Grasshoppers Rout Drive, 12-4

Published on June 16, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release

Greensboro, NC - The Greenville Drive were done in by the home run on Tuesday night, as the Greensboro Grasshoppers used four homers from two players to run away with a 12-4 victory in the series opener.

Arturo Rodriguez went 4-5 with solo homers in the fourth and fifth innings for the Grasshoppers (28-37). John Norwood had two hits on the night, but they both left the yard, with a fourth-inning grand slam and a seventh-inning two-run shot giving him six RBI.

The fourth-inning homers by Rodriguez and Norwood came off Drive (35-30) starter Jalen Beeks (6-3) to stake Greensboro to a 5-0 lead. That was more than enough for Grasshoppers starter Luis Castillo (3-2), who fired five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and two walks with six strikeouts.

Mike Meyers and Jordan Procyshen each singled in the sixth to put runners on the corners, and another single, this one by Nick Longhi, scored Meyers to get the Drive on the board.

The Drive used a pair of long balls of their own in the seventh to cut the lead to 6-4, as Michael Chavis cranked a solo homer to right-center and Meyers also went deep to right-center, his a two-run shot.

In addition to Norwood's homer in the seventh, the Grasshoppers also received an RBI groundout from Justin Twine and a run-scoring double by Brian Schales. A two-run single in the eighth by Austen Smith tacked on two more runs.

Joining Rodriguez and Norwood with multi-hit nights for Greensboro were Schales, Zach Sullivan and K.J. Woods. Meyers went 3-5 to lead the Greenville offense, while Longhi and Procyshen chipped in with two hits apiece.

The teams will turn around and play game two of the series at 12:30 PM on Wednesday afternoon in Greensboro. RH Jeffry Fernandez (1-5, 5.94) takes the ball for the Drive, and the Grasshoppers starter is LH Michael Mader (3-7, 6.09).

South Atlantic League Stories from June 16, 2015

• Shorebirds Sweep Doubleheader in Lakewood - Delmarva Shorebirds
• GreenJackets Bats Go Cold on a Hot Night at The Lake - Augusta GreenJackets
• Late Surge from Gnats Enough to Best Tourists - Asheville Tourists
• Suns blind Intimidators to win game one - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
• RiverDogs Rally, Power Surge to 5-4 10-Inning Victory - Charleston RiverDogs
• Gnats Bats Get Going Late in 6-2 Win - Savannah Sand Gnats
• Power Fends off Charleston in 10 - Charleston Dirty Birds
• Legends Win Series Opener in Augusta, 4-2; O'Hearn Hits 15th HR - Lexington Legends
• Hickory Tops Braves in Ten Innings 7-6 - Rome Emperors
• Shorebirds Sweep Double-Header from BlueClaws on Tuesday - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
• Grasshoppers Rout Drive, 12-4 - Greenville Drive
• WV Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
• Former O's Prospect Delmonico to Kannapolis - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
• Hoppers Back Home, Look for Strong Finish to First Half - Greensboro Grasshoppers
• Crawdads Clinch Northern Division Title - Hickory Crawdads

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