Braves Shift Drive into Neutral in 5-0 Win

ROME, GA - The Rome Braves broke a scoreless tie with a five run surge in the 4th inning Friday evening against the Greenville Drive. The cushion was more than enough for the Braves pitching staff to lock in the victory and give Rome consecutive wins for the first time in the 2019 season.
After trading zeroes in the early frames the Braves broke loose thanks to Griffin Benson's solo homerun with one out in the fourth inning. Leading 1-0, Rome added runs on a bases-loaded walk to Darling Florentino and an RBI groundout by Braulio Vasquez. The finishing blow was a two run double by leadoff man Justin Dean to the wall in left, making the score 5-0 Braves and rendering the Drive too far gone.
Starting pitcher Jose Olague bounced back from a difficult debut last week in Kannapolis to hold Greenville scoreless over five innings Friday night and earn his first win of the season. Olague struck out five and walked one. Reliever Jose Montilla earned the save with a dominant appearance. He allowed only one base-runner in four shutout frames. Montilla struck out five hitters on the night

In the first two games of the series the Rome pitching staff has struck out 25 batters while walking three.
Logan Brown and Trey Harris each finished their evening 3-4 with a double. Brown currently leads the Braves with a .400 average. Dean now has a team-best five extra base hits. Benson leads the team with two homeruns.
Game three of the series between the Rome Braves and Greenville Drive is scheduled for Saturday evening at 6 pm from State Mutual Stadium. Rome will start RHP Trey Riley and Greenville will put RHP Chris Machamer on the mound.