Rome’s Four-Run Sixth Inning Costs Spartanburgers in Series-Opener
ROME, Ga. — The Spartanburgers and Rome Emperors entered Tuesday tied for first place in the South Atlantic League’s South Division. In Tuesday’s series opener at AdventHealth Stadium, Braves No.7 prospect JR Ritchie (W, 2-1) shut down the Spartanburgers (12-10) for seven innings. Rome capitalized on Ritchie’s dominance and knocked
ROME, Ga. — The Spartanburgers and Rome Emperors entered Tuesday tied for first place in the South Atlantic League’s South Division. In Tuesday’s series opener at AdventHealth Stadium, Braves No.7 prospect JR Ritchie (W, 2-1) shut down the Spartanburgers (12-10) for seven innings. Rome capitalized on Ritchie’s dominance and knocked off Hub City 5-0.
Starter Leandro Lopez (L, 1-1) and reliever Seth Clark helped keep the Rome bats at bay, but a two-run blast in the sixth inning from Jace Grady helped provide the Emperors with enough offense for the evening.
Both Ritchie and Lopez worked around two-out baserunners in the first. After Hub City went down quietly in the second, Lopez faced his biggest challenge of the day. Will Verdung reached safely and advanced to second base to begin the inning on an error. Ambioris Tavarez lined a single to set the Emperors up with runners at the corners. A Dylan Shockley double play allowed Verdung to score an unearned run.
Lopez would respond with a one-two-three inning in the third before escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. Thanks to an Anthony Gutierrez single in the fourth and singles from Figuereo and Julian Brock in the fifth, Hub City had chances with a runner in scoring position in both frames. Ritchie escaped both innings with no damage done.
Anthony Susac replaced Lopez on the mound for the fifth inning. The righty bounced back after a tough outing Sunday and set down the Emperors in order with a pair of strikeouts. Hub City’s top of the order went quietly for a third time against Ritchie in the sixth.
Josh Mollerus entered to pitch the bottom of the inning for the Spartanburgers. Two straight singles from E.J. Exposito and Verdung again provided Rome with runners at the corners and no outs. Another double play scored Exposito this time from third to double the Emperors lead. With two outs, Dylan Shockley bounced an infield single and took second base on a wild pitch. Justin Janas drove in the third run of the day on a single to left. Jace Grady then lofted a ball to right for a two-run blast to power Rome to a 5-0 lead.
Ritchie finished off his night by setting the Spartanburgers down in order in the top of the seventh. Sixty-four of the right-hander's 82 pitches were strikes.
Clark kept the game right where it was with six straight outs in the seventh and eighth innings. Hub City managed to threaten new reliever Isaac Gallegos in the eighth. With two outs in the ninth, Keith Jones singled and Arturo Disla doubled. A strikeout would prevent Hub City from scratching any runs across in the ninth.
The Spartanburgers and Emperors battle in game two of the series on Wednesday morning. Dylan MacLean (1-0, 7.20 ERA) is set to pitch for Hub City against Rome’s Garrett Baumann (0-3, 5.19 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET.
About the Hub City Spartanburgers
The Hub City Spartanburgers, the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, embark on their inaugural season in April 2025. For more information on the Spartanburgers, visit milb.com/hub-city. For information about tickets to any of Hub City’s 66 home games, call 864-658-4206 or email: tickets@hcspartanburgers.com For media inquiries, email: iunsworth@hcspartanburgers.com. Follow along with the Spartanburgers on social media.
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