Cup of Coffee: Drive win second SAL championship in franchise history

9/20 Cup of Coffee: This night was about the Greenville Drive, who celebrate their second South Atlantic League championship. They finished off a dominant playoff run, led by 2023 draft pick Kristian Campbell (pictured). It was a full team effort, as the rest of the offense played well and all three pitchers had great nights. Stephen Scott went deep for Worcester in their loss to Lehigh Valley. 

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Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI) 4, Worcester Red Sox 3

Stephen Scott had a nice night for the WooSox, hitting his 13th home run of the year with Worcester and 19th overall this season. He also drew a walk and raised his OPS to .822 in 60 games for Worcester. Corey Rosier had a couple of hits, including a double, and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Ronaldo Hernandez added a double as well. Kyle Barraclough started and labored through four innings. He walked seven and allowed five hits, but limited the damage to just two runs. He also stuck out five. Cam Booser had a great night in relief, tossing 1 2/3 shutout innings with three strikeouts and no walks. 

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Greenville Drive 7, Hudson Valley Renegades (NYY) 3

Greenville swept Hudson Valley in a best-of-three series to capture their second South Atlantic League title. Kristian Campbell, taken 132nd overall by the Sox this past July, delivered the knockout blow in the seventh inning, belting a three-run home run to give the Drive a comfortable 7-2 lead. Campbell went off in this postseason, batting .583 with a 1.560 OPS in four games. He ended the run with seven hits in 12 at-bats and six RBI. Ronald Rosario also had a huge home run, a solo shot in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie. It was a great team effort on offense, as eight of nine starters for Greenville collected at least one hit, with Campbell, Nick Decker, Allan Castro, and Eddinson Paulino each having multi-hit nights. Paulino doubled and drove in two runs. Gilberto Jimenez also doubled and scored, while Tyler Miller had a key RBI single in the seventh. 

Dalton Rogers started this one off on the mound and pitched well, surrendering just one run over three innings with five strikeouts, two walks allowed, and just two hits allowed. Zach Penrod picked up his second win of the playoffs with five brilliant innings out of the bullpen. He allowed two runs on three hits, striking out seven with just one walk. He tossed 10 innings this postseason and struck out 14 while pitching to a 2.70 ERA. Felix Cepeda finished it off with a scoreless ninth inning that included two strikeouts. 

Cepeda recorded the final out via the strikeout, and the celebration was on at Fluor Field. The win capped off a perfect 4-0 record in the playoffs for Greenville, outscoring their opponents 18-8 and never allowing more than three runs in any of the games. 

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Player of the Day: Kristian Campbell ended his great 2023 season on a high note with three hits and a home run in Greenville's title-clincher. After eight games with the FCL Red Sox, where he posted a .391 batting average and a 1.082 OPS, Campbell was called up to Greenville. He had a nice regular season, with an .822 OPS in 14 games and had an even better postseason. It was a successful first professional season for the 21-year old shortstop. 

Photo Credit: Kristian Campbell by Kelly O'Connor

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