The first 9 game swing of the inaugural season for the Hub City Spartanburgers went about as well as Manager Chad Comer would have hoped, with his team currently at 5-4 and sitting atop the South Atlantic League Southern Division standings by 1 game over the Asheville Tourists. The ‘Burgers began the season last Friday in Maryland with the first of a three-game set with the Aberdeen Ironbirds, who are the Orioles’ high-A affiliate.
That series was marked by great pitching and the type of small-ball offense that will be needed to have a lot of success at Fifth Third Park. Hub City has also taken the approach of using their depth on the mound to their advantage by having some short starts. Opening Day starter David Davalillio went just three innings, striking out 4, walking 2, and surrendering just 1 unearned run on no hits. The bullpen shone the rest of the way as 5 other arms combined to strike out 11 more Aberdeen hitters and hold them at bay in spite of 3 different chances to walk off.
Offensively, the Spartanburgers scored their first ever run in the top of the 2nd on an RBI infield single to 2nd from Right Fielder Keith Jones II that scored First Baseman Arturo Disla. The Ironbirds answered in the bottom of the frame on a run-scoring sacrifice fly to right and went on to take the lead in the fifth on a solo home run. That score held until the top of the 9th when Hub City Shortstop Esteban Mejia singled in pinch runner Marcus Smith. The score would hold at 2-2 at the end of the 9th, and in the end, after trading blows back and forth, it was the Burgers that got the final say in the top of the 12th when designated hitter Julian Brock drove in Jones on a line drive RBI knock into center to give them a 4-3 lead. Reliever Seth Clark came in to pitch the bottom of the frame and struck out 2 en route to his first save.
Game two was nothing short of a pitchers’ duel, unfortunately with the Spartanburgers coming up on the short end of a 3-1 loss. The bats mustered just 4 hits and left 3 runners on base while a strong outing from starter Jose Gonzalez (4 innings, 2 hits, no runs, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks) went for naught. The bullpen combined to give up 3 earned on 5 hits over the next 4 innings to even the series.
The ‘Burgers struck back in the finale with one of their 2 best offensive showings of the week despite having just one extra base hit in the game – a double from Rangers’ 2024 first rounder and top catching prospect Malcolm Moore. The other 10 hits were all singles, and everyone in the lineup except for Mejia tallied at least one knock. Hub City also stole 3 bases – one by Jones, the 2nd by Smith, and another from 2nd baseman Casey Cook to help get their offense going, which they would need because the pitching struggled a bit, hanging just 2 goose eggs in the game. In the end, the Spartanburgers claimed their first series victory 7-5
Following the historic win, the team traveled further north to frigid weather up in Wilmington, Delaware for a 7-game set with the Blue Rocks – the high A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Despite the cold temps, the offense was able to carry over their successful small ball approach over the first game of the series. Arturo Disla and shortstop Danyer Cueva each tallied a double to make for the lone extra base hits in the opener while once again the rest of the Burgers’ 10 total hits were singles. To complement the bats, the pitching returned to form, surrendering just one run that came on a balk by Hub City starter Leandro Lopez (3 and a third innings, 1 hit, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts) with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 2nd. The bullpen combined for 5 and two-thirds shutout frames as the Burgers tallied consecutive victories for the first time in franchise history with a 6-1 win.
In the second game of the set, Josh Trentadue made his first start at the High A level, tossing 4 scoreless with 3 strikeouts without walking a batter or surrendering a hit. The offense broke out in a big way for the Burgers with 4 multi-run innings. Hub City hung a 4 spot in the third and 7th, and added three more in the 9th en route to a dominating 14-3 win. Scott, Disla, and Dreiling each hit a double in the game. Dreiling tallied 4 RBIs on a 2-5 night with 2 runs scored to lead the way while Disla, Center Fielder Anthony Gutierrez, and Moore each added a pair of runs batted in. After Trentadue departed, Aidan Curry and Victor Simeon combined to shut the Blue Rocks down over the next 5 innings to give the Spartanburgers their third straight win.
That win streak would be snapped on Thursday night as Hub City fell for just the second time on the young season in their second extra-inning contest of the week. Paul Bonzagni turned in the longest start so far, giving up just 1 earned run on 4 hits while striking out 7. Unfortunately, the bullpen combined to give up 3 more runs, only 2 of which were earned over 5 innings. Bonzagni’s lone run helped Wilmington carry a 1-0 lead into the 9th inning as the Burgers went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. That skid was broken when Jones grounded into a double play to score the tying run to eventually force extras. Hub City took the lead in the top of the 10th on a wild pitch that scored Marcus Smith only to have the Blue Rocks tie it in the home half. The Burgers again claimed a brief lead in the 11th when Anthony Gutierrez scored on an error. However, Wilmington plated 2 in the bottom of the frame to take the 4-3 win.
Baseball’s biggest nemesis came into play on Friday as wet weather in the Northeast forced the postponement of game 4. To make it up, the Burgers and Blue Rocks played a double header on Saturday consisting of two 7-inning games. In the first game of the twin bill, David Davalillio turned in his second start of the season, and it was a near mirror image of his first. He went a third of an inning further this time, striking out 6 and walking just 1, once again allowing just 1 run – this time it was an earned one on 3 hits. The bullpen got back to form as over the next 3 and 2 thirds innings, they allowed just 5 more base runners – 3 on walks and 2 more on hits, but managed to keep Wilmington off the board. (Of note: the lone run for the Blue Rocks came on an RBI single from Dorman alum TJ White.)
The offense continued their trend of only having 1-2 extra base hits per game. Keith Jones II had the only one, not just in this game but on the day as a whole, and it was huge as it plated the tying and go-ahead runs with 2 out in the top of the 6th. With the bullpen’s effort, the Spartanburgers were able to claim a 3-1 victory in game 1.
The second game of the twin bill did not fare as well for Hub City as they were shut out for the first time 6-0. The ‘Burgers mustered just 4 base runners on three hits and a walk. One was caught stealing while the other three were all left on base. The only pitcher not to surrender a run for the Spartanburgers was Josh Mollerus, who worked an inning and two-thirds in relief of starter D.J. McCarty (loss, 3.1 ip, 4 hits, 5 strikeouts, 4 walks, 5 runs, 4 earned).
That split double dip set the stage for a huge finale to the series on Sunday afternoon. A win for Hub City would take the series while a loss would result in a 6-game split. Unfortunately for the Burgers, the latter happened. Cal Stark provided the lone RBI of the game in the top of the ninth inning with a double that scored Malcolm Moore. The starting pitching was actually solid with Jose Gonzalez turning in 4 scoreless despite 5 hits. Anthony Susac entered in the 5th and surrendered an earned run on a solo homer in the 5th, which landed him with the loss. In the end, it all went sideways on Dylan MacLean, who gave up 5 earned on 6 hits in 2 innings relieving Susac.
With the 9-game road swing to open the season in the books, the Spartanburgers will take Monday off and resume action on Tuesday night with the much-anticipated home opener at Fifth Third Park. First pitch is set for 6:35 PM with Gates opening an hour ahead of time.
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