Solid Pitching Fuels Second Straight Win

DANVILLE, Va. - Behind the efforts of a very effective pitching staff, the Danville Braves won a second straight game against the Elizabethton Twins, taking a 2-1 contest on Friday night to clinch a series victory.
Tyler Owens got the start and allowed just one hit and one walk in four innings. Relievers Tanner Gordon, Greg Leban and Alex Segal scattered three hits, one walk and one run over the other five innings to protect a Danville lead and deliver the victory. Leban earned the win with two innings of no-hit, one walk pitching.
The Danville lineup put up just six hits of their own but used a pair of doubles to help score the runs needed to back up the pitching. The team also struck out just five times despite facing the league leader in strikeouts, as the Twins pitching staff came into the contest averaging about 11 strikeouts a game.
For the second straight game, Danville put runs on the board in the opening frame. Brandon Parker hit a one-out single and advanced to third on a Beau Philip double. Willie Carter walked up to the plate and delivered an RBI double to left to drive both runners in and give the D-Braves a 2-0 lead.
Elizabethton led off the game with a double and got two on in the second inning with a hit batsman and a walk but that was as close as the Twins got to scoring against Owens as he retired the side in the third and fourth innings.
In the sixth inning, the Twins got a two-out double and followed it up with an RBI double to score their first and ultimately lone run of the game.
Danville threatened to add to its lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mason Berne led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. A Charles Reyes groundout advanced Berne to third, and Jose Palma drew a walk to put runners on the corners with two outs. Elizabethton made a pitching change before the next at bat and was able to get a strikeout to end the frame.
Danville also put runners on the corners in the bottom of the eighth inning, with a pair of two-out singles, but a groundout ended the threat and sent the game to the final inning. Segal came in and struck out the first two batters before allowing a single. Unfazed, he struck out the next batter to finish the game and earn the save.
The win gave the D-Braves a series win for the first time since an August 2-4 series against the Princeton Rays. Danville will go for the sweep on Saturday night, with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.