of the season.
With the win, the Drive are now 9-3 since the calendar turned to July.
The offense struck early and often against John Curtis (0-1), with five runs over the first two innings. Tanner Nishioka hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first, and a Braves (7-15, 47-44) error brought home another run. A three-run fifth was highlighted by RBI hits from Kervin Suarez and Ryan Fitzgerald.
Suarez reached base with one out in the fourth and later came in on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 6-0.
Rome scratched across their lone run of the night game after a Drive error and an RBI fielder's choice by Drew Waters.
Fitzgerald paced the Greenville offense on the day with five hits, including three hits in the second game.
In the resumption of Thursday's suspended game at 4:00 PM, the Drive defeated the Braves 4-1.
All of the game's runs were scored in the third inning. Jean Carlos Encarnacion smacked a solo homer on the first pitch of the frame to put Rome ahead 1-0, but the Drive answered quickly.
Fitzgerald hit an RBI double to tie the game off Alan Rangel (2-6), and two Rome errors brought in two runs. Pedro Castellanos added a run-scoring single to make the score 4-1.
Angel Padron (2-3) gave the Drive a terrific effort after coming into the game following the rain suspension, as the lefty allowed only one run in five innings with four strikeouts. Marcos Lantigua followed with two scoreless relief innings to record his third save of the year.
Castellanos, Fitzgerald, Nishioka and Suarez all collected two hits apiece in the opener.
The Drive's homestand continues on Saturday night as they welcome the Lexington Legends, a Kansas City Royals affiliate, to Fluor Field for a four-game series. First pitch in the opener is at 7:05 PM. Left-hander Jhonathan Diaz (5-5, 3.70) will start for the Drive.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 13, 2018
- 'Birds Outlast 'Dogs for Sweep - Delmarva Shorebirds
- RiverDogs Strand Winning Run, Swept by Shorebirds - Charleston RiverDogs
- Legends Take Finale over GreenJackets - Augusta GreenJackets
- Crawdads Win on Ninth Walkoff of Season - Hickory Crawdads
- Suns Fall 7-6 in Series Finale on Friday - Hagerstown Suns
- Extra, Extra, Hoppers Walk off in 10th - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Fireflies Win Thriller, Take Series in Hagerstown - Columbia Fireflies
- Bolton's Career Night Spoiled by Hickory in Extras - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Drive Complete Sweep of Braves on Friday - Greenville Drive
- Poof: Bats Disappear on Harry Potter Night - Asheville Tourists
- BlueClaws Roll to 7-0 Win; 19th Shutout of Season - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Fireflies Game Notes: July 13 at Hagerstown (Game 88) - Columbia Fireflies
- RiverDogs Starting Pitcher Rony Garcia Promoted to Advanced-A Tampa - Charleston RiverDogs
- 2018 First Rounder Daniel Lynch Promoted to Lexington - Lexington Legends
- West Virginia Power: Game Notes (July 13) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Minor League Baseball Draws 2.35 Million Fans Over 4th of July Week - SAL1
- West Virginia Power: Promotional Notes (July 14-17) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Hickory Crawdads Weekly Recap - Hickory Crawdads
- Bengtson Boosts West Virginia over Crawdads - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Crawdads Drop Game Two against Power - Hickory Crawdads
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
