SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Drive Step on Gas Early, Fly Past RiverDogs, 7-2

Published on September 1, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


CHARLESTON, SC -- A six-run second inning was plenty for Greenville on Wednesday night in powering past the Charleston RiverDogs, 7-2, in front of 2,941 fans in South Atlantic League action at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

With the win, Greenville stays at the top of the SAL Southern Division standings with five games remaining and improves to 39-25, 75-59 overall. Charleston drops to three games under .500 at 31-34 in the second half and 62-72 overall.

The Drive motored into the early lead courtesy of a five-hit, six-run second against Charleston starter Shane Greene. Christian Vazquez's RBI single lit the scoreboard first and gave the Greenville the lead, 1-0. Zach Gentile then sent his 13th double of the year to right field to plate Reymond Fuentes and boost the lead to 2-0.

Shannon Wilkerson's fielder's choice moved Gentile to third and Vazquez home from third, giving Greenville a 3-0 advantage. A Charleston throwing error allowed Gentile to advance home, driving the Greenville lead to 4-0.

With Wilkerson occupying first, Jeremy Hazelbaker capped off the big inning when he blasted a 1-0 pitch from Greene over the right-field wall for his team-leading 12th home run of the year. Hazelbaker's long ball gave Greenville a 6-0 lead going into the bottom of the second.

Wilkerson added some cushion to the already-comfortable lead with his bases loaded sacrifice fly that bumped Greenville's lead to 7-0 going into the bottom of the third.

Greene (0-2) worked just 2.0 innings, giving up a season-high seven runs on six hits while walking three and fanning two batters.

The RiverDogs finally bit into the big lead on Luke Murton's sacrifice fly that plated Kelvin Castro in the bottom of the third for a 7-1 Greenville advantage. Castro walked to start the inning and then moved to third on Slade Heathcott's single off Greenville starter Manny Rivera.

Castro started off the fifth by ripping his fifth triple of the year past the diving Fuentes in centerfield, and he would score on Heathcott's RBI groundout, trimming the deficit to 7-2.

Charleston's bullpen combination of Jairo Heredia, Ben Watkins and Francisco Gil converged to pen 7.0 straight scoreless innings, but the offense mustered just one hit over the last 4.0 innings.

Rivera finished one out shy of qualifying for a win, surrendering two runs in 4.2 innings with three walks and seven punchouts.

Tom Ebert (10-4) became the beneficiary of Greenville's offense, working 4.1 innings of two-hit ball with five strikeouts. Ebert is now tied for third in the loop with 10 wins, three of which have come against the RiverDogs.

Murton went 2-for-3 with a RBI to account for Charleston's lone multi-hit performance.

The final game of this four-game series is set for Thursday at 7:05 p.m., with Charleston sending right-hander Mike Solbach (4-5, 4.09) to the hill to face off against Greenville southpaw Drake Britton (1-3, 3.18).

BALLPARK FUN: Fans didn't just cheer on the RiverDogs this Wednesday, they cheered loud and proud for the Gamecocks too because USC Head Baseball Coach Ray Tanner was at the park, fresh off leading the Gamecocks to the 2010 NCAA Baseball championship! Coach Tanner was honored by Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. prior to Wednesday night's game. It was the team's final Wild Wednesday, with special $20 All-You-Can-Eat tickets. Fans also got in the giving mood for Dogs with a Cause Night featuring Third Cup Charleston.

UP NEXT: It's the final Budweiser Thirsty Thursday of the regular season on the banks of the Ashley River. The RiverDogs faithful can "Be Their Own Fan" with a can with $1 beers and food specials in the Ashley View Pub. Get excited because the Han Schmidt Band will be providing the soundtrack to your final Thirsty Thursday. Plus, the Charleston outlaws Rugby team will be on-hand throughout the game.

Check out the Charleston RiverDogs Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from September 1, 2010


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