Drive Demolish Legends, 21-6
Greenville, SC - The Greenville Drive (13-8) ended their 7-game homestand with a bang on Sunday afternoon, pounding out 23 hits in a 21-6 romp over the Lexington Legends (11-13) before a crowd of 5,766. The 21 runs sets a Drive franchise record for most runs in a game, besting the 20 runs the Drive scored at Lexington on May 17, 2006.
The Drive didn't waste any time running away with the victory, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first against Lexington's Cody Reed (0-1). The lead was 2-0 after three batters thanks to Jantzen Witte's two-run double to right. Manuel Margot's single scored another, and a Lexington error brought home another. To add on, Jimmy Rider lined an RBI single to left, and Bo Greenwell, who led off the inning, delivered a sacrifice fly.
As if batting around in the first inning wasn't enough, the Drive did it two more times. They pulled it off in a five-run fifth inning thanks to RBI singles by Witte and Kevin Mager, bases loaded walks to Carlos Asuaje and Rider, and a sacrifice fly by Jake Romanski.
A seven-run seventh piled on to the offensive numbers. Rider collected a one-out RBI double and Witte drew a bases loaded walk before a Lexington pitching change. The Drive rudely greeted the new arm with four consecutive run-scoring hits. Mager laced a two-run single to center, Asuaje lined an RBI double to left, Margot singled to right to score a run, and Romanski doubled off the left-center wall.
The offensive outburst overshadowed the 2014 debut of Trey Ball (1-0), Boston's first round pick (seventh overall) in last summer's draft. He threw five innings, allowing nine hits, three runs and one walk while striking out two to record his first professional victory.
All three runs Ball allowed came in the second inning after RBI hits by Frank Schwindel and Chad Johnson and an RBI groundout by Humberto Arteaga.
Romanski smoked a two-run double to center in the fourth to score a pair of runs and extend the Drive lead at that time to 8-3.
An RBI double to the center field fence by Mager in the bottom of the eighth gave the Drive their 21st and final run of the game.
Lexington scored three runs in the top of the ninth against Sergio Gomez on a sacrifice fly by Elier Hernandez and a two-run single by Arteaga.
All 10 players who logged at-bats for Greenville on Sunday collected hits, with Romanski leading the way thanks to his 4-5 effort with five RBI. Witte went 3-4 with four RBI and four runs, Mager went 3-7 with four RBI, and Rider went 3-3 with three RBI. Asuaje, Greenwell, Tzu-Wei Lin and Margot all collected two hits apiece.
After an off day, the Drive will hit the road, as they begin a three game series with the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Tuesday night at 7:05. RH Jamie Callahan (1-2, 5.29) starts the series opener for the Drive, and the Grasshoppers will counter with RH Domingo German (1-1, 2.01 ERA).