Spartanburgers Fall in Series Opener against Greenville

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Arturo Disla brought the Fifth Third Park crowd to its feet with his first home run of the year in the bottom of the first. Aidan Curry protected the Spartanburgers (0-3) two-run lead with four scoreless innings. The Drive (1-3) struck for two runs in the sixth, three in the eighth and two in the ninth to take game one of the I-85 rivalry series 7-2.

Curry stared down trouble in the first after two of the first three Drive batters singled to start the game. Curry picked off the lead runner and struck out the next batter to escape the jam. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Paxton Kling singled to bring up Disla. Disla clubbed a slider to left for a two-run home run, giving the Spartanburgers their first lead of the season.

Curry surrendered three more singles, but no runs across three more innings. The righty starter accumulated seven strikeouts in his first four innings of the year. The ‘Burgers could not tack on insurance against Greenville starter Shea Sprague. The southpaw strung together three scoreless innings of work after the first.

The Drive cracked the scoreboard in the sixth, the second inning out of the bullpen for Josh Sanders. Sanders gave up two runs on one hit, one walk, one hit batter, and an error. After Luke Savage struck out the side in the seventh, including a strikeout on an illegal timeout from a Greenville batter, the Drive plated two more in the eighth. Paxton Thompson (L, 0-1) gave up a go-ahead RBI single to Isaiah Jackson, then Mason White corked a two-run homer off the scoreboard to push Greenville’s lead to 5-2. Thompson ceded two more in the ninth; one of those runs was unearned.

Jojo Ingrassia (W, 1-0) and Austin Ehrlicher (S, 1) combined for the final five innings pitched for Greenville, shutting out Hub City on just one hit.

The Spartanburgers search for their first win of the year on Wednesday night against the Drive. Game two of the series is again slated for a 6:35 p.m. ET first pitch, with righties Luis Cohen for Greenville and Enrique Segura for Hub City both making their season debuts. Tickets are available online at hubcityspartanburgers.com/tickets.

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.