SAL Greenville Drive

Resilient Drive Score Two in the 10th, Top 'Hoppers 7-6

April 19, 2023 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Greenville Drive News Release


Despite giving up four solo homers to the Greensboro Grasshoppers (7-3), and relinquishing the lead in the bottom of the ninth, the Greenville Drive (4-5) soured the Opening Night party for Greensboro, plating two runs in the 10th to come out on top 7-5.

The Drive finally broke through in extra-innings for the first time in 2023 as they fell short in two previous extra-innings affairs at Fluor Field in their series with Asheville last week. Today's game marked the third extra-innings game of the year for the Drive and the third in their last five games.

Both pitchers, Greensboro's Po-Yu Chen and Greenville's Isaac Coffey, were dealing early sending each of the first six batters they faced down in succession.

The Drive would strike first in the game as Gilberto Jimenez singled and stole second before being moved to third on a Eduardo Lopez line drive to right. The next batter, Eddinson Paulino, riding a home-run effort in his last game on Sunday, knocked in Lopez with a grounder through the infield to right field giving the Drive the 1-0 lead.

But the Drive win would be a grinding effort, as the fourth inning saw Drive starter Isaac Coffey give up two solo homers in the fourth off the bats of Grasshopper's Jase Bowen and Will Matthiessen to give Greensboro the 2-1 lead.

Coffey would go five innings in this one, giving up two runs on two hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Greenville knotted the game in the sixth inning as back-to-back singles by Chase Meidroth and Marcelo Mayer put the Drive in position. Meidrtoh tagged up and made it to third on a Blaze Jordan line drive out to centerfield before scoring on the ensuing at bat off a wild pitch by Greensboro reliever, Dante Mendoza.

The lead was short lived as second batter of the 'Hoppers half of the sixth, Mike Jarvis, homered off reliever Maceo Campbell putting Greensboro back on top 3-2.

Drive bats would have their own big inning however, as two-out walks to Eduardo Lopez and Eddinson Paulino set the stage for Meidroth. His base knock scored Lopez and a throwing error on the play by right fielder Bowen allowed Paulino to score.

Marcelo Mayer fired a double to right on the ensuing pitch, plating Meidroth and giving the Drive the lead 5-3.

Meidroth and Mayer both delivered stellar nights at the plate; Mayer going 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI while Meidroth chipped in a 2-for-5 performance with an RBI and two runs.

Jordan DiValerio came on in relief of Campbell in the seventh and he'd also be the victim of a solo homer, as Maikol Escotto took a ball out of left field cutting the lead to one at 5-4. DiValerio would go two innings in relief, giving up just the solo homer will striking out four.

Escotto would again get to a Drive pitcher as his two-out base knock RBI off Alex Hoppe in the ninth tied the game at 5-5. A confusing baserunning decision by Escotto two batters later would end the Grasshoppers threat, sending the game to extras.

Tenth inning ghost runner for the Drive, Nathan Hickey, moved to third on a single by Miguel Ugueto and scored on a wild pitch that gave the Drive the 6-5 lead and moved Ugueto to third. The wild pitch would prove to be decisive as the ensuing batter, Max Ferguson knocked in Ugueto with single to right to give the Drive a 7-5 lead.

Reliever Robert Kwiatkowski came on in the 10th to shut down the Grasshoppers and he'd do so, allowing only one run while forcing two groundouts and a pop-up to secure the Drive win, 7-6.

The Drive (Boston Red Sox), up 1-0 in the six game series, and Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh Pirates) are back in action at First National Bank Field on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Drive return to Fluor Field on April 25 to face the Hudson Valley Renegades (New York Yankees).

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from April 19, 2023


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