The Greenville Drive secured a series tie in a 7-6 walk-off win over the Hub City Spartanburgers. The Drive improves to 39-54, while Hub City falls to 44-52. In the second-half standings, Greenville is now 13-17, and the Spartanburgers are 10-20.
Starter Jojo Ingrassia kept the Hub City offense quiet through three innings before handing the ball over to Matt Duffy. Ingrassia finished with two hits and a pair of strikeouts.
Isaiah Jackson opened the scoring with a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the second, giving the Drive a 1-0 lead. Yoeilin Cespedes extended the lead with a home run of his own, driving in two other runners to make it 4-0 for the Drive in the fifth.
After five scoreless innings, Hub City found a way on the board with a two-run home run by Gleider Figuereo, 4-2, in the sixth off Duffy.
Gerardo Rodriguez added on in the seventh on an RBI single, 5-2, but the Drive’s advantage found its end after a four-spot eighth put Hub City in front. A sac-fly, a groundout, and a two-RBI single for Neurelin Montero gave the Spartanburgers a one-run lead, 6-5.
Joe Vogatsky relieved Bates and kept the deficit at one heading into the ninth. Enddy Azocar led off the inning with a double to put the tying run on for Justin Gonzales. In his return to the lineup, Gonzales capped off the evening with a two-run blast to walk off the Spartanburgers, 7-6, and end the homestand with a victory.
The Drive finished with seven hits, three of which were homers. Jackson, Cespedes, and Gonzales combined for six of the seven runs with their long balls. Azocar also went 2-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, and a walk. Vogatsky earned his second win of the season, pitching one inning while giving up one hit and striking out one.
Hub City got 11 hits but went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on. Luke Hanson went 4-for-5 with a run scored, and Figuereo had a 3-for-5 day with a pair of RBIs, two runs, and a homer. Cole Roland carried the loss, throwing one inning with three hits, two runs, a homer, and striking out one.
The Greenville Drive goes back on the road to face the Asheville Tourists for a six-game series starting on Tuesday with a first pitch at 6:35 PM.