Greenville 8, Savannah 6
Trailing the entire game, the Greenville Drive scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to stun the Savannah Sand Gnats 8-6 on Sunday evening.
Savannah (64-44) had led 6-3 with the help of eight hits and six Drive errors in eight innings. Greenville made four of those errors plus a passed ball as the Gnats had led 5-0 on a two-hit, four-run second inning.
However, Greenville (43-57) closed to 6-3 with two runs in the seventh, then capitalized in the eighth.
After striking out Jesus Loya, Savannah reliever Shawn Teufel walked Keaton Briscoe and hit Aneury Tavarez with a pitch. Gnats closer Beck Wheeler (now 1-5, 1.96 ERA) entered and yielded Mario Martinez’s RBI single before coaxing Tim Roberson’s flyball for the second out with the Gnats’ edge 6-4.
Then Kendrick Perkins (three-run home run) and Jayson Hernandez (solo shot) clubbed their first homers of the season for a sudden 8-6 Drive lead.
Greenville reliever Gerardo Olivares (3-4, 4.86) struck out Cole Frenzel, Eudy Pina and Nelfi Zapata — who was ejected by home-plate umpire Reid Gibbs — to end the game.
Greenville pitchers struck out 11 and walked two Gnats. Savannah starter Seth Lugo, who was assigned from Brooklyn as right-hander Matt Koch (head injury) went on the disabled list Sunday, struck out the first five batters he faced and finished with 10 in six innings without a walk and just one run and two hits allowed.
Savannah led 1-0 on two singles and a forceout in the first, then 5-0 in the second on two fielding errors, singles by Jeff Glenn and Dimas Ponce, another fielding error, a passed ball, and another fielding error.
The Drive closed to 5-1 on a hit batsman, a groundout and Loya’s double in the third. They trailed 5-3 in the seventh on two singles, a double and an error before Savannah got on the board in the eighth on Jeff Reynolds’ walk, Glenn’s sacrifice bunt and Ponce’s RBI single for 6-3.
Key Stats
Jorge Rivero: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 1 R
Dimas Ponce: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R
Jeff Glenn: 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 R
Seth Lugo: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 ER, 10 K
Shawn Teufel: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 1 K
Beck Wheeler: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 HR, 0 BB, 3 ER, 1 K
(Team Report)