Drive Top Legends, 5-3
Buttrey throws 7 innings to earn the victory
Lexington, KY - Thanks to a quality effort on the mound by Ty Buttrey and a three-run homer from Carlos Mesa, the Greenville Drive (6-6) defeated the Lexington Legends 5-3 on Tuesday night, marking their third consecutive win and a victory in the three-game series.
Buttrey (1-0) delivered his third consecutive strong start of the 2015 season, allowing just two earned runs in seven innings on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
The Drive offense did Buttrey some favors early on, taking a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the third. Javier Guerra smacked an RBI triple in the second off Matt Tenuta (1-2) to score Michael Chavis, who reached on a fielder's choice.
Mesa delivered a big blow in the top of the third, crushing a Tenuta offering to right-center for a three-run homer following a single and stolen base by Mike Meyers and a walk by Jordan Procyshen.
Humberto Artega put the Legends on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the third, and they added two more runs in the fifth thanks to a Luis Villegas RBI double and a Drive error.
The Drive added an insurance run in the top of the ninth against Legends hurler Matt Strahm thanks to back-to-back doubles by Guerra and Joseph Monge.
Mario Alcantara finished the game with a pair of scoreless innings to earn his first save of the year.
Mesa went 2-3 with the three-run homer, and Monge and Mauricio Dubon added two hits apiece. For Lexington, Carlos Garcia led the way with a three-hit night, while Arteaga and Villegas each picked up a pair of hits.
The teams will wrap up their series in Lexington on Wednesday with a special 10:05 AM start time. The Drive will send RH Jamie Callahan (0-1, 7.71) to the bump as they go for a series sweep, and RH Nik Stephenson (0-2, 4.50) starts for the Legends.