After a successful first home series in which Hub City split 6 games with the defending South Atlantic League Champion Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Spartanburgers (8-7) welcomed the Greenville Drive (7-7) for the first chapter in a brand-new in-league rivalry. Mother Nature tried to stink up the show with a rainy afternoon that carried over into the scheduled start time for the type of history nobody wanted to see made in Fifth Third Park – its first weather delay. After an hour and three minutes of waiting out a steady drizzle, the tarp was pulled and the field was prepped for a game that for many Burgers fans may have been more heavily-anticipated than the home opener a week ago.
An enthusiastic crowd of 2,429 waited out the delay and were treated to a good contest featuring a pitcher’s duel between Greenville’s Danny Kirwin (0-1, 5.14 ERA) and Hub City’s Leandro Lopez (0-0, 6.35 ERA).
Both pitchers absolutely dealt, with neither offense able to mount a threat until the top of the 5th. Greenville DH Brooks Brannon and 2nd baseman Marvin Alcantara singled back to back to start the frame. However, Leandro Lopez bounced back by retiring the next three in order with a fly out to left and consecutive strikeouts.
Hub City also threatened, with theirs coming to what would end up being the fatal blow dealt in the bottom half of the inning after Catcher Julian Brock led off with a walk and Third Baseman Gleider Figuereo followed with a single. Brock would end up going first-to-third on the knock, and would score the game’s first run on a delayed double steal. Greenville reliever Eduardo Rivera got the Drive out of the jam by striking out First baseman Quincy Scott and Shortstop Theo Hardy back to back to send the game to the 6th.
Lopez would be taken down for Mailon Felix after 5 innings of shutout ball with 8 strikeouts, no walks, and just three singles. Felix kept the trend going with a 3 up 3 down inning, notching the 9th K of the night for Hub City pitching, tying a season-high set by David Davalillo this past Friday night against Bowling Green.
The Drive’s bullpen matched the effort from the Spartanburgers’ as Rivera went 2 and two-thirds innings in relief of Kirwin, whose final line was 4 innings, 2 hits, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks, and 1 earned run. In Rivera’s relief stint, he struck out 7 more Hub City hitters and surrendered just 1 hit with no walks. Isaac Stebens added three more punch outs for the Drive in an inning and a third.
In the end, Willian Bormie came in and notched the save for Hub City with three more strikeouts recorded (with a walk in between) to bring the total to 15 for the Burgers’ pitching staff on the night as the Spartanburgers picked up the 1-0 victory despite 15 K’s by their bats..
Game two is set for a 6:35 first pitch on Wednesday night (weather permitting). Hub City’s starter has yet to be determined while Greenville will throw Left hander Noah Dean (0-0, 4.91 ERA).
