SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Shutdown Grasshoppers, 7-0

Published on April 15, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - After a blistering 7-1 road trip, the Drive (9-4) returned home to Fluor Field and extended their winning streak to seven games with a 7-0 victory Tuesday night versus the Greensboro Grasshoppers (8-5).

The Drive broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third in a big way, sending all nine batters to plate and scoring four runs, all of which came with two outs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Josh Reddick, Mike Jones, Manny Arambarris, and Anthony Rizzo all delivered run-scoring singles off Jeremiah Haar (0-2).

In the seventh, Ty Weeden accounted for the Drive's sixth run of the ballgame with a solo homer to right-center, his second of the season, off of Don Czyz. An inning later Greenville plated a pair of runs on three more hits. A fielder's choice by Arambarris, aided by an error on Greensboro's Ryan Curry, scored both runs.

Offensively the Drive tallied a season-high 13 hits, paced by Rizzo's 3-for-4 effort. Aaron Reza, Reddick, Jones, and Weeden each chipped in with two hits apiece.

On the mound the Drive used three pitchers - starter Chris Province and relievers Daniel Bard and Felix Ventura - combined on the six-hit shutout, the team's second of the season. More importantly, the trio did not allow a single walk while fanning 11 Grasshoppers' batters.

Although he did not record the win, throwing only 4 1/3 innings, Province continued his early season dominance, scattering five hits while striking out three. Bard (1-0) allowed just one hit in 2 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out four. With the outing, Bard has yet to allow a run in 2008, spanning five outings and 9 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts and only one walk.

Felix Ventura finished off the Grasshoppers, pitching a perfect eighth and ninth innings with four strikeouts.

The Drive continue their four-game set with the Grasshoppers in less than 13 hours with first pitch set for 11:05 AM at Fluor Field. It will be the Drive's first Businessperson Special of the 2008 season. Southpaw Nick Hagadone will toe the rubber for the Drive in the early match-up as the Grasshoppers counter with right-hander Stu Alexander

For more information about single-game tickets, ticket plans, luxury accommodations, or group outings, visit www.greenvilledrive.com or call (864) 240-4500.

NOTES: 1B Anthony Rizzo extended his hitting streak to six games with multiple hits in each contest...The Drive's seven game winning streak is now tied for 2nd longest in franchise history (tied with May 13-20, 2007)

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from April 15, 2008


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.

OurSports Central