Drive Wins Home Opener

Although the cold, rainy night tried to put a damper on Opening Day at Fluor Field, Ryan Lavarnway made sure that fans went home happy, delivering a one-out, bases loaded double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Drive (3-2) a 5-4 walk-off win versus the Hickory Crawdads (3-2).

Down by a pair of runs heading with only two innings left, the Drive inched their way back with a run in the bottom of the eighth. With Pete Hissey and David Mailman aboard, Ryan Dent laced a two-out shot down the leftfield line that would have certainly tied the game. However the ball became lodged for a ground rule double, leaving Greenville still down a run.

An inning later Crawdads’ reliever Matt Nevarez (0-1) showed a lack of command of his pitches, walking two and hitting another batter to load the bases. With nowhere to put another runner, the right-hander served up a 2-1 fastball that Lavarnway stroked to the leftfield corner.

Mitch Herold (1-0) mowed down the Crawdads in order over the final 2.0 innings, four of which came by strikeouts, to earn his first win of the season.

The Crawdads struck the first blow of the game in the top of the second with two runs off Yeiper Castillo. Clark Murphy collected an RBI-single and Jake Kaase added a run-scoring double. The lead did not last long as the Drive answered with a pair of runs of their own, coming when Hissey reached on an error and Dent’s sacrifice fly.

Hickory regained the lead in the fourth when Doug Hogan grounded into a double play, allowing Matt West to score, and extended their lead on Leonel De Los Santos’ sacrifice fly in the seventh.

The Drive and Crawdads continue their four-game series tomorrow evening at Fluor Field with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. Right-hander Brock Huntzinger will toe the rubber for Greenville and Hickory will send southpaw to Cliff Springston to the hill.

Opening Week, presented by Carolina First, continues with Affiliate Tuesday, when the theme will center around the Drive’s and Crawdads’ parent clubs, the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers, respectively. Other promotions during Opening Week include Jackie Robinson Day, $1 Drink Night, Friday Fireworks, Reggy the Purple Party Dude, Sunday Family FunDay, and Munchie Monday. Single-game tickets, group outings, and luxury accommodations can be purchased by calling (864) 240-4500 or visit www.GreenvilleDrive.com for more information.

NOTES: The Drive improved to 3-1 in home openers…Since 2005, the Drive are 24-15 versus the Crawdads…Attendance was 4,038