Drive Rally Falls Just Short in 7-6 Loss
Published on May 10, 2016 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release
Greenville, SC - A furious rally attempt in the late innings for the Greenville Drive fell just short on Tuesday afternoon, as they dropped a 7-6 contest to the Columbia Fireflies in front of 6,290 fans at Fluor Field.
The sixth annual Drive Business Downtown game saw the Greenville Drive and Elliott Davis Decosimo team up for an exciting day of celebrating Downtown Greenville and the business leaders who play a role in its continued growth. As part of the day, the Drive and Elliot Davis Decosimo announced it had teamed up to raise $2,350 for United Ministries, the charity non-profit organization for the event.
For the second straight game, the Drive (15-16) fell behind big in the early innings. The Fireflies (18-14) ran Greenville starter Anderson Espinoza's (2-3) pitch count all the way up to 57 in the second inning, and he was removed from the game after recording only five outs. A bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly by J.C. Rodriguez put Columbia ahead 2-0.
The Fireflies struck for three more runs against Victor Diaz in the fourth on a fielder's choice by David Thompson, a single by Dash Winningham and a wild pitch, and an RBI hit by Jeff Diehl and a balk in the seventh tacked on two more.
The bottom half of the seventh saw the Drive begin to claw their way back into the game, as Mitchell Gunsolus deposited a grand slam off Nicco Blank, his fourth homer of the year, to cut the lead to 7-4. The grand slam was the first of the season for the Drive, and their first since Michael Chavis accomplished the feat on August 7th, 2015.
The Drive loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, and Kyri Washington came up with a big two-run single to bring Columbia's lead down to a single run. Fireflies closer Alex Palsha recovered by getting a groundout to end the game and earn his fourth save.
P.J. Conlon (5-0) was masterful for the Fireflies on Tuesday, holding the Drive to an unearned run on four hits and one walk in six and two-third innings with six strikeouts.
Washington was the lone Drive player with a multi-hit afternoon.
Following an off day, Greenville hits the road and begins a four-game series against the Augusta GreenJackets, affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, at 7:05 on Thursday night. The Drive are scheduled to send right-hander Roniel Raudes (3-1, 2.45) to the mound, while the GreenJackets are expected to counter with RH Logan Webb (1-1, 4.57).
South Atlantic League Stories from May 10, 2016
- Power Walks off with Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Daily Collects 4 Hits, Finishes HR Shy of Cycle - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Columbia Fends off Greenville Rally, Wins Series - Columbia Fireflies
- Drive Rally Falls Just Short in 7-6 Loss - Greenville Drive
- Crawdads Escape 9th Inning with 7-6 Win - Hickory Crawdads
- Fireflies Home Games to Air on MiLB.TV - Columbia Fireflies
- RiverDogs Left Scratching at the Door, Fall 7-6 to Hickory - Charleston RiverDogs
- Seven-Run Fifth Sends Greensboro to 7-5 Win over Legends - Lexington Legends
- Shorebirds Taken to School on Education Day - Asheville Tourists
- Shorebirds Squander Opportunities in 4-1 Loss - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Augusta Rallies Late, Rome Falls 7-4 - Rome Emperors
- Fireflies Game Notes: May 10 at Greenville (Game 32) - Columbia Fireflies
- Catcher Matt Winn, RHP Pitcher Michael Santos Awarded SAL Players of the Week - Augusta GreenJackets
- Hagerstown Suns Hosting Sprint Day at the Park on May 27th, 2016 - Hagerstown Suns
- Former Sun and Major League Pitcher Boof Bonser Makes Return to Hagerstown - Hagerstown Suns
- Shorebirds' Next Homestand Runs May 12-18 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- WV Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Delmarva Shorebirds Game Notes for May 10, 2016 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- 'Dads Stumble to 8-3 Loss in Charleston - Hickory Crawdads
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
