Savannah 4, Greenville 3

Maikis De La Cruz hit a two-run homer, relievers Paul Sewald and Beck Wheeler shut down the Drive and the Savannah Sand Gnats never trailed in holding off Greenville 4-3 on Thursday night.

Savannah (62-43) had leads of 2-0, 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2 before Greenville (42-65) tied the game in the seventh inning. The Gnats left 13 runners on base and were 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

But the Sand Gnats scored last in the ninth. With one out, Brian Harrison doubled to left, Eudy Pina walked and Cole Frenzel was hit by Kyle Martin’s pitch to load the bases.

Jeff Reynolds grounded into a force out to third baseman Keaton Briscoe as Harrison scored and Pina was erased at third. Albert Cordero grounded out for the third out.

Wheeler replaced Sewald (2-2), who had pitched a scoreless eighth, in the bottom of the ninth. After a groundout, Wheeler walked Reed Gragnani, then threw a wild pitch to put the tying run on second. But Wheeler struck out both Briscoe and Tim Roberson swinging for his 12th save.

Savannah led 2-0 in the third when Greenville starter Brian Johnson walked Jorge Rivero and yielded De La Cruz’s third home run of the season. The damage could have been worse, as Johnson walked consecutively Pina, Frenzel and Reynolds, but Jeff Glenn was called out on strikes with the bases loaded.

The advantage was 3-0 in the fourth as Dimas Ponce greeted reliever Raynel Velette with a double, then got to third on walks to Brandon Nimmo and Harrison, then scored on Pina’s RBI walk. Frenzel was called out on strikes with the bases loaded.

Aneury Tavarez homered in the fourth to cut the deficit to 3-1, then the Drive added single runs in the fifth and seventh. With two down in the sixth, the Drive walked, singled and walked to load the bases against Savannah starter Marcos Camarena, but his replacement, Hunter Carnevale, struck out Felix Sanchez for the third out.

Greenville, which issued nine walks, left nine on base and was 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

Key Stats

Marcos Camarena: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 HR, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K

Hunter Carnevale: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, 1 K

Paul Sewald: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Beck Wheeler: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Maikis De La Cruz: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 RBI, 1 R

Eudy Pina: 0-for-2, 1 RBI, 3 BB

Jeff Reynolds: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI

(Team Report)