Dash Defeat Drive 6-4 in Heated Contest

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (June 9, 2021) — A hard-fought, back-and-forth game two between the Dash and the Greenville Drive ended in a 6-4 victory for Winston-Salem on Wednesday night at Truist Stadium.

Southpaw Taylor Varnell took the hill for the Dash and allowed only two hits and no runs while walking two batters and striking out three.

The Dash jumped on the board by playing small ball in the second and third innings. Lenyn Sosa reached on a single in the second and was driven home on a grounder to left field by Johan Cruz. Luis Curbelo led off in the third with a double and scored on a single by Yolbert Sanchez to put the Dash ahead 2-0.

The Dash sharpened their edge with two more in the fourth. Xavier Fernandez led off with a single and took third on a double by Tyler Osik. Both Fernandez and Osik came home as Duke Ellis slapped a ground ball that was deflected into center field by Christian Koss.

Ian Dawkins drove in an insurance run in the sixth on a single to score Johan Cruz and put the Dash ahead 5-0.

Wilber Perez entered in the sixth and allowed the Drive to hop on the scoreboard in the seventh with a two-spot after navigating a clean sixth frame. Brandon Howlett walked and took second on a single off the bat of Devlin Granberg. Howlett touched home on a sacrifice fly to center by Nick Sogard. Granberg followed with a run on a passed ball to move the score to 5-2.

Drama ensued in the home half of the seventh inning, as Xavier Fernandez and Elih Marrero exchanged some words that resulted in a benches-clearing altercation which fell just short of an all-out brawl. Umpires James Jean and Edwin Jimenez Pernalete moved quickly to deescalate the situation and ejected both Fernandez and Marrero. The ruckus was pushed further as Drive reliever Alex Scherff hit Tyler Osik with a pitch, provoking Osik to charge the mound. Osik held back, but he and Scherff were ejected from the game as well.

Reliever Caleb Freeman struggled in the ninth, walking three consecutive batters from the onset. After striking out Christian Koss, a throwing error on a double play attempt allowed two runs to put the Drive within striking distance at 6-4. Freeman tightened up, making effective use of his breaking pitch to close out the game and secure a Dash victory.

Taylor Varnell (3-0) nabbed the win for Winston-Salem, while Jay Groome (0-4) took a loss for the Drive.

The Dash move ahead 2-0 in the series with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch scheduled for Thursday night at Truist Stadium. Brian Van Belle gets the call from Greenville. Ryan Newman will hand the ball to Johan Dominguez. Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 on https://www.milb.com/winston-salem/team/broadcast-corner.