Drive Fall Short to Grasshoppers, 9-8
April 18, 2008 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release
Greenville, SC - For the first six innings of Friday's series finale between the Drive and Grasshoppers were deadlocked in a see-saw battle, trading runs for a 5-5 tie. However, a four run seventh broke the game open for the visitors en route to a 9-7 victory and a series split.
Trailing 9-5, the Drive were able to make the game interesting, rallying for three total runs in the bottom of the eighth and ninth, but they fell just short. After a Mike Jones walk and a double by Anthony Rizzo in the eighth, the Drive used back-to-back RBI-groundouts from Manny Arambarris and David Mailman to cut the lead to two.
In the ninth Che-Hsuan Lin led off the inning with a double and scored when Yamaico Navarro hit a one-out single. A Garrett Parcell wild pitch allowed Navarro to advance to second and he then moved to third on Josh Reddick's groundout. Unfortunately, that's where he would stay as Jones hit a hard grounder up the middle that shortstop Ozzie Martinez gobbled up and fired to first to secure the win.
Arambarris put the Drive out front in the bottom of the third with a leadoff homer, his third of the season. Greenville added a second run as Will Vazquez and Lin hit back-to-back one-out doubles.
The early lead did not last long as the Grasshoppers countered with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth. After a Bryan Petersen single and a Ryan Anetsberger double, starting pitcher Terumasa Matsuo surrendered a three-run shot to Ben Lasater.
The Drive, however, tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Jones extended his hitting streak to a team-high 10 games as he stroked a one-out double. Rizzo then followed suit with an RBI-single, extending his hitting streak to nine games.
The cat and mouse game continued as Danny Garcia hit a two-run homer off Matsuo in the top of the fifth. But Greenville was able to counter once again as Jones tied the game with a two-run blast of his own to right-center in the bottom of the sixth.
Greensboro was able to put an end to the back-and-forth scoring, busting through for four on only two hits in the top of the seventh. Ryne Lawson (1-1) began the inning by issuing free passes before his own throwing error allowed a run to score. Petersen then followed with an RBI-single and Anetsberger delivered a two-run hit.
The Drive now travel to Augusta for a three-game series with the GreenJackets. Lefty Jose Alvarez will take the mound for Greenville in the series opener as Augusta counters with right-hander T.J. Brewer.
The Drive return home on Wednesday, April 23rd when they begin a six-game home stand. Wednesday's game will be the second FGP Businessperson's Special of the season, with first pitch at 11:05 AM.
For more information about single-game tickets, ticket plans, luxury accommodations, or group outings, visit www.greenvilledrive.com or call (864) 240-4500.
NOTES: With his 2.0 scoreless innings pitched, RHP Daniel Bard has yet to allow a run in 11.2 innings, spanning six appearances while fanning 16 and walking just two...Attendance was 6178
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