Rome Storms Past Greenville with Late Surge in 7–2 Win

Rome Storms Past Greenville with Late Surge in 7–2 Win

ROME, Ga. — A string of costly mistakes and a four-run seventh inning doomed the Greenville Drive on Thursday night as the Rome Emperors rallied for a 7–2 win at AdventHealth Stadium.

Greenville (13–17) jumped out to an early lead with sacrifice flies from Zach Ehrhard in the first and Hudson White in the second, but Rome (17–13) capitalized on a series of wild pitches and a balk to score three in the fifth and take the lead for good.

Drive starter Noah Dean was strong early, striking out nine across 4 2/3 innings while allowing just one run. But reliever Darvin Garcia (0–2) unraveled in the fifth, giving up three runs—two scoring on wild pitches and another on a balk—after inheriting a runner from Dean.

Rome’s four-run seventh broke the game open. With the bases loaded and one out, Patrick Clohisy drew a walk to force in a run, followed by Titus Dumitru’s two-run single and Will Verdung’s RBI knock to cap the scoring. All four runs were charged to Garcia before he was relieved by Adam Smith.

Adam Maier (2–2) earned the win for the Emperors, settling in after Greenville’s early runs and allowing just three hits over seven innings. He struck out four and worked around three walks.

Franklin Arias continued his hot streak at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored to lead Greenville, which managed just four hits on the night and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Ambioris Tavarez led Rome offensively with two hits, two runs scored, and a stolen base, while Dylan Shockley added two hits of his own.

The Drive now trail 2–1 in the six-game series, which continues Friday night in Rome.