SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Cruise, 8-1, Behind Middlebrooks and Huntzinger

Published on July 28, 2009 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - With three runs in the bottom of the first of Tuesday's game, the Drive (53-46, 14-17) captured their first lead of the series with the visiting Lakewood BlueClaws (60-40, 18-14). And they never looked back, cruising to an 8-1 victory between the two first half divisional champions.

After suffering five straight losses on the mound, Brock Huntzinger (6-8) snapped his personal snide in a big way. The right-hander worked quick and efficient, firing 62 of his 75 pitches for strikes while scattering four BlueClaws' base hits in 5.0 innings.

The lone blemish of the 21-year-old's outing was an unearned run that he surrendered in the top of the fourth. Huntzinger also set a career-high in the game by fanning eight batters.

The three-run burst in Greenville's first at bat opened the flood gates against Lakewood's Freddy Ballestas (1-2). After Casey Kelly reached on a throwing error, Zach Gentile, Ryan Lavarnway, and Jered Stanley all followed with base hits. Lavarnway tallied an RBI-single and Stanley added a two-run double.

Two innings later, Lavarnway gave the Drive a three-run advantage by belting a first pitch offering off Ballestas to left-centerfield for his team-leading 13th roundtripper of the season.

The Drive continued to flex their muscles in the bottom of the fourth when Will Middlebrooks tattooed a two-run homer to straight away centerfield, extending his career-high hit streak to 12 games.

The third baseman wasn't through, for an encore he capped the scoring with another two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, giving him his first multi-homer game of his professional career.

A seven run lead was more than enough for the Greenville bullpen as Mitch Herold and Jason Blackey held the team with the best record in the South Atlantic League scoreless over the final four innings.

Herold worked 3.0 scoreless frames, working around four hits and a walk, before Blackey closed the book on Lakewood with a perfect ninth inning.

The Drive will look to split the four-game set with the BlueClaws when the two teams meet in the series finale on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 7:05 PM at Fluor Field. Right-hander Caleb Clay (4-4, 3.72 ERA) will head to the mound for Greenville, while Lakewood counters with right-hander Jesus Sanchez (7-5, 3.51 ERA).

Single-game tickets, group outings, and luxury accommodations can be purchased by calling (864) 240-4500 or visit www.GreenvilleDrive.com for more information.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 28, 2009


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