Drive Rally Late for First Win of 2026 in 7-2 Victory Over Hub City

Drive Rally Late for First Win of 2026 in 7-2 Victory Over Hub City

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Greenville Drive (1-3) saw an offensive awakening after falling behind early before answering with a steady, relentless finish Tuesday night, erasing an early deficit and pulling away late for a 7-2 victory over the Hub City Spartanburgers (0-3) at Fifth Third Park.

The win gave Greenville its first of the 2026 season and a 1-0 advantage over Hub City in the 6 game series.

Greenville did not score until the sixth, but once the Drive broke through, the offense kept coming. The club scored two runs in the sixth to tie the game, added three more in the eighth to take control and tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth behind a 12-hit attack.

Mason White delivered the biggest swing of the night, launching a two-run homer to right-center field with two outs in the eighth inning to turn a tie game into a three-run Greenville lead. White finished 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs, accounting for nearly half of the Drive’s scoring on his own.

Justin Gonzales added two hits and an RBI, Isaiah Jackson drove in two runs, and Yoeilin Cespedes doubled home a run in the ninth to push his league-leading total to 5 doubles in only 4 games. Jack Winnay reached base five times, going 2 for 2 with three walks and scoring once as Greenville’s lineup gradually wore down Hub City pitching.

The Spartanburgers struck quickly against Greenville starter Shea Sprague in the bottom of the first. After Paxton Kling singled with two outs and advanced to second on a balk, Disla turned on a 1-0 pitch and sent it out to left field for a two-run home run, giving Hub City a 2-0 lead.

That was all Hub City would get.

Sprague settled in after the rocky first inning and kept Greenville within striking distance. The right-hander worked four innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four and walking none. He retired nine of the final 11 batters he faced after Disla’s homer and handed the game off with the Drive still very much in it.

Hub City starter Aidan Curry was sharp early and kept Greenville quiet through four scoreless innings. The Drive put seven balls in play for outs via strikeouts or weak contact in Curry’s outing, and Greenville also lost a potential first-inning threat when Henry Godbout was caught stealing third after consecutive singles by Godbout and Gerardo Rodriguez.

Still, Greenville continued to chip away with baserunners. Winnay singled in both the second and fourth innings, Encarnacion singled in the fifth, and the Drive finally capitalized in the sixth after Hub City went to its bullpen.

Josh Sanders opened the inning by hitting Gerardo Rodriguez with a pitch after Godbout popped out. Cespedes then reached on a fielder’s choice when third baseman Rafe Perich committed a fielding error, putting two men aboard. Winnay followed with a walk to load the bases, and Jackson brought home Greenville’s first run on a forceout to second that scored Gerardo Rodriguez from third.

White then came through with the tying hit, drilling a ground-rule double to right-center field to score Cespedes and even the game at 2-all.

That rally changed the tone of the game.

Jojo Ingrassia, who replaced Sprague to begin the fifth, was dominant out of the bullpen and gave Greenville the bridge it needed. The left-hander retired nine of the 10 batters he faced over three scoreless innings, allowing no hits and just one walk while striking out four. He snuffed out Hub City’s best remaining threat in the sixth, issuing a one-out walk to Kling before allowing a stolen base, then striking out Disla and Hartl to keep the game tied.

After Hub City reliever Luke Savage struck out the side in the seventh, Greenville broke through for good in the eighth against Paxton Thompson.

Winnay worked another walk with two outs, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored when Jackson lined a single through the right side. White followed immediately and drove a 1-1 pitch out to right-center for a two-run homer, pushing the Drive’s lead to 5-2.

Greenville added two more in the ninth.

Yophery Rodriguez opened the inning with a double to right and came home on Gonzales’ single to left. After Godbout grounded into a double play, Gerardo Rodriguez reached on Perich’s second error of the night, this time a throwing miscue that allowed him to advance to second. Cespedes then lined a double to left to score Gerardo Rodriguez and stretch the lead to five.

Austin Ehrlicher handled the final two innings for Greenville and earned the save. He allowed just one hit and struck out two, retiring six of the seven batters he faced after Maxton Martin’s two-out single in the eighth.

Hub City managed only one baserunner over the final three innings and finished with five hits. Kling had two of them, while Disla supplied the lone extra-base hit and both RBIs with his first-inning homer.

Greenville’s pitching staff combined to hold the Spartanburgers scoreless over the final eight innings. After Disla’s blast, Sprague, Ingrassia and Ehrlicher teamed to allow just three hits the rest of the way while striking out 10 overall.

The Drive finished 4 for 7 with runners in scoring position and scored seven runs despite grounding into two double plays and striking out 14 times.

Perich’s two errors proved costly for Hub City, which was charged with two errors overall and allowed two unearned runs in Greenville’s comeback.

Ingrassia (1-0) earned the win in relief. Thompson (0-1) took the loss after surrendering five runs, four earned, in 1 2/3 innings. Ehrlicher picked up his first save.

The Drive will look to extend their series advantage on Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm in Spartanburg.