Savannah 3, Rome 0

Game two of the four game series between the Savannah Sand Gnats and the Rome Braves was played in front of  2,224 fans Friday at Grayson Stadium. Both teams had five hits, but the Sand Gnats had the more productive ones, winning 3-0.

Fans saw a great pitching duel between both starters last night. Rome’s Mauricio Cabrera pitched seven shutout innings, allowed  only two hits and one walk, while striking out eight. Matt Koch took the hill for Savannah, throwing 7.1 shutout innings and allowing four hits, no walks, and five strikeouts.

Savannah finally broke the scoreless tie by scoring three runs in the eighth inning. Third baseman Jeff Reynolds singled, and pinch runner Eudy Pina advanced to second on a sac bunt by Albert Cordero. Phillip Evans singled to move Pina to third, and second baseman Chad Zurcher drove in the first run with a single of his own.Brandon Nimmo contributed to the scoring with an RBI ground out, and the final run of the inning was scored by Zurcher, who came home on a wild pitch.

Paul Sewald was impressive again; he threw 1.2 shutout innings, allowing one hit and two strikeouts. He won his first game of the season, improving his record to 1-1.

Game three of the series starts at 6:05 pm Saturday at Grayson Stadium.

Key Stats

Stefan Sabol: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 1 SB

Chad Zurcher: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R

Matthew Koch: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K

Paul Sewald: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K