Crawdads sandwich Drive, 3-2

The Hickory Crawdads (12-19) ordered up three runs in the sixth to spoil the Greenville Drive’s (14-18) 2-0 lead, ultimately serving up a 3-2 loss which started out with meat and cheese but turned into just filler as the Crawdads set up a potential series-tying finale on Sunday.

Drive starter Juan Daniel Encranacion threw cheddar throughout the night, lathering Crawdads’ batters with a side of strikeouts as he held Hickory hitless through five innings. The only two runners reaching via a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Encarnacion started the game after scheduled starter David Sandlin was eighty-sixed in warmups.

Kristian Campbell continued his stellar play at the plate, knocking his eighth double of the year down the right field line, setting up a Bryan Gonzalez triple burger off the base of the center field wall to put the Drive up 1-0. After a nine-pitch battle at the plate, Tyler Miller would make it back-to-back triple burgers, his a streaking line drive that rolled near the corner in right field plating Gonzalez for the 2-0 lead.

Encarnacion’s recent outings have turned around a tough 2023 season which saw him lose his post as a regular starter; being relegated to the bullpen to end the year in Greenville last season.

Through five starts Encarnacion has amassed a 3.27 ERA, and his 31 strikeouts are good for second most on the team behind Connelly Early’s 34 whiffs.

While the Drive scratched across two runs in the first off Hickory starter Winston Santos, Santos would ultimately cool the Drive bats from there, allowing five hits while fanning seven and issuing three walks.

Greenville would only muster one more hit the rest of the way, a soft single from Miguel Ugueto in the sixth.

By then it would be too-little, too-late.

Adam Smith relieved Encarnacion in the sixth, dropping the hot plate and spilling grease as he allowed back-to-back one out singles and a walk before Yeison Morrobell’s RBi-single knotted the game at 2-2.

Morrobel would steal second during the ensuing at-bat, allowing Sebastian Walcott to race home. Alertly, Campbell cut off the throw to second, firing a strike to catcher Enderso Lira who dove to tag Walcott. But the play would be a nothing-burger and would go in Hickory’s favor as Walcott was ruled safed on the bang-bang play.

Smith would ultimately toss 2.2 innings, allowing all three runs while walking two and ringing up three.

Yohanse Morel and Larson Kindreich would combine to hold the Drive back, tossing two innings apiece with Morel ringing up three and Kindreich striking out four to earn his third save of the season.

Zach Fogell pitched the final 1.1 innings for Greenville, fanning one.

The Greenville Drive return to action tomorrow, Sunday, May 12th for the finale of the series with the Crawdads. Greenville leads the series, 3-2 and can secure a series victory with a win tomorrow.