Drive blank Emperors 2-0 to secure back-to-back victories
The Greenville Drive (31-21, 57-61) pitching trio of Tyler Uberstine, Hayden Mullins, and Max Carlson held the Rome Emperors (21-29, 57-57) to two hits on the night as Mikey Romero and Bryan Gonzalez chipped in RBIs to blank the Emperors 2-0 on Friday night at Fluor Field. Uberstine took the
The Greenville Drive (31-21, 57-61) pitching trio of Tyler Uberstine, Hayden Mullins, and Max Carlson held the Rome Emperors (21-29, 57-57) to two hits on the night as Mikey Romero and Bryan Gonzalez chipped in RBIs to blank the Emperors 2-0 on Friday night at Fluor Field.
Uberstine took the mound for Greenville, three days shy of two years since his last start for the Drive, after undergoing Tommy John surgery on June 14 last year. He made the most of his two inning limit, ringing up two while allowing a lone hit back in the first before turning the ball over to Hayden Mullins piggybacking out of the bullpen for the third in his 18 appearances.
Neither team could do much offensively in the early going, though the Drive lineup collected four walks through the first four innings, stranding all four on base. A leadoff walk to Rosario and a subsequent Brayn Gonzalez double would be for naught as Hudson White and Juan Chacon went down on strikes and Andy Lugo popped-up to stifle the momentum. The Drive ultimately reached five times on the free pass.
Gonzalez was 3-for-3 on the night with a single and a pair of doubles and an RBI.
That all changed in the fifth as Fraymi De Leon ripped a double into center and Mikey Romero rewarded the effort with a hard liner to right center field for an RBI-single, giving the Drive a 1-0 lead.
Romero finished the night 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and an RBI.
Mullins managed dutifully in his outing, spinning five frames allowing one hit with six strikeouts, marking four three up, three down innings to stifle the Emperors’ lineup. He needed just 54 pitches in his outing, 35 of those for strikes.
Gonzalez delivered the insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, doubling down the left field line on a skipping grounder that bounded over the third base bag into the corner, scoring Zach Ehrhard who singled to leadoff the frame and made it second on a grounder.
Max Carlson, making his Fluor Field debut, tossed the final two frames for the Drive, holding the Emperors hitless and picking up a strikeout. He previously relieved for the Drive on a quick call up back in April.
The Drive return to action tomorrow for the penultimate game of the six-game series with Rome. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. The Drive lead the series, 3-1.