Drive power past Emperors, 9-5, behind White’s homer, Anderson’s 3 RBIs

Drive power past Emperors, 9-5, behind White’s homer, Anderson’s 3 RBIs

ROME, Ga. — Hudson White’s two-run homer in the eighth inning capped a balanced offensive effort as the Greenville Drive pulled away late for a 9-5 win over the Rome Emperors on Friday night at AdventHealth Stadium, evening the six-game series at two games apiece.

White finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, including his first home run of the season, while Antonio Anderson drove in three runs on a pair of hits, including a go-ahead two-run single in the fifth. Greenville (14-17) totaled 11 hits and struck out 10 Emperors in the win.

After surrendering an early 2-0 lead in the third, Greenville responded with three runs in the fifth to retake control. White sparked the frame with a leadoff single and later scored on an RBI double by Andy Lugo. Following a pitching change, Anderson delivered a two-out, two-run single to push the Drive ahead 5-3.

Rome (17-14) chipped away with a solo home run from Joe Olsavsky in the fifth and added another run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to Patrick Clohisy, but couldn’t solve the Drive bullpen. Matt McShane struck out four in 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the save, while John Holobetz (1-0) allowed just one earned run over five innings for the win.

Riley Frey (0-1) was tagged with the loss after surrendering four runs in 3 2/3 innings of relief.

Greenville pulled away with a two-run seventh behind an RBI double from Anderson and a single by Zach Ehrhard. White then put the game out of reach in the eighth with a towering homer to left that scored Marvin Alcantara.

Alcantara, Ehrhard and Anderson each had multi-hit games, and seven different Drive batters scored. The Emperors, meanwhile, managed just five hits and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

The two teams continue the series Saturday night.