MEDIA RELEASE
The Greenville Drive and Rome Braves needed more time to decide a winner in game one of Monday’s doubleheader at Fluor Field, and it was the Braves who came away with a 3-2 victory in 11 innings.
Game two of the doubleheader was postponed due to inclement weather, and the Drive and Braves will play a doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 4:30 PM. Both games are scheduled for seven innings.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the 11th, Rome (29-21) outfielder Justin Ellison untied it in a hurry, as he smacked a solo home run to right-center off Stephen Nogosek (1-2) to give the Braves the lead.
Both starting pitchers were terrific in no-decisions.
Kyle Hart allowed just one earned run over five innings for the Drive (30-19), and he struck out six.
For the Braves, Joey Wentz struck out three in four innings while giving up just one run as well.
Rome took a 1-0 lead in the first after back-to-back singles by Cristian Pache and Brett Cumberland, and Pache came in to score when Cumberland’s hit was bobbled in the outfield.
The Drive answered back in the third when Lorenzo Cedrola singled home Steven Reveles, who reached on a fielder’s choice.
Cumberland’s RBI ground-rule double in the fifth landed just fair in right field in the fifth, and it gave the Braves a 2-1 lead, but Nick Sciortino tied things up at two in the sixth by belting a solo homer to left-center for the Drive.
The blast was Sciortino’s first of the year.
Joe Rogers (1-0) got the win for Rome by holding the Drive scoreless over the final two innings.
Cedrola had two hits to lead the Greenville offense.
Rome received two-hit days from Cumberland, Ellison, Pache, Kurt Hoekstra and Randy Ventura.