Drive drop Thursday game in Wilmington, 6-4 

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (8-4) struck for four runs in the fourth inning en route to a 6-4 victory over the Greenville Drive (4-8) to take their second game of the six-game series this week in Delaware.

The Drive’s Cooper Adams earned the spot start for the Drive on Thursday night and his outing would be somewhat rocky from the start, though he’d overcome the nerves in the early innings preventing damage from the Blue Rocks. Adams hit two of the first three batters he faced with a pitch and picked up an automatic ball thanks to a pitch clock violation in the early innings. But he’d continue to pick up outs, unscathed until the third when the Blue Rocks scratched across their first run of the night on a Branden Boissiere sac-fly.

Greenville would be benefactors of a largely undisciplined first inning from Wilmington starter Bryan Caceres. After fanning Cutter Coffey on strikes, both Ahbram Liendo and Allan Castro reached via a walk before Ronald Rosario would be plunked by an inside fastball to his left arm, loading the bases for Juan Chacon.

Chacon would drive a 3-2 pitch to right field for a sac-fly for a 1-0 Drive lead before a wild pitch from Caceres during the ensuing at-bat allowed Castro to plate the 2-0 lead for Greenville. Eduardo Lopez nearly opened the lead to three, but his hard liner would go to the waiting glove of shortstop Kevin Made.

Adams wouldn’t be able to hold the Blue Rocks at-bay much longer, as they cracked across four runs in the fourth. Marcus Brown and Made chipped-in RBI-singles, the latter accounting for two runs. With the bases loaded T.J. White would reach first on a catcher’s interference call on Ronald Rosario allowing Viandel Pena to cross the plate for a 5-2 lead. Adams would exit the game allowing five runs on four hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.

The Drive would do their best to claw back into the game as Coffey ripped a two-RBI double into center field in the fifth after Tyler Miller singled and Karson Simas doubled. But 5-4 would be the closest the Drive would come as the Blue Rocks tacked on another run in the seventh as reliever Jonathan Brand walked home a run to make it 6-4. Brand would end his night allowing one run on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

In somewhat bizarre fashion, the Drive turned to catcher Drew Ehrhard to pick up the final two outs of the seventh on the mound, which he’d do with an inning-ending double play. Ehrhard would also pitch the eighth for the Drive allowing two singles though none would later haunt him as he picked up a fly out, pop out, and got an out on Boissiere’s attempt to stretch his single into a double. Ehrhard's outing would officially go down as 1.2 innings of work, allowing just two hits.

The Drive would go down in order in the ninth, preserving the 6-4 victory for the Blue Rocks.

The Greenville Drive return to action tomorrow, April 19 at 6:35 p.m. for game four of the six-game series with Wilmington. The series is 2-1 in favor of the Blue Rocks.