Stebens rings up two in the ninth with bases loaded to secure Drive 1-0 victory

Isaac Stebens faced a bases loaded opportunity for the Hickory Crawdads (11-19) in the ninth and didn’t flinch.

He’d run the count full against Cam Cauley, before running a fastball by the Texas Rangers’ No. 12 prospect for out number two.

Four pitches later he’d whiff Yosy Galan on a high running fastball to secure his first save pf the year and preserve the Greenville Drive’s (14-17) 1-0 victory.

Much of Friday night’s action would be a pitcher’s duel between starters Dalton Rogers and Joseph Montalvo. Rogers and Montalvo would combine to allow just five hits as they each spun five innings.

Montalvo held the Drive to just two hits in his outing while issuing a walk and ringing up seven Drive batters, holding Greenville hitless until the third. But he’d limit Drive opportunities, allowing only a double to Ronald Rosario the rest of the way.

Rogers struggled with his command early, issuing four walks while facing three innings where he put two runners on with two outs. He worked around back-to-back walks in the first, picking up a groundout to avoid danger. He’d get a double-play to avoid damage in the second with two men on and fan two t in the fourth to stifle two runners in the fifth.

Rogers would officially record five hitless innings on the night, allowing three hits, walking four and striking out four.

Greenville finally cracked the 0-0 deadlock in the sixth as Kristian Campbell reached on a one-out walk. Six pitches later, Allan Castro rapped an RBI-double off the Green Monster that tagged and knocked out a line-score plate and bounced into left centerfield to bring Campbell home for the 1-0 lead.

Gabriel Jackson continued his string of solid relief outings, going 3.1 innings allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out one across the 17 batters he faced. He’d be pulled for Stebens in the ninth after giving up two singles while Devin Hurdle reached on a fielder’s choice that didn’t result in an out to load the bases.

Stebens took care of the rest, sending Fluor Field into a frenzy with two strikeouts to preserve the Drive’s third win of the series.

The Greenville Drive return to action tomorrow, Saturday, May 11th for game five of the six-game series with the Crawdads. Greenville leads the series, 3-1 and can secure a series victory with a win tomorrow.