Spartanburgers Outlast Drive After Rain Delay

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Undeterred by a slow start and a near-two-hour rain delay, Hub City (18-28, 52-60) battled back to beat Greenville (23-24, 49-61) Saturday 4-2. The Spartanburgers clinched the season series over the Drive with their 13th win of the year in 23 tries.

Right-hander Moises Morales took the mound for his High-A debut and faced the minimum in his first inning. The ‘Burgers left runners on the corners in the bottom of the first against Dylan Brown. Morales shut down Greenville in the second but struggled in the third. The Drive loaded the bases to start the inning, then a bases-loaded walk and a fielder’s choice brought in the first two runs of the game.

Hub City went down harmlessly in the bottom of the third, then nearby thunder and lightning forced the game into a stoppage. The skies opened shortly afterwards, leading to a rain delay which lasted nearly two hours. The game resumed just before 7:20 p.m. ET.

Anthony Susac took over for Morales on the rubber in the top of the fourth and tossed two scoreless innings. The Spartanburgers offense came alive against Shea Sprague. In the fifth, Marcos Torres led off with a double, advanced to third on an infield single from Chandler Pollard and scored on Cal Stark’s fielder's choice groundout.

Sprague (L, 3-4) struggled again in the sixth. Luke Hanson walked to start the inning and advanced to second on a groundout. Maxton Martin’s slicing blooper to left turned into a double to tie the game. Martin was replaced on the bases by Antonis Macias after an apparent injury. Quincy Scott singled to put runners at the corners with one out. A Torres base hit brought in Macias and propelled Hub City in front for the the first time in the game.

Kai Wynyard took over for Susac in the sixth. After a leadoff single, Wynyard (W, 4-3) set down each of the next six batters he faced. The Spartanburgers tacked on in the seventh. After the first two batters reached, a double play put Paxton Kling at third with two outs. Macias drove him in to double the lead. Case Matter and Jesus Gamez (S, 2) both worked around a pair of walks in the eighth and ninth respectively to slam the door.

Hub City goes for a series win on Sunday afternoon against the Drive at 4:35 p.m. ET. Enrique Segura (1-4, 7.28 ERA) will get the start for the Spartanburgers against Matt Duffy (0-1, 12.34 ERA).

About the Hub City Spartanburgers

The Hub City Spartanburgers are the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and the reigning South Atlantic League South Division Champions. 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 864-594-0701 or email: [email protected]. For media inquiries, email: [email protected]. Follow along with the Spartanburgers on social media.