Drive and Spartanburgers Split Friday's Doubleheader

The Greenville Drive dropped game one, 10-4, but bounced back in game two in walk-off fashion, 2-1, to even the series at two apiece against the Hub City Spartanburgers in Friday night’s doubleheader. The Drive improves to 38-53, while Hub City falls to 43-51. In the second-half standings, Greenville is now 12-16, and the Spartanburgers are 9-19.

GAME ONE (HUB CITY, 10-4)

Marcus Phillips got the ball to start game one, and after two quick outs, Gleider Figuereo homered to put Hub City up 1-0.

A five-spot in the third carried the Spartanburgers to a 6-0 advantage. Griffin Kilander relieved Phillips in the third but allowed a couple of RBIs to Marcos Torres and Esteban Mejia before sending it to the bottom half. Four of the five runs in the third counted against Phillips, who faced 13 batters, gave up four hits, five earned runs, and two walks, and struck out three.

However, the damage didn’t stop there. An RBI base hit from Figuereo in the fourth and a three-run homer by Arturo De Freitas in the following inning blew the game open, 10-0, for Hub City.

Hudson White was able to push a runner across for the Drive in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double, driving in Stanley Tucker, who walked to lead off the frame. Tucker also made it 10-3 with a two-RBI double in the sixth.

Matt McShane came in for Kilander in the sixth and pitched two clean innings, walking one batter and striking out two.

Enddy Azocar capped off the scoring for game one with a solo shot in the seventh. Hub City earned the win, 10-4.

Hub City ended with 11 hits in the first game compared to the Drive’s nine. De Freitas had the biggest hit with his three-run shot. Three batters had two RBIs each: Torres, Figuereo, and Mejia. Torres went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, Figuereo hit the same with one run scored and a homer, and Mejia went 2-for-3 with a run.

The Drive settled for four runs in game one. Tucker finished 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored. Azocar’s long ball in the final inning was his second of this series, both homers in consecutive games.

Phillips shouldered the loss for his fifth on the year, continuing to search for a win this season, while Case Matter earned his first for Spartanburger. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out a few of the eight batters he saw.

GAME TWO (GREENVILLE DRIVE, 2-1)

Devin Futrell got the ball in game two for his fourth start of the month. He came in hot with seven strikeouts and two 1-2-3 innings to keep Hub City quiet through four.

A Ronny Hernandez RBI groundout got Greenville on the board in the bottom of the third, 1-0, but Hub City tied it in the fifth on a Chandler Pollard double.

A tag team of Futrell and Steven Brooks put up a zero in the seventh for Hub City, giving the Drive the chance to walk it off on consecutive Fridays. After Greenville loaded the bases with a double and two intentional walks, Hernandez sent a sharp line-drive single through center to bring in the winning run, securing a 2-1 victory.

Chandler Pollard drove in the solo run for Hub City, going 1-for-2. Quincy Scott had a 2-for-3 showing with a run scored. Hub City as a whole ended with five hits, the same as the Drive. Both of Greenville's runs were batted in by Hernandez.

Futrell lasted 6.2 innings, giving up one run and five hits. He also walked one batter, but he struck out nine, making 77 punchouts on the season. His best start in July, and his second-highest-strikeout game behind his 12 in his start against Asheville back in late June. Brooks ended up with the win in game two, seeing one batter and sending him down by strikeout.

The Greenville Drive continues tomorrow night for game five against the Hub City Spartanburgers with first pitch at 6:45 PM. Fans can enjoy Saturdays on the District, presented by Publix.