Spartanburgers edge Rome

Yahoo

01-05-2025

ROME, Ga. — It only took one big-time swing to win Wednesday's morning matchup between the Spartanburgers and the Emperors. Casey Cook provided the crucial contact with an RBI single in the final inning. Behind a dominant pitching performance, Hub City (13-10) took down Rome (13-10) in a 1-0 game that barely lasted more than two hours.
Aidan Curry got the day started on the mound for the Spartanburgers. In by far his longest outing of the season, Curry controlled the game with seven strikeouts and just one hit through five innings of scoreless baseball. Hub City tag-teamed the final four innings out of the bullpen; Joey Danielson, Dylan MacLean, Larson Kindreich (W, 3-0) and Wilian Bormie (S, 2) all tossed scoreless innings in relief.
While the Spartanburgers ran up Rome starter Garrett Baumann's pitch count, they could not capitalize on walks in each of the first two frames. After a clean first inning for Curry, the second was the only challenging frame all day for Hub City's starter. After E.J. Exposito walked to begin the inning, Will Verdung doubled to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Curry battled back with a pair of strikeouts before a fly out to center field ended the threat. Curry set down the final ten batters he faced, ending his day with two strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth.
A Gleider Figuereo single in the fourth was all Hub City could muster in the final two innings of work from Baumann. After almost 80 pitches, Rome's starter was replaced to begin the fifth, as Samuel Strickland tossed an easy one-two-three inning for the Emperors. Tyler LaPorte took over in the sixth. Across two innings, the only two baserunners LaPorte let up were thrown out on the basepaths.
Danielson struck out the side for Hub City in the sixth. MacLean ran into some trouble in the seventh. The reliever for the Spartanburgers walked a pair of Rome batters, but he stranded them at first and second.
Esteban Mejia reached on a throwing error with one out in the eighth against new Rome pitcher LJ McDonough. A double play ended any hopes of the game's first run for the Spartanburgers. Kindreich did not allow a hit out of the bullpen in the eighth. The righty walked a batter and hit another but kept the Emperors off the scorebard. Headed to the ninth, Rome and Hub City were still tied at zero.
New Emperors reliever Austin Smith (L, 0-1) began his afternoon by hitting Anthony Gutierrez with the first pitch he threw. Gutierrez promptly stole second; his eleventh stolen bag of the year moves him one shy of the South Atlantic League lead. After a Keith Jones walk, Arturo Disla bounced into a 5-4-3 double play, advancing Gutierrez to third. With two outs, Cook lined a 2-1 pitch into right to score the only run of the game.
Wilian Bormie entered to try and finish off the win in the bottom of the ninth. The fifth pitcher of the day for Hub City worked around a one-out infield single from Verdung. After a flyout, Bormie struck out Ambioris Tavarez to finish off the Spartanburgers victory.
Hub City evens the series 1-1 with the win. The Spartanburgers also bounce back into a tie for the South Atlantic League South Division lead with the Emperors. The two squads battle for first place again Thursday night. Hub City's Kolton Curtis (0-0, 6.75 ERA) takes the ball against Rome's Adam Meier (1-1, 5.30 ERA) at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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