Drive blank Crawdads, 10-0 in rain shortened game

Miguel Bleis powered a home run in the fifth and accounted for three RBI, while Yordanny Monegro and Isaac Stebens snuffed out the Hickory Crawdads’ (14-14, 42-52) offense as the Greenville Drive (17-11, 43-51) blanked the Crawdads, 10-0 in a rain-shortened contest that was called in the seventh.

The Drive racked up double-digit runs on just five hits while reaching base via the walk 11 times in Friday’s contest. Both Eduardo Lopez and Allan Castro walked three times in the game while every batter in the Drive lineup but Cutter Coffey and Juan Chacon reached base via the free pass.

Four of the Drive’ 10 runs would be walked in with the bases loaded, three of those coming in a five-run seventh for the Drive.

Ironically, the game belonged to the pitchers in the early going as starters Yordanny Monegro and D.J. McCarty issued just one hit apiece through three innings. The Drive cracked McCarty first, as Bleis reached on a throwing error with two away in the third allowing Lopez to score from second. Coffey compounded the Crawdads’ error, knocking a single to left to score Bleis.

The next two batters, Ronald Rosario and Jhsotynxon Garcia reached base after being hit by a pitch before McCarty walked home Castro to boost the Drive lead to 3-0.

Monegro worked around leadoff doubles in the third and the fifth for the Drive, holding the Crawdads off the board. He exited after the fifth, allowing four hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

Bleis extended the lead in the fifth to 4-0, knocking a no-doubt homer over the left field wall for his third homer of the season at the High-A level.

The Drive never looked back. Mikey Romero added an RBI-infield-single in the sixth, beating the throw to first before the Drive’s walked-in runs boosted the lead in the seventh.

The strange seventh opened with a Coffey single and steal before five of the next seven batters reached on a walk to boost the lead to 8-0. Bleis added his double later in the inning, driving a pitch to left field to score two and round out the scoring at 10-0.

Stebens tossed the sixth for the Drive, allowing two hits while ringing up one.

Rain descended on L.P. Frans Stadium in the seventh and after the final out of the top of the frame, the tarp was rolled onto the field before the game was ultimately called, awarding the Drive the victory.

The Drive return to action Saturday, July 27th at 5:00 p.m. for game five of the six-game series with the Crawdads. The Drive hold a 3-1 series and have secured at least a split of the week’s action.