Drive relinquish lead, fall 10-8 to Rome

The Greenville Drive’s (20-27) Kristian Campbell knocked his eighth homer of the year and chipped in a double in his 3-for-5 performance at the plate, but the night belonged to the Rome Emperors (25-20) who erased a 7-4 Drive lead to down Greenville 10-8 on the strength of eight runs in the middle innings.

Campbell’s first inning single extended his on-base streak to 32 games, three games shy of tying the record of 35-straight games, held by Mookie Betts and

The loss dropped the Drive to 6.0 games back of the first place Emperors in the South Atlantic League South Division standings with 19 games remaining in the first half.

After being shutout in the previous night, the bounces went the Drive’s way in the early-going Wednesday as they scratched across five runs in the second, the majority coming on a comedy of errors and miscues. With one out, Bryan Gonzalez reached after being hit by a pitch, Enderso Lira reached on a throwing error, Kristian Campbell walked and Cutter Coffey took first after being plunked in the side.

Allan Castro walked and a wild pitch from Drue Hackenberg brought Campbell home making it 3-0 Drive. Ronald Rosario followed up with a two-run single to right, boosting the lead to 5-0.

Rome began chipping away at the lead in the third, picking up a run off an Ethan Workinger RBI-single in the third. Rome stormed back in the fourth however, rocking Encarnacion for three runs.

Encarnacion hit Ambioris Tavarez with a pitch to lead off the inning, Stephen Paolini and Nick Ward walked to load the bases. After a Nick Clarno strikeout, Kevin Kilpatrick, Jr. rocked a double off the center field wall, clearing the bases, cutting the lead to 5-4.

Greenville responded in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a double from Campbell who scored on an RBI-double from Castro before Luis Ravelo knocked an RBI-single to lift the lead to 7-4, ending Hackenberg’s night on the mound.

But the scrappy Emperors hung around, piling on four more runs in the fifth. Four of those came off reliever Bryce Bonnin, making his first outing since going to the IL back on May 17th. He’d allow four runs on two hits, not making it out of the inning and not recording an out.

Adam Zebrowski hit a 0-2 fastball homer, E.J. Exposito singled and Tavarez walked before an Enderso Lira throwing error on the Exposito steal allowed Exposito to score. Paolini drew a walk, ending Bonnin’s night.

Nathan Landry took over for Bonnin, giving up a Nick Ward RBI-single and later a Sabin Cellabos single that scored the go-ahead run.

Tavarez later added a sac-fly to boost the lead to 9-7 in the sixth.

Landry finished the night going three innings, allowing one run on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

Campbell cut the lead to one in the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer into the Greenville Monster but he’d be outdone by Tavarez in the top of the ninth as Tavarez launched his second homer of the series, this time off Zach Fogell, into the apartments behind left center field to put the lead back at two.

Fogell tossed two innings, allowing a run on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Greenville would get two aboard in the ninth with one out but come up short as Romero and Campbell struck out swinging to end the night.

The Greenville Drive return to action on Thursday, May 30th for game three of the six-game series with the Rome Emperors. Rome leads the series, 2-0.

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