Drive walk-off Dash 6-5 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth

Bryan Gonzalez with speed to burn, knocked a chopping grounder up the third base line and beat the throw to first in the bottom of the ninth inning with two away with Zach Ehrhard on third, capping off a two-run bottom of the ninth comeback for the Greenville Drive; snapping a three-game losing streak and toppling the Winston-Salem Dash, 6-5.

The Drive erased three Dash leads in the game, at one point trailing 2-0, 4-2, and 5-4 before Gonzalez delivered the heroics. In a week where the Drive had been shut out twice and failed to hold a late lead the previous night, the Drive found a way to deliver.

After the Dash took a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth, Juan Montero delivered a one-out triple in the Drive half of the frame before Ehrhard knocked a double off the Greenville Monster that looked at first glance like it might leave the park, tying the game at 5-5. Will Turner moved Ehrhard to third on a groundout, setting up Gonzalez’s walk-off infield single.

After an easy first inning for starter Elmer Rodriguez, the Dash struck first on a Wes Kath two-run homer, a deep shot over the right field wall to put the Dash up 2-0 in the early going.

But the Drive, which has struggled to respond in the last two series, picked up a leadoff walk from Hudson White before Juan Chacon smacked a double to the left field alley, clanging it off the wall on the fly to cut the lead to 2-1.

Greenville brought the game back to even in the third on an individual effort from Nelly Taylor who singled, swiped second and advanced to third and scored on a pair of wild pitches from starter Seth Keener.

The deadlock did not last long however as the Dash responded with a pair of runs in the fourth as Rodriguez struggled with command. After a pair of walks and a wild pitch, Samuel Zavala delivered a two-out, two-run double to put the Dash up 4-2.

Rodriguez finished the night after four innings, allowing four runs on three hits with four walks and eight strikeouts.

Bryan Gonzalez pulled the Drive within a run in the fifth, rewarding Zach Ehrhard’s walk earlier in the inning with a single through the middle of the infield. After making it to third on a Hudson White single, Gonzalez tried to knot the game on his own, attempting to steal home with pitcher Patrick Maybach taking his time on the mound, looking away from home plate. Gonzalez nearly nabbed the plate but Maybach recovered, firing in a throw that beat Gonzalez by inches, keeping the game at 4-3.

But the Drive didn’t wait long to capitalize as Fraymi De Leon knotted the game in the sixth, sending his first High-A homer over the Greenville Monster to knot the game at 4-4.

Zavala picked up his second double of the game in the ninth inning, sending off the Greenville Monster past the leaping Zach Ehrhard at the wall to drive in Miguel Santos for the 5-4 lead before the Drive completed the ninth inning comeback.

Max Carlson tossed the final five frames in relief for the Drive allowing one run on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts, earning his first victory of the season.

The Drive return to action on Saturday, September 7 at Fluor Field for game five of the six-game series with the Dash. The Dash lead the series, 3-1.