Greenville Takes Drive Out of Augusta Bats
Published on April 9, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Augusta GreenJackets News Release
Greenville, SC - For the third night in a row, the Greenville Drive used excellent pitching to boost an early lead. The Drive opened a tight game with a four-run fifth inning in an eventual 7-0 win over the Augusta GreenJackets at Fluor Field on Saturday night.
Greenville drew first blood in the first inning, putting an unearned run on the board against GreenJackets starter Austin Fleet. After Bryce Brentz tripled with two outs, Miles Head hit a comebacker to Fleet that the Augusta starter promptly threw away to allow Brentz to score. The Drive grew the lead in the third on Brentz's RBI triple - his second three-bagger of the night - and made it a three-run advantage on a Brandon Jacobs solo home run in the fourth.
Things got out of hand for Augusta in the fifth inning, when Greenville batted around and tallied four runs on six hits to take a commanding 7-0 lead. Lucas LeBlanc brought home a pair with a triple, Brentz doubled home another and Jacobs capped things off with a sacrifice fly.
Augusta's bats were stymied by the third straight solid start from a Drive pitcher. Anthony Ranaudo - in his professional debut - held the GreenJackets to three hits in five scoreless innings. Ranaudo (1-0) walked one and struck out four before turning things over to Keith Couch, who was possibly even more dominant that Ranaudo. Couch retired the first nine hitters he faced in his four-inning appearance, allowing just one hit while striking out five to preserve the shutout and earn his first save of the year.
Fleet (0-1) allowed seven runs - six earned - on eight hits without walking anyone. He struck out four in his 4.1 innings. The bullpen proved to be a bright spot for Augusta in the latter innings, firing 3.2 scoreless frames and striking out three.
The GreenJackets will go into the finale of their season-opening four-game series with the Drive in search of a split. Lefty Edwin Escobar takes the hill for Augusta while Brandon Workman makes his professional debut for the Drive. First pitch will come at 4:05 with the pregame action beginning at 3:50 on WRDW AM 1630 and online at www.greenjacketsbaseball.com.
The GreenJackets play their home opener on Friday April 15th at 7:35 p.m. against the West Virginia Power. Single-game and Season Tickets are currently available by calling the GreenJackets front office at 706-922-WINS while further information can be found online at www.greenjacketsbaseball.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 9, 2011
- Shorebirds Split Doubleheader With Greensboro - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Rome Drops Another to Hagerstown - Rome Emperors
- Charleston scores four in eighth, beats Legends 7-3 - Lexington Legends
- Drive Blank âJackets, 7-0, Behind Ranaudo's Arm and Brentz's Bat - Greenville Drive
- Heathcott Triples R'Dogs to 7-3 Win - Charleston RiverDogs
- Greenville Takes Drive Out of Augusta Bats - Augusta GreenJackets
- Saturday's Game Postponed; Doubleheader Sunday - Hickory Crawdads
- Saturday's BlueClaws Doubleheader Postponed - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Doubleheader Postponed - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Shorebirds Game Notes: Vs. Greensboro (Doubleheader) - Delmarva Shorebirds
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