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SAL1 Greenville Drive

Drive Throttled By Grasshoppers, 11-5

May 25, 2006 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - The Greenville Drive (23-24) dropped below .500 for the first time since April 26th as they lost to the Greensboro Grasshoppers 11-5 Thursday night at West End Field. Starting pitcher Clay Buchholz (2-2) suffered his second straight loss, tossing 5.0 innings allowing two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out seven.

The Grasshoppers took an early 1-0 advantage in the top of the first. Gary Roche singled to right and James Van Houten followed with an RBI-double to center.

Greenville would score in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 1-1 when Jay Johnson sent the 1-0 offering from Sean West over the Green Monster. It was Johnson's fourth home run of the season and second of the series. The home run also broke a 16-inning scoreless drought for the Drive going back to the fourth inning of Tuesday's game.

Greensboro would add a run in the fourth to take the lead and would not look back. Gabriel Sanchez led off the inning with a double to left-center and scored three batters later when Jared Gaston singled to center.

The Grasshoppers would extend their lead to a commanding 9-1 by scoring two runs in the sixth, three in the seventh, and two in the eighth. In the sixth, Andrew Jenkins reached base with a one-out walk before Gaston and Jonathan Fulton hit back-to-back two-out doubles off of reliever Ismael Casillas.

Casillas would not get an out in the seventh inning as he gave up singles to Agustin Septimo and Roche to lead off the inning before Van Houten collected his fourth RBI on a three-run home run to left-center. Matt Hancock replaced Casillas and promptly retired the next three Grasshopper batters.

Hancock would find trouble in the top of the eighth by allowing Gaston to walk, and Fulton and Greg Burns to hit back-to-back singles to load the bases with no outs. Roche then hit a one-out single to first, plating Gaston. However a throwing error by first baseman Matt Mercurio also allowed Fulton to score.

Greenville would add a run off Travis Talbott in bottom of the eighth to make the score 9-2. Yahmed Yema led off the inning with a single and later advanced to second on a one-out single by Mark Wagner. Tony Granadillo followed with a ground-rule double to right, scoring Yema.

Greensboro would add insult to injury by taking an 11-2 lead with two runs in the top of the ninth. Sanchez led off the inning and advanced to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball before Jenkins tripled to right. Jenkins then score on Gaston's ground out.

The Drive would score three more runs in the bottom of the ninth. Christian Lara was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Johnson singled to right. With two outs, Jeff Natale cracked his tenth home run of the season accounting for the Drive's final runs.

The Drive and Grasshoppers conclude their four-game series Friday evening at West End Field with first pitch set for 7:05 PM. Greenville will send left-hander Michael Rozier to the mound as Greensboro will counter with left-hander Aaron Thompson. A fireworks display will follow tomorrow night's game.

Tickets to all Drive home games can be purchased by calling the Drive Ticket Office at 864-240-4528 or online at www.GreenvilleDrive.com.

NOTES: Jay Johnson, Jeff Natale, and Mark Wagner all had multiple hits for the Drive...Seven of the Drive's nine batters had at least one hit...Gary Roche (4-for-5) and Jeff Van Houten (2-for-5, HR, 4 RBI) led the Grasshoppers attack...The Drive are now 10.5 games behind division leading Rome...Attendance was 4485

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