September 9, 2017 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Mata pitches well in loss
9/9 Cup of Coffee: The Drive continued their playoff series with Charleston, taking the loss to force a Game three that will be played tonight. Bryan Mata (pictured) pitched very well for Greenville and Brett Netzer grabbed two hits.
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The Southern Division Championship was evened at one, as the Drive offense wasn't able to come through with runners in scoring position, going 0 for 9 with RISP. Brett Netzer and Pedro Castellanos each had two-hit nights, with Netzer ripping a double. Jerry Downs drove in the lone run with a ground out in the eighth inning that scored Netzer, who doubled to open the frame.
The game remained scoreless until the seventh inning due in large part to 18-year old right-hander Bryan Mata. He tossed 4 1/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. Mata worked out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the third with a strikeout, a walk, and another strikeout. His 92 pitches led to a bit of an early exit. Brendan Nail struggled in relief of Mata, surrendering a pair of runs in the seventh. Hunter Smith and Juan Florentino combined for 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to finish it out.
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Player of the Night: Bryan Mata continued his terrific regular season into the postseason, tossing 4 1/3 shutout frames. Mata finished the regular season with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 77 innings. He struck out 74 and walked 26.
Photo Credit: Bryan Mata by Kelly O'Connor