Drive Defeat Crawdads 7-1 on Saturday

Greenville, SC - The Greenville Drive extended their winning streak to four games on Saturday night at Fluor Field with a 7-1 victory in the series opener against the Hickory Crawdads.
In what has become a familiar formula of late, the Drive (32-23, 57-67) combined offensive contributions up and down the lineup with terrific pitching. After falling behind 1-0 early, the Drive scored seven unanswered runs between the third and fifth innings.
A four-run third saw 10 Drive hitters come to the plate. Kervin Suarez singled to begin the frame against Hans Crouse (0-1), stole second and later scored on a single by Ryan Fitzgerald. A Crawdads (33-23, 62-61) error later in the inning scored the go-ahead run, and Charlie Madden added a two-run single to push the lead to 4-1.
Jarren Duran got another outstanding night at the plate going with an infield single leading off the fourth, and he scored from second when Tanner Nishioka lined a single into center. Duran struck again in the fifth by lining a two-run double to the left field corner to finish the Drive's big offensive night.
Four Drive pitchers combined to hold the Crawdads to just one run. In his first start since his activation from a two-month stint on the disabled list, Alex Scherff allowed a solo homer to Tyreque Reed in the second and little else. The right-hander struck out five and gave up just two hits in four innings.
Durin O'Linger (4-1) followed with three scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory, while Dominic LoBrutto and Zach Schellenger each threw shutout frames to finish the game.
Duran went 3-5 with a pair of RBI on Saturday, and Nishioka added three hits as well. Fitzgerald, Madden and Frankie Rios all chipped in with two hits apiece.

Sunday's game at Fluor Field between the teams begins at 4:05 PM. Right-hander Eduard Bazardo (1-0, 0.75) will make his home debut for the Drive, and he will be opposed by Crawdads right-hander Noah Bremer (5-5, 4.05).
~Greenville Drive~