Behind another terrific start from Shaun Anderson and two big hits early in the game, the Greenville Drive defeated the Asheville Tourists 4-2 in their recent series finale.
Anderson (2-0) continued his early-season dominance by striking out six hitters over five innings while allowing just three hits, one run and three walks.
The Drive (7-4) struck first with a pair of runs against Brandon Gold (0-1) in the second inning, taking advantage of some shaky Asheville (6-5) defense in the process. Nick Lovullo laced a two-out double, and following two Tourist errors to prolong the inning, Lorenzo Cedrola delivered a two-run single to make the score 2-0.
In the bottom half of the second, the Tourists answered back with a run, as Max George tripled with one out and came home on a sacrifice fly by Cole Anderson.
Three consecutive singles by the Drive loaded the bases to begin the third, and two batters later, Roldani Baldwin lined a two-run double to right to extend the Drive’s lead to 4-1.
That lead would be plenty for the Greenville bullpen, as Dakota Smith followed Anderson with two scoreless innings, and Stephen Nogosek allowed just one run over the final two frames to log his second save.
Another Asheville sacrifice fly, this one by Taylor Snyder, brought home the final run for the Tourists in the eighth.
Lovullo had three hits to pace the Greenville offense, while Cedrola, Bobby Dalbec and Carlos Tovareach collected two hits on the day. Manuel Melendez went 3-5 to lead the way for Asheville.
The Drive’s first road trip of the season continues on Monday night at 7:05 as they take on the Lexington Legends, an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez (1-0, 2.00) is scheduled to take the mound for the Drive, and the Legends will start left-hander Garrett Davila (0-0, 6.75).
(Written by Cameron White of the Greenville Drive.)