he Greenville Drive shared a doubleheader with the Hub City Spartanburgers, winning game one 7-6 but dropping game two in a 3-2 walk-off defeat. The Drive improves to 48-59, while the Spartanburgers falls to 50-59. In the second-half standings, Greenville is now 22-22, while Hub City is 16-27.
GAME ONE (GREENVILLE DRIVE, 7-6)
The Drive and Hub City resumed game one on Wednesday evening, playing until the start of the bottom of the third on Tuesday before suspending the remainder of the game due to lightning.
Before the suspension, Greenville managed to put together five runs, all in the first inning for an early advantage. Luke Heyman started the scoring with a two-RBI single, then Isaiah Jackson hit his 16th homer to right field, bringing in Heyman and Carlos Gutierrez for three.
Adam Bates relieved Alex Bouchard, who started yesterday and went two innings with a hit and a couple of strikeouts on 18 pitches. Bates finished the third with no score for Hub City to ring in Wednesday’s action.
The Drive’s offense continued to roll in the fourth with an RBI single by Justin Gonzales, driving in the sixth run for Greenville. His 53rd RBI of the season is the second most on the Drive. An Antonio Anderson double in the following inning extended the lead, 7-0.
Bates' season struggles got him tangled in the sixth inning after trouble on the basepaths led to a six-run frame for the Spartanburgers. A bases-loaded walk brought one across for Hub City’s first run of the game, causing the Drive to call in Joey Gartrell to pitch for Bates.
He was greeted by Maxton Martin, who smashed Gartrell’s first pitch out for a grand slam, making it 7-5. Two pitches later, Quincy Scott hit a solo shot, the second straight home run for Hub City, cutting the Drive's lead to one.
Matt McShane entered the eighth and held down the Spartanburgers, clinching the series opener for the Drive with a 1-2-3 ninth. His fourth save of the season.
Greenville got 13 hits, with four players with two-hit games. Heyman and Jackson combined for five RBIs. Hub City finished with 10 hits, the biggest swing coming from Martin’s grand slam. Marcos Torres went 3-for-4 in game one for the Spartanburgers.
Hub City’s starter Ismael Agreda was charged with the loss, giving up five runs on seven hits in three innings. Gartrell earned his third win, allowing a pair of runs on five hits in two innings.
GAME TWO (HUB CITY, 3-2)
A pitcher's duel between former Tennessee teammates Marcus Phillips and AJ Russel controlled the offensive production through four innings each in game two.
It started with a three-up-and-three-down frame for Russel in the first, then transitioned to Phillips, who allowed the first run on an Antonis Macias single, putting the Spartanburgers ahead by one.
Jackson’s second home run of the day led off the second to tie the score before Yophery Rodriguez gave the Drive the lead on a ground out, 2-1. The only productive inning the Drive had in the second game.
Phillips held Greenville in front by one in his outing, sacrificing just one run on three hits and punching out six. Brandon Neely took over a day after being activated off the injured list in the fifth, giving up the game- tying run on a Gleider Figuereo grounder, 2-2.
After a 13-hit game, Russell made the breakaway difficult for the Drive, holding them to two runs on two hits while striking out seven. Owen Proksch relieved him for 2.2 innings, surrendering nothing.
Jesus Gamez came to secure the final out of the top of the seventh, collecting a strikeout to send it to the bottom half still tied at two. He’d ultimately earn his fifth win of the season.
New Red Sox signee and Drive right-hander Aaron Nixon took the mound in the bottom half looking to force extra innings, but back-to-back singles to start the frame set up a two-out, walk-off base hit by Martin to seal a 3-2 win for Hub City. Nixon left the mound with the weight of game two’s loss.
Jackson and Gerardo Rodriguez were the only Drive batters with a hit in game two, each with one. Jackson has 57 RBIs on the season, leading the team after Yoelin Cespedes transferred to Portland. The Spartanburgers had eight hits; Antonis Macias anchored with three and an RBI to go with it.
The Greenville Drive continues the series with game three tomorrow against the Hub City Spartanburgers, with first pitch at 6:35 PM.