Drive Snap Losing Streak with Walkoff Win

Greenville, SC - Snapping a 17-game losing streak was sweet enough for the Greenville Drive (4-19, 38-54), but doing it in walkoff fashion was even sweeter. Franklin Guzman's single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Drive a 7-6 victory over the Augusta GreenJackets (11-12, 45-46) in front of 5,960 fans on Friday.

Trailing 6-5 entering the ninth, the Drive sent five men to the plate in the frame and all of them reached base against Jake Smith (2-4). Carlos Asuaje began the frame with a laser up the middle for a single, and Manuel Margot's bunt attempt deflected off a diving Smith's glove, putting runners at second and third. Following an intentional walk to Jake Romanski, Zach Kapstein tied the game with a single to left, and Guzman, playing his first game with the Drive, lined a single to set off a massive celebration.

Taylor Grover (1-3) was nothing short of phenomenal for the Drive in picking up the win, hurling five hitless, scoreless relief innings.

The GreenJackets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first against Trey Ball after Ty Ross' RBI single and Jeremy Sy's two-run homer to left.

The Drive answered back with single runs in the first and second innings, as Asuaje's first-inning double plated Tzu-Wei Lin, who singled, and Cole Sturgeon lined an RBI single to right in the second to score Kapstein, who also singled.

Sturgeon wasn't done there, as his bunt groundout in the fourth brought home a run and tied the game at three, and his single to center in the sixth plated another run. He finished the night 2-4 with three RBI.

Augusta scored three times in the fifth to go up 6-3, but the Drive began their comeback with Sturgeon's sixth inning single and an eighth-inning double steal that plated a run.

Joining Sturgeon with two-hit nights for the Drive were Asuaje, Guzman, Kapstein, Lin and Jimmy Rider. 

The teams will meet for game three of the four game series on Saturday night at 7:05. RH Jacob Dahlstrand (4-5, 3.02) will make his first start of the season for the Drive, while the GreenJackets will send RH Robert Ramer (1-0, 0.00) to the mound.