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SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Fall in Longest Game in Franchise History

April 22, 2017 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - The 5,303 fans in attendance at Fluor Field on Friday night witnessed history, as the Greenville Drive and Rome Braves played 18 innings to set the record for the longest game in the Drive's 12 seasons. Thanks to a three-run top of the 18th, the Braves defeated the Drive by a 7-4 score.

The five-hour, 14 minute marathon bested the previous record of the Drive's longest game, which was a 17-inning contest in Hickory on April 20th of last season. The previous Fluor Field record for longest game was a 16-inning affair against the Lake County Captains on August 2nd, 2006.

After the seventh inning, nobody scored again until Rome's (11-5) three-run frame in the 18th. With Mitchell Gunsolus (0-1), the Drive's (9-7) second position player to pitch on Friday, on the hill, Rome received a two-run triple from Cristian Pache and an RBI single from Anthony Concepcion to take the lead for good.

Oriel Caicedo (3-0) threw four scoreless innings of relief to get the win for Rome.

The Braves win spoiled another fantastic effort from Greenville starter Shaun Anderson, who worked six scoreless frames while allowing just two hits and two walks with four strikeouts to lower his ERA to 0.83 through four starts.

The Drive struck first in the bottom of the first inning as Santiago Espinal singled to lead off, moved to second on a wild pitch and came home on a single to center by Tyler Hill.

Three more runs in the third pushed the lead to 4-0. Bobby Dalbec delivered a two-run double off the right-center wall, and that was followed by a run-scoring single from Ryan Scott.

Rome's offense awakened in the seventh, tagging Drive reliever Dakota Smith for four runs to tie the game. Anfernee Seymour's sacrifice fly drove home the first run, and a two-run double by Derian Cruz cut the Drive lead to one. Pache then laced a single to left to plate the tying run.

After the seventh, the Drive received 10 innings of scoreless baseball. Three of those came from Tucker Tubbs, who began the night as the Drive's designated hitter, as he struck out four Rome hitters between the 15th and 17th innings. Hildemaro Requena also delivered three scoreless frames, and Jordan Weems and Matthew Gorst each hurled two shutout innings as well.

Dalbec paced the Greenville offense with three hits, while Espinal, Hill, Tubbs and Lorenzo Cedrola added two hits apiece. Marcus Mooney's four hits led the way for Rome, while Seymour and Randy Ventura each collected three hits, and Pache and Tanner Murphy chipped in with two apiece.

Game three of the four-game series begins at 7:05 PM on Saturday at Fluor Field. Left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez (1-1, 4.61) takes the ball for the Drive, and the Braves will send right-hander Bryse Wilson (1-0, 1.98) to the mound.

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from April 22, 2017


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