SAL1 Greenville Drive

Four-Run Seventh Dooms Drive Versus Sand Gnats, 4-3

Published on July 4, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - Through six innings the Drive (47-39, 7-9) had only allowed three hits and zero walks, while holding the Savannah Sand Gnats (39-47, 6-10) offense scoreless. But a four-run seventh, aided by a pair of walks and a three-run homer, was all the visitors needed for a 4-3 victory on Independence Day.

Ryne Miller (1-1) struggled with his control to start the inning, issuing back-to-back walks to Jose Jimenez and Francisco Pena. After settling down to strikeout Sean McCraw, all it took was one pitch for Carlos Guzman to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead, as he belted a homer to straight-away centerfield.

The Drive would not go without fight, plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. The first three batters of the inning - David Mailman, Kristopher Negron, and Ryan Kalish - all tallied a hit, with Negron and Kalish each collecting an RBI-double.

Pinch-hitting for Manny Arambarris in the final inning, Mike Jones singled with one out to represent the tying run. But Julio Polanco induced David Mailman into a game-ending double play, earning his fifth save of the season in the process.

The Drive broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth, as Jered Stanley laced a two-out double, scoring Che-Hsuan Lin from third.

Although he could not factor into the decision, Drive starter Jose Capellan turned in his best performance of the season. The southpaw tossed 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and fanning eight. Felix Ventura was perfect for Greenville over the final 2.1 innings, striking out two.

Equally impressive on the mound was Maikel Cleto (3-6) for the Sand Gnats. The right-hander allowed the Drive's lone run on three hits and a walk over 6.0 innings, but did not surrender Greenville's first base-hit until the fourth inning.

The Drive and Sand Gnat conclude their four-game series tomorrow with first pitch set for 7:05 PM. Two right-handers will twirl the mound as Greenville sends Terumasa Matsuo and Savannah counters with Brant Rustich.

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 4, 2008


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