Dominant Pitching, Home Runs Secure 6-2 Victory for Drive

The script continues as the Greenville Drive stands strong in a 6-2 win over the Rome Emperors, gaining a 3-1 series lead heading into the weekend. The Drive improves to 29-29, while the Emperors falls to 25-32 in the second-half standings.

Yordanny Monegro pushed scheduled starter Shea Sprague to a relief role today, taking the mound for a rehab assignment with the Drive, his first appearance in Greenville since 2024.

Owen Hull and Luke Heyman carried yesterday’s momentum with a double and a two-run homer, respectively, to give the Drive an early 2-0 lead in the first. Hull’s double extended his on-base streak to 17 games, getting a hit in each of his last eight.

Monegro hit his pitch limit of 32 in the second inning, handing the ball over to Sprague after pitching 1.2 innings with no hits, no runs, three walks and three strikeouts. Sprague walked his first batter and escaped a bases-loaded jam, but found himself in another scare in the third, allowing a run off a sac-fly to cut the lead in half.

However, a three-run inning gave Greenville some cushion. Jake Schaffner led off the third with a single, gaining a baserunner before Hull sent one out for his second homer with the Drive, 4-1. A Yophery Rodriguez RBI double drove in Maximus Martin, stretching the lead to four runs.

Conor Essenburg hit a homer in the fifth for Rome to make it 5-2, and a wild pitch in the eighth gave the Drive their sixth run to end all scoring.

Aaron Nixon relieved Sprague in the eighth and returned to close it out. A bases-loaded two-out threat put Nixon in a corner, but the sights and sounds of a stadium packed with 6,017 supportive fans set the tone right for a game-ending strikeout, ending the night with a Drive win and celebratory Friday Night Fireworks.

Greenville’s offense seemed to have found its rhythm with 10 hits tonight. Hull went 2-for-4 with his two-RBI homer and two runs scored. Heyman also had a two-RBI homer, bringing his and Hull's combined total to four runs driven in.

Two runs on six hits for Rome in game four, striking out 12 times. Essenburg had a 2-for-4 night with a homer and a pair of runs scored. Williams also had two hits, the only other Emperor to do so tonight. Luis Guanipa had a solo RBI.

Drive pitching now has 49 strikeouts over the course of this series. Sprague earned his fourth win tonight, giving up just two runs on three hits and punching out six in 5.1 innings. Nixon’s success in a ninth nail-bitter earned him his first save of the season. Aiven Cabral shoulders his fifth loss, surrendering five runs on seven hits through five innings.

The Greenville Drive opens the weekend slate with game five tomorrow against the Rome Emperors with first pitch at 6:45 PM. Fans can come see the Drive take the field as the Ranas de Rio to highlight and celebrate different Hispanic & Latin cultures. It’s also Saturdays on the District, presented by Publix. Where fans can come, have some family fun during a pregame street party out on District 356 from 5 PM - 7 PM.