Drive win opening game of 20th season
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Opening Night brought baseball back to the Upstate in style as the Greenville Drive downed the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 9–3, in front of 5,351 fans at Fluor Field. New manager Liam Carroll starts his tenure with the Drive on a high note notching his first win in his first game. With fireworks in the sky and firepower on the field, the Drive rode an explosive third inning and a strong showing from the pitching staff to secure their first win of the 2025 season.
After both teams traded zeroes through the first two innings, the Drive offense erupted in the bottom of the third. Kolby Johnson sparked the rally with an infield single, and a walk to Nazzan Zanetello set the stage for Nelly Taylor, who launched a three-run homer deep into the night sky in centerfield — the first long ball of the new season. Greenville kept the pressure on as Brooks Brannon swiped second and scored on a Marvin Alcantara RBI single to make it 4–0.
Drive starter Hayden Mullins dazzled in his season debut, tossing four shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out six. He turned the ball over to Max Carlson in the fifth, who added five more strikeouts over 2.2 innings despite a shaky seventh in which Bowling Green plated three runs to trim the deficit.
Greenville's offense kept rolling in the bottom of the fifth, plating three more runs on an RBI walk from Alcantara and a two-run single from Joe Riemer to push the lead to 7–0. Nazzan Zanetello added another spark in the sixth, scoring from second on a heads-up baserunning play during a rundown.
Things get dicey for the Drive in the top of the seventh when Robertson leads off with a single and Vellojin follows in up with a double. With runners on second and third Santana ropes a triple to deep left center to score two off Drive reliever Max Carlson. Pitre singles to shallow right to score Santana and chase Carlson from the game. The Drive then turn to right handed reliever Isaac Stebens who ends the threat in the seventh.
Brannon added an RBI single in the eighth to give the Drive their ninth and final run, capping a strong night that saw him go 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and a stolen base.
Isaac Stebens closed it out with 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out two to close the door and help the Drive secure their first win of the Liam Carroll era and setting a strong tone for the homestand ahead.
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