GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Rome Braves used an unearned run in the top of the ninth to edge the Greenville Drive, 4-3, on Thursday night in the series opener at Fluor Field.With the game tied 3-3 in the ninth, Jose Bermudez singled and later stole second to put the go-ahead
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Rome Braves used an unearned run in the top of the ninth to edge the Greenville Drive, 4-3, on Thursday night in the series opener at Fluor Field.
With the game tied 3-3 in the ninth, Jose Bermudez singled and later stole second to put the go-ahead in scoring position with no outs. A groundout moved him to third and, with the infield drawn in, an errant throw on a grounder to third allowed him to score to give Rome the eventual 4-3 victory.
The Drive wasted no time getting on the board, plating a run in the first. Cole Brannen doubled to left-center field to led off the game, moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI fielder's choice by Jordan Wren to put the home team in front 1-0.
Rome answered with three runs in the top of the second. Griffin Benson and Henry Quintero got back-to-back singles to start the inning and later stole second and third, respectively, to move in to scoring position. Two batters later, Brendan Venter doubled to score both and put Rome in front 2-1. Later in the inning, Braden Shewmake singled to bring home Venter and make it a 3-1 lead.
Greenville pulled closer with a run in the bottom half of the second. A lead-off walk to Brandon Howlett followed by a double by Dylan Hardy put two in scoring position. Two batters later, Brannen singled to left to drive in Howlett and cut the lead to 3-2.
The Drive tied with a lone run in the fifth. Brannen drew a lead-off walk, moved to second on a sac bunt by Everlouis Lozada and then scored on an RBI single by Wren, tying the game at 3-3.
Both bullpens turned in strong performances on the night. Drive reliever Angel Padron (1-5) was the tough-luck loser, allowing just a lone unearned run on one hit in 4.0 innings of work with five strikeouts and no walks. Rome relievers William Woods and Jose Montilla (2-5) combined to allow just one hit in 4.0 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts against three walks.
Offensively, the Drive was led by Brannen, who went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs, an RBI and two walks. Wren added a 1-for-4 with two RBI, while Triston Casas and Hardy each added a double.
The series continues on Friday with a 7:05 PM first pitch at Fluor Field.
