SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Hold Off Sand Gnats, Complete Sweep with 7-5 Win

Published on May 19, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Savannah, GA - The Drive (26-19) held off a late Sand Gnats (18-26) rally and held on for a 7-5 win in Savannah. With the victory the Drive finished their eight-game road trip with a 6-2 mark, capping it off with a four-game sweep of the Gnats.

Japanese product Terumasa Matsuo (2-0) continued to build on his string of quality starts, earning his second victory of the year. In 5.0 innings the right-hander allowed two runs on a pair of hits and walks while fanning a career-high eight batters.

The Drive scored in their first at bat as Kristopher Negron began his eventual 3-for-5 night with a one-out triple, eventually scoring on Mike Jones' groundout. Two innings later, Jones extended Greenville's lead to 3-0 with a two-run single off Elvin Ramirez (4-3), scoring Ryan Kalish and David Marks.

Matsuo ran into the only bump of his outing in the top of the fourth as he allowed the first three Savannah batters to tally a hit, including an RBI-double by Jose Jimenez. After a wild pitch accounted for the Gnats' second run, Matsuo was able to bear down and retire the side without allowing another run.

Greenville was able to counter with an RBI-single off the bat of David Mailman in the fifth and a two-run homer by Ty Weeden in the sixth.

Savannah would not go quietly, however, cutting their deficit to a run with three runs in the seventh which were aided by a pair of Drive errors. Casey Craig tripled in two runs and then scored on an error by reliever Ryne Lawson.

Negron provided an insurance run in the top of the ninth as the Drive executed a double steal with the speedy second baseman swiping home. Lawson completed his 2.2 inning outing by adding a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the year.

The Drive and Sand Gnats conclude their four-game series Monday evening with first pitch set for 7:05 PM. In search of a series sweep, Greenville will send right-hander Terumasa Matsuo to the mound, who is coming off his best start as a professional. Savannah will counter with right-hander Elvin Ramirez.

The Drive return home to Fluor Field tomorrow evening when they begin an eight-game homestand, starting with the Charleston RiverDogs at 7:05 PM. A pair of highly touted right-handers will face-off in the series opener as Greenville sends Chris Province to mound and Charleston counters with Zach McAllister.

Baseball's most historic rivalry will get a southern taste as the Drive will wear Red Sox uniforms and the RiverDogs will wear Yankees uniforms for the first two games of the series.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 19, 2008


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