Two Straight Shutouts send Hub City atop SAL South Division
ROME, Ga. — A night after blanking the Emperors, Hub City’s pitching duplicated its performance. An hour rain delay did not seem to impact the Spartanburgers’ arms. Hub City (14-10) struck out 10 Rome (13-11) batters on its way to a second straight 1-0 victory. Kolton Curtis got the Spartanburgers
ROME, Ga. — A night after blanking the Emperors, Hub City’s pitching duplicated its performance. An hour rain delay did not seem to impact the Spartanburgers’ arms. Hub City (14-10) struck out 10 Rome (13-11) batters on its way to a second straight 1-0 victory.
Kolton Curtis got the Spartanburgers started on the mound. In just his second appearance of the season, Curtis worked around traffic for four scoreless innings. Adonis Villavicencio (W, 1-0) carried the torch through the fifth to help Hub City get the ball to Josh Trentadue (S, 1) in the sixth. Trentadue dominated the rest of the way. Julian Brock helped provide the only offense of the evening with his fifth double of the season.
Adam Maier (L, 1-2) threw the first pitch just over an hour after the originally scheduled 7:00 p.m. first pitch due to a flash storm. Rome’s starter was aided by a caught stealing to face the minimum in the first. Curtis worked around a two-out walk and stolen base to strand one runner in the first.
Maier was clean through the second and third; Curtis replicated that in the second, but he surrendered a one-out single to Carlos Arroyo in the third. Lizandro Espinosa followed it up with a double. Curtis stranded both runners thanks to a strikeout and a groundout.
After another clean top-half in the fourth, Curtis was forced into action in the bottom half. Will Verdung walked but was caught stealing at second. Dylan Shockley made it to second on a dropped liner to center fielder Anthony Gutierrez in center field. The Hub City speedster made up for it on the next play. Justin Janas singled into center, and Gutierrez fired a skipper to the dish in plenty of time to erase Shockley trying to score. Curtis finished his day with another flyout to Gutierrez.
Maier again faced the minimum in the fifth. Rome’s starter had set down 12 straight at that point. The Emperors threatened for a first run with two outs in the fifth against Villavicencio out of the bullpen. Hub City’s reliever worked around a walk and single to keep it scoreless.
The Spartanburgers picked up their first hit of the game to begin the sixth against Maier. Brock doubled on a shallow bloop into left field. Quincy Scott moved the runner over with a deep fly out to left center. With one out and the go-ahead run on third, Rome moved the infield in. Theo Hardy hit a grounder to second and Brock broke for home. Second baseman Carlos Arroyo fielded it cleanly, but his throw was slightly offline. Brock slid feet first and got his cleat to the plate before Shockeley could apply the tag.
Hub City managed just two hits the rest of the way, a pair of Keith Jones singles, but one run was all Trentadue needed. Working with the lead, the southpaw fanned two in the sixth, then picked off a runner at first in the seventh with the help of a smooth scoop from Hardy to complete a one-three-six putout. Trentadue sat down two in the eighth via the strikeout, then retired the ninth one-two-three to end the game.
The Spartanburgers claim sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic League’s South Division with the win. Hub City is one game ahead of Rome; the two teams match up Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET for the fourth of six in the series. Right-hander David Davalillo (1-0, 1.10 ERA) takes the ball for the ‘Burgers and lefty Herick Hernandez (0-0, 5.14 ERA) starts for Rome.
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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