Drive Rally to Defeat Grasshoppers, 6-4
August 28, 2015 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release
Greenville, SC - Falling behind early didn't faze the Greenville Drive in Friday night's series finale against the Greensboro Grasshoppers, as they used a three-run seventh inning and a dominant relief performance from Jamie Callahan to defeat the Grasshoppers 6-4 in front of 5,882 fans at Fluor Field.
The Drive (29-31, 67-63) victory, coupled with Savannah's defeat of Asheville on Friday, moves the Drive into a half-game lead for the Southern Division wild card spot with 10 games left in the regular season.
Trailing 4-3 in the seventh, the Drive began the inning with a Yoan Moncada walk against Kelvin Rivas. After Moncada stole second and move to third on a Michael Chavis sac bunt, Rafael Devers ripped a double on the first pitch from Grasshoppers (19-41, 48-81) reliever Kyle Fischer (1-5) to tie the game. Andrew Benintendi followed with an RBI single to give the Drive the lead for good, and a Javier Guerra RBI single added an insurance run.
The rally made a winner out of Callahan (6-6), who turned in one of the most dominant pitching performances by a Drive hurler this season. In four innings of work, he struck out a season-high eight batters while allowing only one baserunner on a seventh-inning single.
Greensboro struck first in the game when Arturo Rodriguez smacked a three-run homer to left field off Drive starter Jalen Beeks.
Joseph Monge got two of those runs back in the bottom of the second with a two-run double to left against Tyler Kolek, cutting the Greensboro lead to one, and a fourth inning single by David Sopilka tied things up at three.
In the top of the fifth, John Norwood put the final run on the board for the Grasshoppers when he demolished a home run off the roof of the office buildings in left-center field.
Benintendi and Guerra collected two hits apiece for the Drive on the night.
The Drive head south from here to begin a five-game series against the Rome Braves, affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. First pitch on Saturday night is scheduled for 6:00 PM. LH Luis Ramos (2-3, 6.20) starts the opener for the Drive, and the Braves will send RH Chad Sobotka (1-4, 6.99) to the hill.
South Atlantic League Stories from August 28, 2015
- Vallot's Walk-Off Homer Gives Legends 6-4 Win - Lexington Legends
- Intimidators avoid four-game sweep and fourth straight loss - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Drive Rally to Defeat Grasshoppers, 6-4 - Greenville Drive
- Gnats Grand in 6-4 Win over Tourists - Asheville Tourists
- Crawdads Steal Series Finale from RiverDogs, 5-4 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Power Take Series from the GreenJackets A Big Fourth Inning Allows the Power to Take the Fourth and - Augusta GreenJackets
- Suns Drop Three of Four in Lakewood - Hagerstown Suns
- Power Inches Closer to Playoffs with 5-1 Victory - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Morris Dazzles, Claws Top Suns 4-1 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Morris Dazzles, Claws Top Suns 4-1 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Legends to Host 2016 SAL All-Star Game - Lexington Legends
- RiverDogs Nearing Record-Setting Finish in the Stands - Charleston RiverDogs
- WV Power Game Notes: August 28, 2015 at Augusta - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Miss Babe Ruth's Retirement Party to be a Red Carpet Night - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Shorebirds Announce 2016 Schedule - Delmarva Shorebirds
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.
Other Recent Greenville Drive Stories
- Drive Fall to Emperors 4-1
- Drive Take Game 1 from Emperors on Zanetello's Big Night
- Brooks Brannon Named MiLB High-A Player of the Week
- BlueClaws Outlast Drive in 12-Inning Thriller, 9-8
- Brannon's Two Homers Power Drive Past BlueClaws, 6-3, for Fifth Straight Win
