Drive and Braves Split Doubleheader

Rome, GA - Thanks to rain on Thursday, the Greenville Drive (30-31) and Rome Braves (20-42) played a pair of games on Saturday. After dropping the opener 7-4, the Drive rebounded in the nightcap with a 5-3 victory.

A 12-hit offensive attack and solid pitching propelled the Drive to a win in game two. Kendrick Perkins led the way at the plate with three hits and two runs in the nightcap, including a fifth-inning solo homer to push the Drive's lead to 4-2.

The Drive took a 2-0 lead against Tyler Vail in the second inning thanks to Carlos Coste's RBI single and Tzu-Wei Lin's sacrifice fly, but Rome answered back with two runs of their own to tie the game after a Carlos Sanchez two-run double.

Three consecutive hits by Forrestt Allday, Lin and Jantzen Witte loaded the bases in the top of the fourth, and Carlos Asuaje drove home a run with a groundout to give the Drive a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Myles Smith (2-4) hurled five effective innings in a spot start to earn the victory, as he allowed six hits and three runs. Pete Ruiz closed out the game with two perfect frames to pick up his first save.

Joining Perkins with multi-hit games in the nightcap were Allday, Coste and Manuel Margot, who each collected two hits. 

Rome touched up Drive starter Daniel McGrath (1-3) in game one to the tune of six runs in four and one-third innings, including a four-run fifth inning to chase him. A wild pitch scored the first run, and RBI hits for Ross Wilson and Victor Caratini tacked on two more. Victor Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring in the frame.

The late surge made a victor out of Braves reliever Colby Holmes (2-1), a former South Carolina Gamecock. 

The Braves took a 1-0 lead against McGrath in the bottom of the first, but Asuaje quickly tied the game in the second inning with a solo shot, his fifth homer of the season.

Caratini's RBI single in the fourth put Rome ahead for good.

Jordan Weems lifted a sacrifice fly against Holmes in the sixth, and Asuaje's second homer of the game plus Perkins' RBI single in the seventh capped the scoring for the Drive.

Asuaje's two solo homers led the way for the Drive in the opener, while Perkins, Jimmy Rider and Wendell Rijo added two hits apiece. Caratini had two hits and two RBIs for the Braves, while Johan Camargo and Orrin Sears also picked up two hits.

The series finale between the two teams is set for 2:00 on Sunday afternoon.