Ronald Rosario delivers walk-off knock to lift Drive to come-from-behind victory, 11-10 in extra innings

Drive erase four deficits enroute to key victory in SAL second-half race

August 4, 2024

Ronald Rosario’s one-out double in the bottom of the 11th ended a back-and-forth affair at Fluor Field, marking Rosario’s second walk-off hit of the season, and the Greenville Drive’s second walk-off win in dramatic fashion on a Marvel-themed night. Greenville (21-14, 47-54) came from behind four times to finish off

The win put the Drive a half-game out of first place in the South Atlantic League South Division’s second-half with 31 games left in the regular season; their dreams of reaching the playoffs for the second-consecutive season well within reach.

Rosario drove the first pitch of his at-bat to the right-field gap, after Jhostynxon Garcia was intentionally walked by the Wilmington Blue Rocks to set up a potential inning-ending double play.

Rosario’s heroics capped a game that featured 28 hits between the two teams and saw the Drive fall behind: 4-3, 7-4, 9-7, and 10-9. Each time the Drive fell behind, they matched the Blue Rocks run-for-run before finally regaining the lead and the win in the 11th.

Wilmington had previously used the intentional walk to success in the 10th as the winning run, represented by Eduardo Lopez, stood at second with two outs. Wilmington issued the free base to Mikey Romero before inducing a ground out off the bat of Justin Riemer.

Facing a 10-9 deficit entering the 10th frame, Lopez delivered a one-out double, his second double and game-tying hit of the night, to knot the game once again. Wilmington had taken the lead earlier in the inning on a sac-bunt from Johnathon Thomas.

As for the early action, Juan Chacon’s slicing double found the right field gap in the second inning, one that would be mishandled at the wall by center fielder Johnathon Thomas, allowing Chacon to get to third base. Edurado Lopez followed up with a slicing double of his own, stretching a guaranteed single into a risky double as Chacon scored from third.

Ronald Rosario opened up a 3-0 lead for the Drive, knocking a flare into left center field, scoring both Justin Riemer and Jhostynxon Garcia, who singled and doubled respectively.

After holding the Blue Rocks hitless through four innings, starter Blake Wehunt was banged up for four runs on five hits in the fifth, via RBI singles from TJ White and Phillip Glasser while Marcus Bown knocked a two-run double with two away to take a 4-3. Wehunt finished the game with seven strikeouts.

Miguel Bleis promptly answered in the fifth, pounding a line drive over the far corner of the Greenville Monster to knot the game back up at 4-4, before the Blue Rocks ripped reliever Jeremy Wu-Yelland for three runs in the sixth. Wu-Yelland would finish the night after 1 ⅔ innings, allowing five runs on three hits with two walks.

Greenville again answered the call in the sixth, picking up three runs with two away on RBI knocks from Fraymi De Leon, Romero, and Riemer, all consecutive singles to make it 7-7.

Wilmington’s Murphy Stehly chipped in a sac-fly off Wu-Yelland in the seventh and Maxwell Romero Jr. added an RBI single to put the Blue Rocks up 9-7.

Garcia added his 16th homer of the year, a solo shot in the seventh, to tie Bryan Gonzalez for the team lead in homers, drawing the game to within one.

After a Juan Chacon double, Lopez knocked his first game-tying hit with a single to right to score Andy Lugo to knot the game at 9-9, before Rosario delivered heroics in the 11th.

The Drive return to action on Sunday, August 4th at 3:05 p.m. for the finale of the series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks. The Drive lead the series, 3-2 and can earn their fifth straight series victory with a win tomorrow.