Despite a loss in Bowling Green, the Greenville Drive (36-30) claimed the South Atlantic League South Division First-Half Title, earning a spot in the SAL Playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Battling the final month of the first half of the 2023 season for first place with the Winston-Salem Dash, the Drive benefitted from the Dash’s loss to Greensboro Thursday evening, officially putting the Drive on top of the SAL South before the conclusion of the Drive’s game with Bowling Green (31-30).
The Greenville Drive flipped the script on a dismal start to the season, entering May with a 7-13 record and in last place in the SAL South before rattling off a 29-17 record over the next 46 games to earn the first-half title. For as much talent as the Drive posses (and have shipped off to AA Portland) it didn’t translate to wins until the middle of May as the Drive picked up five wins against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. They’d go on to capture four more series victories including a crucial one last weekend at Fluor Field over Greensboro.
Although at the time it was just another walk-off victory, Bryan Gonzalez’s two-RBI-doubel to the left field gap in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday to give the a 6-5 victory, would ultimately be the difference maker between second and first place as neither the Drive nor the Dash claimed a victory since the winning run crossed the plate at Fluor Field.
Greenville fell to the Hot Rods Thursday night, 8-0; marking the second time this series the Drive were blanked by the Hot Rods. It’d be yet another night the Hot Rods found success early as churned out a 5-0 lead by the end of the fifth inning.
Bradley Blalock, called up to Greenville on Tuesday, made his Drive debut on the bump, ultimately tossing 3.2 innings allowing four runs on seven hits, two walks and pick up six strikeouts before being relive by Nate Tellier in the fourth.
The Hot Rods picked up a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to a Dru Baker two-run blast to centerfield. The Hot Rods would pick up two more in the third, this time on an RBI-double and a ground out that was enough to score a run.
The Drive struggled to bring in runs let alone get runners on base as the Drive left a total of four runners on while going 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position while picking up just three hits.
Bowling Green added an additional run in the fifth off Tellier as Nick Schnell sent a homer to left field making in 5-0. Tellier finished the night throwing two innings, allowing just one run on two hits and while fanning two. The Hot Rods would cap off the scoring in the seventh, as a two-RBI single and a throwing error plated the final three runs giving Bowling Green the 8-0 victory.
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Written by the Greenville Drive.