Hot Rods Late Surge Not Enough, Fall in Opener 9-3
Greenville, South Carolina – Adrian Santana jump started the offense with a two-RBI triple in the seventh, but the late surge wasn’t enough for the Bowling Green Hot Rods (0-1) as they lost by a score of 9-3 to the Greenville Drive (1-0) on Friday at Fluor Field in Greenville,
Greenville, South Carolina – Adrian Santana jump started the offense with a two-RBI triple in the seventh, but the late surge wasn’t enough for the Bowling Green Hot Rods (0-1) as they lost by a score of 9-3 to the Greenville Drive (1-0) on Friday at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Drive scored the first runs of the game in the bottom of the third inning against Bowling Green starting pitcher Marcus Johnson. With one out in the inning Kolby Johnson collected a one-out single and Nazzan Zanetello walked. Nelly Taylor lined a three-run homer over the wall in right, giving the Drive a 3-0 lead. Marvin Alcantara drove in the fourth run of the inning with an RBI single, giving Greenville a 4-0 advantage.
Three more runs came around to score for Greenville in the bottom of the fifth against Bowling Green reliever TJ Fondtain. Zanatello led off the inning with a single and one out later Zach Ehrhard walked. Brooks Brannon singled to load the bases and Alcantara walked, plating Zanetello, making it a 5-0 Drive lead. Justin Reimer knocked in another two runs with a single, increasing the lead to 7-0. Taylor added another run with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, putting the Drive ahead 8-0.
Bowling Green scored their first runs in the top of the seventh inning against Greenville reliever Max Carlson. With one out, Blake Robertson singled and Daniel Vellojin doubled. Adrian Santana tripled to left-center, scoring both runners. Émilien Pitre drove in Santana with a single, bringing the Hot Rods within five runs, 8-3. Greenville plated their final run in the bottom of the eighth inning, beating the Hot Rods 9-3.
Isaac Stebens (1-0) received his first win of the season, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk, and striking out two. Johnson (0-1) spun 4.0 innings, surrendering four runs on five hits while walking one and striking out seven.
The Hot Rods and Drive play the second game of a six-game series on Saturday with a 5:45 PM CT first pitch at Fluor Field. Bowling Green will send out RHP Garrett Edwards to face Greenville RHP Juan Valera.
Fans can catch all the action by watching on MiLB.tv, listening through the MiLB First Pitch App and BGHotRods.com. Fans can also secure their seats for future home Hot Rods games by calling (270) 901-2121, visiting the Bowling Green Ballpark box office during normal business hours, or going to www.bghotrods.com.
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Hot Rods Baseball