Fireflies Complete Sweep of Drive
April 18, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release
Greenville, SC - The Greenville Drive's opening homestand closed in disappointing fashion, as the Columbia Fireflies came away with an 8-4 victory on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep at Fluor Field.
The Fireflies (9-4) never trailed in Wednesday's contest, as a three-run second inning propelled them forward. Walter Rasquin delivered an RBI single off Kutter Crawford (0-1) to put the Fireflies on the board, and Raphael Gladu followed with a two-run single.
The lead was pushed to 4-0 in the third on an RBI hit by Rigoberto Terrazas.
Crawford matched his season high with eight strikeouts for the Drive (3-10) despite the loss.
The Drive struck for their only run against Columbia starter David Peterson (1-0) in the fourth. After a two-out walk by Everlouis Lozada and a single by Victor Acosta, Ramfis Berroa lined an RBI double to right field to score Lozada.
Peterson worked six innings in his season debut, allowing four hits, one run and two walks with four strikeouts.
The Fireflies added a run in the sixth on a triple by Gladu and a single by Dan Rizzie.
The Drive made things interesting against the Columbia bullpen in the seventh. After a one-out walk by Charlie Madden and a single by Kervin Suarez, Cole Brannen dropped a double into left field to bring home Madden. C.J. Chatham followed with a solid single to center to score a pair of runs and cut the Columbia lead to 5-4, but Carlos Hernandez entered and held the lead there in the frame.
Quinn Brodey took over for the Fireflies in the final two innings. He tagged a solo homer to center field in the eighth, and he followed up with a two-run, opposite field homer over the Green Monster in the ninth to extend the lead.
Brannen and Chatham each collected two hits for Greenville on the night.
The Drive will look to snap their five-game losing skid on Thursday night as they begin a four-game road trip against the Kannapolis Intimidators, a Chicago White Sox affiliate. First pitch in the opener is at 6:35 PM. Right-hander Hunter Haworth (0-1, 13.50) takes the mound for the Drive, and the Intimidators will start left-hander John Parke (1-0, 0.75), a Greenville High and University of South Carolina product.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 18, 2018
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