SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Rally Past Suns, 8-6

Published on July 10, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - Shannon Wilkerson hit a clutch two-out RBI-single in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Drive (48-39, 12-5) to a comeback 8-6 victory against the Hagerstown Suns (42-45, 6-11) Saturday night at Fluor Field. With the victory, the Drive have now taken two of the first three games in this five-game set against the Suns.

Trailing 6-4 going into the bottom of the eighth, Derrik Gibson led off the frame with an infield single off Suns reliever Dean Weaver (1-3) and then stole second base. After a strikeout by Chris McGuiness, Ronald Bermudez drove Gibson home with an RBI-single to right and then advanced to second on an error by Hagerstown right-fielder Destin Hood. Reymond Fuentes then followed a walk by Dan Butler with an RBI-single of his own to tie the game at 6.

After Weaver struck out Michael Almanzar for the second out of the eighth, Wilkerson delivered the go-ahead RBI with a single through the right side. Greenville tacked on another run when Hagerstown's Luis Garcia (who had come in to relieve Weaver) uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Fuentes to score from third.

Jeremiah Bayer (5-1) picked up the win and finished the game with four solid innings of relief for the Drive. He scattered four hits, gave up just one run, walked none, and struck out five.

Hagerstown took the lead early against Greenville starter Manuel Rivera when Jeff Kobernus scored on a double-play grounder by Justin Bloxom. The Suns 1-0 lead did not last long at all, however, as Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a leadoff home run for the Drive to knot the score at 1-1. The solo shot to right field was part of a big night for Hazelbaker, who went 3-for-4 with the home run, a single, a double, and two RBI.

With the score tied, Hagerstown countered with a big second inning to take apparent control of the game. Consecutive two-out errors by Gibson at short and Almanzar at third opened the door for the Suns, who took advantage by scoring on a bases-loaded walk by Kobernus and then a two-run double by Francisco Soriano. The Suns had a 4-1 lead at that point.

Greenville got a run back in the third inning when Hazelbaker plated Vladimir Frias with an RBI-single in the third inning after Frias had hit a one-out double. The Suns, though, extended their lead on Destin Hood's mammoth solo home run off Rivera in the fifth and Kobernus's bloop RBI-double in the sixth.

The Drive, though down 6-2, were still undeterred, as they gradually chipped away at the Suns' lead. Hazelbaker, again proving to be a major sparkplug, led off the bottom of the sixth with a double and eventually scored on Bermduez's two-out triple to make the score 6-3. Dan Butler then trimmed the deficit to 6-4 with an RBI-double that plated Bermudez. Greenville then completed its rally with the aforementioned three-run eighth.

The Drive and Suns will play the fourth game of this five-game series Sunday at Fluor Field. Right-hander Pete Ruiz (5-6, 5.50 ERA) gets the call for Greenville against Hagerstown southpaw Graham Hicks (1-1, 3.38 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

Also, with the World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands taking place Sunday at 2:30 PM, fans will have the opportunity to watch the match for FREE at Fluor Field. It will be shown on each of the five televisions in the 500 Club as well as on the DriveVision videoboard. Gates to Fluor Field will open at 2:00 PM.

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 10, 2010


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