Drive power past Rome

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Dylan Brown and the Drive's explosive offense paved the way to a 7-1 win against the Rome Emperors, regaining a series lead 2-1. The Drive improves to 28-29, while the Emperors falls to 25-31 in the second-half standings.

A slow-building Drive offense finally saw a homer in game three, courtesy of Isaiah Jackson's 20th long-ball of the year. His two runs driven in gave Greenville an early advantage in the first inning.

Brown set the tone with a 1-2-3 first inning, but Luis Guanipa jumped on a pitch in the second to hit a leadoff homer, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Nazzan Zanetello answered right back with a home run in the bottom of the frame. Greenville kept rolling in the third, adding two more runs on an Antonio Anderson sac-fly and a Ronny Hernandez RBI double to extend the lead. Anderson singled in Jackson in the fifth, making it 6-1.

Meanwhile, Brown dominated the mound, giving up just one run on two hits through six strong innings. He ended his night with a well-deserved standing ovation from the Fluor Field crowd, finishing with five strikeouts for 103 on the season, leading all Drive pitchers.

Jackson doubled in the last run of the game with an RBI double in the seventh, adding to his team-leading 65 RBIs on the season.

Brown retired the final 14 batters he faced before Brandon Neely and Joey Gartrell closed it out. The duo combined for 2.2 scoreless innings to secure the Game 3 victory.

After going just 6-for-20 with runners in scoring position across the first two games, the Drive's breakout produced seven runs on eight hits. Jake Schaffner went 3-for-4, while Jackson went 2-for-2, with both crossing the plate three times. Antonio Anderson also drove in a pair.

Rome was limited to just a few hits on the night, going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Luis Guanipa provided the lone bright spot for the Emperors, going 2-for-3 with his second-inning solo blast.

Brown built on a string of dominant outings by Greenville starters, registering five strikeouts to bring the Drive pitching staff's series total to 37. The outing earned him his fourth win of the season.

Cade Kuehler took the loss after surrendering six runs on six hits across 4.1 innings, dropping his record with his sixth loss of the year.

The Greenville Drive tries to carry this momentum over into game four Friday against the Rome Emperors.