Greenville scores five in eighth to win wild one

5/1 Cup of Coffee: Salem got great starting pitching and Greenville's bats came alive late as the lower-level affiliates made up for struggles from Pawtucket and Portland.

A pair of late unearned runs was the difference for Pawtucket as they were edged by the Toledo Mud Hens (DET), 4-3. In a game which was scoreless through the first three innings, PawSox starter Kyle Weiland allowed a run in each of the next two to give the Mud Hens the 2-0 lead. Weiland finished his outing with 5.0 innings pitched and 2 runs allowed on 5 hits, while walking 1 and striking out 3. After Jason Rice came on and fired 2.0 scoreless innings, Randy Williams was called on to make his first appearance of the year in the top of the eighth. Williams allowed a pair of hits, but a throwing error by Drew Sutton led to two unearned runs allowed and a 4-0 Toledo lead. Pawtucket battled back in the bottom half of their inning, however, on RBI doubles Tony Thomas and Hector Luna to cut the lead to 4-3, but it would be all they could muster as the Mud Hens held on in the ninth.

Though the Sea Dogs outhit their opponent 12-6, they couldn't find the timely base knock as they were dispatched by the Reading Phillies, 5-2. Stephen Fife allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits over 3.2 innings in his outing for Portland. The 24 year old also walked 2 and struck out 3. Tommy Hottovy pitched 2.1 scoreless innings for the Sea Dogs, continuing his stellar 2011 campaign out of the bullpen and dropping his ERA to 0.69. Portland trailed 3-0 in the top of the fifth when Will Middlebrooks scored on an error to give the Sea Dogs their first run of the game. In the seventh, Portland cut the lead to one on a Che-Hsuan Lin RBI single. However, with runs in both seventh and eighth off of Santo Luis, Reading was able to hold off the Sea Dogs and get the win. Alex Hassan was held hitless for the first time in six games, while Tim Federowicz picked up a pair of doubles to continue his hot season.

An all-around great effort on both sides of the ball gave Salem the win as they blanked the Potomac Nationals (WAS), 7-0. Ryan Pressly was firing on all cylinders to earn the victory, pitching 6.0 innings of 1-hit ball, with no walks and 5 strikeouts. The game was still scoreless into the bottom of the sixth when David Mailman broke the tie with a two-run home run to give Salem the 2-0 lead. Salem really broke it open thanks to a five-run seventh inning in which they used three more long balls to pad the lead. Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a two-run shot, and later in the inning Daniel Butler and Mailman went back to back. William Latimer came on for Salem to pitch the final three innings, and earned his second save of the season after allowing just one hit and striking out 2.

Anthony Ranaudo didn't make it out of the second inning after a rough outing, but the Drive got him off the hook, scoring five in the eighth to edge the Asheville Tourists (COL), 9-8. Ranaudo pitched a scoreless first, but got knocked around in the second, allowing the first five batters of the inning to reach base. He finished his outing with just 1.2 innings pitched and 6 runs allowed on 6 hits while 2 walks and 1 strikeout. Jordan Flasher did a nice job to come on and stop the bleeding, throwing scoreless ball for the next 3.1 innings. The Drive started on the comeback trail in the fourth after a Christian Vazquez two-RBI triple cut the Tourists lead to 6-2. Vazquez knocked in another run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, while Lucas LeBlanc plated one with a single, and Greenville trailed by just two. Asheville scored two in the top of the seventh, however, and the lead was back to 8-4. The Drive were happy to see Tourists starter Edwar Cabrera go in the eighth after he struck out 12 in his 7.0 innings pitched. Greenville sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning, with Bryce Brentz, Miles Head, and David Renfroe all picking up RBI doubles. Jose Garcia knocked in a run with a single, while the deciding run was scored by Renfroe on a wild pitch. Tyler Lockwood pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to earn the win and move his record to 3-0 on the season.

Player of the Night: Ryan Pressly, who threw 6.0 1-hit innings for the victory in Salem's 7-0 shutout of Potomac. The 22 year old did not walk a batter while striking out 5.

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