With Independence Day right around the corner, Jeremy Hazelbaker and Ronald Bermudez continued their own fireworks display in leading the Drive (44-36, 8-2) to a 7-1 victory over the Savannah Sand Gnats (45-35, 3-7). With the win, the Drive took the five-game series from the Sand Gnats, 3-2.
The Drive – wearing special hats in honor of Independence Day – struck early, scoring in the first inning due largely to Savannah starter Tyler Whitenton’s (3-4) control struggles. Hazelbaker set up the frame for Greenville by leading off with a double off the left-centerfield wall on the first pitch he saw. After striking out Derrik Gibson, Whitenton really began to falter with his control.
The Sand Gnats evened the score in the third inning when Wilfredo Tovar’s one-out single off Drive starter Drake Britton scored Travis Ozga from second base. However, the Drive answered right back in the bottom of the frame, as Hazelbaker continued his torrid stretch at the plate with a solo home run that put Greenville up 2-1.
The score remained 2-1 until the sixth, when Bermudez – also locked-in offensively – hit a two-run homer to left-center off Savannah reliever Samuel Martinez after Chris McGuiness had led off the inning with a single. Up 4-1 at that point, the Drive tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Hazelbaker was at the center of the action once again, as his triple scored Christian Vazquez after Vazquez doubled to lead off the inning (thus extending his hitting streak to 14 games).
Gibson then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left to score Hazelbaker for a 6-1 lead. The score did not remain that way for long, though, as the very next batter, McGuiness, smacked a solo home run to right center off Savannah’s Luis Rojas to make it 7-1.
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