Greenville Can’t Solve Bowling Green Arms in 3-0 Loss

Greenville Can’t Solve Bowling Green Arms in 3-0 Loss

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Connor Hujsak homered twice and the Bowling Green Hot Rods held Greenville to one hit Tuesday night, handing the Drive a 3-0 loss in the opener of a six-game series at Fluor Field at the West End.

Greenville (3-7) never found much traction offensively against Bowling Green starter Anderson Brito and two relievers, managing only a sixth-inning double by Yophery Rodriguez in the club’s only hit of the night. The Drive did not draw a walk, sent just one runner into scoring position and were retired in order in seven of nine innings.

Bowling Green (7-3) grabbed the lead in the second when Hujsak drove a 1-0 pitch from Shea Sprague out to left-center for a solo home run. Hujsak struck again in the fourth, this time turning on a full-count offering and sending it over the wall in left to stretch the Hot Rods’ advantage to 2-0.

That was enough support for Brito, who worked five hitless innings in his first win of the season. The right-hander struck out three and faced the minimum through five innings, with Greenville’s only baserunner in that stretch erased when Gerardo Rodriguez grounded into a first-inning double play after Henry Godbout was hit by a pitch.

Sprague settled in after Hujsak’s first homer and kept Greenville within striking distance for much of the night. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits over five innings, striking out five and walking one. He worked out of a minor threat in the third after a wild pitch and a single put runners at the corners, then retired Theo Gillen on a strikeout after Gerardo Rodriguez cut down Adrian Santana trying to steal second.

The Hot Rods added their final run in the sixth against reliever Jojo Ingrassia. Santana opened the inning with a walk, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Émilien Pitre’s sacrifice fly to left. Ingrassia limited the damage there, striking out Gillen and Hujsak, and P.J. Labriola followed with two scoreless innings to close out the bullpen effort for Greenville.

The Drive’s best and only real chance came in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Yophery Rodriguez lined a double to left off Jonathan Russell, putting the tying run in the on-deck circle. But Justin Gonzales bounced out to short to end the inning, and Greenville did not put another ball in play with a runner on base the rest of the way.

Russell covered the sixth and seventh for Bowling Green before Jacob Kmatz finished it off with a dominant two-inning save. Kmatz struck out four of the six batters he faced, including Mason White, Isaiah Jackson and Justin Gonzales, to lock down his second save of the season.

Rodriguez’s double accounted for Greenville’s lone extra-base hit and only baserunner after the first inning. The Drive struck out seven times and grounded into another rally-killing sequence early, while Bowling Green played clean defense behind its pitching staff and turned one double play.

Hujsak finished 2 for 4 with both Hot Rods homers and two RBIs, scoring twice. Santana added a single, walk and run scored at the top of the order, while Bowling Green stole three bases and repeatedly pressured Greenville’s battery.

The loss dropped the Drive to 3-7 on the season and spoiled the start of a new homestand in front of 4,121 on a clear 83-degree night in downtown Greenville.