SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive earn road victory to begin week

Published on July 14, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Lakewood, NJ - All that matters is the final score. The Drive mustered just three hits Monday night, while the BlueClaws tallied eight. However, Greenville (50-45, 10-15) capitalized on a pair of errors and drew five walks as they defeated Lakewood (53-42, 15-10) 3-1 in the series finale at FirstEnergy Park.

It didn't take any hits for the Drive to score their first run in their first at bat. Che-Hsuan led off the game by reaching base on a Derrick Mitchell error. Lin, who leads the entire Red Sox organization in stolen bases, promptly stole second before advancing to third on Ryan Kalish's groundout. The speedy centerfielder then scored on a Walter Tejeda (4-5) wild pitch.

Although the Drive recorded a base hit in the fourth inning, it was not needed as they scored to take a 2-0 lead. Jered Stanley drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and advanced to third on Oscar Tejeda's fly out. Walter Tejeda's second wild pitch extended Greenville's lead.

Karl Bolt cut the BlueClaws deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth, belting a leadoff homer off Felix Doubront (9-6), the only mishap in the southpaw's outing. The South Atlantic League All-Star earned his team-leading ninth victory, scattering six hits and a pair of walks, while fanning five in 5.0 innings.

The Drive added an insurance run in the top of the sixth, by once again playing small ball. Kalish walked to leadoff the inning and advanced to third on Stanley's single. Two batters later, Tejeda and Kalish paired to execute a perfect suicide squeeze bunt.

The duo of Kyle Fernandes and Felix Ventura secured the victory as the two relievers combined to hold the BlueClaws scoreless over the final four innings. Fernandes struckout three in 2.2 innings, allowing a pair of hits and a walk before giving way to Ventura.

Ventura was almost perfect in an inning and a third, issuing a walk in the bottom of the eighth before striking out the side an inning later to earn his 10th save of the season.

After a scheduled off day on Tuesday, the Drive return home to Fluor Field on Wednesday, July 16th when they began an eight-game homestand, starting with the Lake County Captains, affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Greenville will send right-hander Terumasa Matsuo to the hill in the series opener, as Lake County counters with right-hander Joey Mahalic.

For more information regarding single-game tickets, ticket plans, group outings and luxury accommodations, visit www.GreenvilleDrive.com or call (864) 240-4500.

NOTES: Ryan Kalish's 13-game hitting streak came to an end as he went 0-for-2, drawing a pair of walks...The Drive finished 3-5 during their 8-game road trip

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 14, 2008


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