Drive Defeat GreenJackets for Second Straight Night
May 5, 2016 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release
Greenville, SC - Behind a sterling pitching performance from Anderson Espinoza and a five-run third inning, the Greenville Drive defeated the Augusta GreenJackets 7-4 on Thursday night at Fluor Field for their second straight win.
The 18-year old Espinoza (2-2) baffled Augusta hitters all game long, and he finished his five innings of work with 11 strikeouts, a total that matches the franchise record for strikeouts in a game. The record is also held by Jamie Callahan, who accomplished the feat in 2014, and Pete Ruiz, who did so in 2010. Espinoza allowed just one run on five hits and one walk.
The Drive (13-13) offense gave him a huge cushion with five runs in the third inning off Logan Webb (1-1). With the bases loaded and one out, Mitchell Gunsolus laced a sharp groundball off the first baseman's glove and into right field to plate a pair of runs. Tate Matheny followed with a three-run home run into the Drive bullpen in right for his first long ball of the year.
Augusta (12-15) finally struck for a run on Espinoza in the fifth on an RBI triple by Ashford Fulmer, and they added two runs in the sixth off Dioscar Romero to cut the lead to 5-3.
After a Matt Winn homer in the eighth shrunk the lead to just one run, the Drive answered with two runs in the bottom half to pull away. Matheny led off with a triple and came home on a wild pitch, and Luis Alexander Basabe added a sacrifice fly in the inning.
Matheny paced the Greenville offense with two hits and three RBI, while Kyri Washington posted his second consecutive two-hit night. Four Augusta players collected two hits in the game.
The Drive will send right-hander Roniel Raudes (2-1, 2.65) to the mound on Friday night as they go for a sweep of the three-game series. First pitch for Friday's contest is at 7:05 PM, and left-hander Grant Watson (2-0, 0.92) starts on the hill for the GreenJackets.
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