Drive fall 5-4 as Crawdads outlast in back and forth contest
The Hickory Crawdads (3-5, 31-43) outlasted the Greenville Drive (4-4, 30-44) in a back-and-forth contest Saturday night at Fluor Field, hanging on for a 5-4 victory. Luis Mieses tripled to lead off the ninth and Anthony Gutierrez plated the winning run two batters later to cut the series to 3-2,
The Hickory Crawdads (3-5, 31-43) outlasted the Greenville Drive (4-4, 30-44) in a back-and-forth contest Saturday night at Fluor Field, hanging on for a 5-4 victory. Luis Mieses tripled to lead off the ninth and Anthony Gutierrez plated the winning run two batters later to cut the series to 3-2, setting up Sunday to be the determining game between a series win or split for the Drive.
After struggling in the first innings in his three previous starts, having given up five runs total, starter Blake Wehunt finally snuffed out the opposing team in the opening frame. He needed 12 pitches, getting two outs in his first three. The only blemish in the inning being a walk issued to Sebastian Walcott.
He nearly got out of a one-out bases loaded jam in the second, but what seemed to be the last out on a sharp grounder to third baseman Ahbram Liendo would be bobbled on the transfer allowing Gleider Figuereo to score for the 1-0 lead. A swinging strikeout avoided any further damage.
Wehunt showed his mettle in the third, working around a one-out triple in the third. He finished the night after the fourth, allowing just one run on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Alejandro Rosario shut down the Drive through two innings striking out four of the seven batters he faced. But the Drive cracked him in the third with a little help from the Crawdads. After Luis Ravelo and Ahbram Liendo singled, Miguel Bleis reached on a fielding error by Sebastian Walcott as his grounder slipped under Walcott’s glove, knotting the game at 1-1.
The Drive took the lead in the fourth as Ravelo grounded into a fielder’s choice with runners on the corners, sending Allan Castro home after he led off with a walk and moved to third on an Eduardo Lopez single to right field.
The good feelings lasted until the sixth. After Cooper Adams tossed a flawless fifth, the Crawdads cracked him the sixth as Ian Moller chipped in an RBI-single and Yosy Galan snapped a hard liner over the Greenville Monster to put the Crawdads in front, 4-2.
Adams tossed three innings, allowing three runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
Greenville answered quickly in the sixth, facing Damian Mendoza. Allan Castro walked and Rosario singled before Juan Chacon struckout. A wild pitch moved both runners to scoring position and Lopez slapped a single through the infield, plating both runners to knot the game at 4-4.
Hickory continued to pick up hits on the night and threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with one out. Zach Fogell picked up a key pop up and stared down Walcott into a full count. Fogell delivered, getting Walcott to whiff on an offspeed pitch.
But a focused Crawdads club hung tough. Luis Mieses led off the ninth with a triple that caromed off the wall along the right field line and rolled by right fielder Miguel Bleis. Mieses would exit for pinch runner Benjamin Blackwell and the move paid off. After a shallow fly out to Juan Chacon in left field, Anthony Gutierrez rapped a sharp single into left field, scoring Blackwell to put the Crawdads in front for good.
Fogell allowed four hits and one run with a walk and a strikeout.
The Drive went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
The Drive return to action on Sunday, June 30th at Fluor Field for the finale of the six-game homestand with Hickory Crawdads. The Drive hold a 3-2 lead in the series and can earn a series win with a victory tomorrow.