Castro completes comeback with walk-off double as Drive stun ‘Hoppers, 6-5

Allan Castro’s sharp ground ball down the left field line drove in two-runs to complete a four-run bottom of the ninth comeback for the Greenville Drive (6-11), their second walk-off win of the season, to stun the Greensboro Grasshoppers (9-7), 6-5.

The win marked the first time in 2024 that the Drive emerged victorious after trailing in the eighth inning as they were 0-for-9 in previous attempts.

Castro’s heroics capped off a tight-knit contest that felt much closer than the 5-2 deficit the Drive faced entering the bottom of the ninth. The three-run deficit didn’t seem to phase the Drive either as Caden Rose knocked a leadoff single and Miguel Ugueto walked to put two aboard to start the inning.

Bryan Gonzalez, continuing to come up with clutch hits throughout his Drive career, notched his second double of the season to plate Rose and put Ugueto at third. Cutter Coffey promptly followed that up with a sac-fly to right to cut the deficit to just one before Kristian Campbell walked to continue the Drive’s mounting pressure.

Campbell’s walk chased reliever Brandon Bidois from the game in favor of reliever Cy Nielson. Nielsen would last just two pitches as Castro delivered the game-winning hit past a diving Jack Brannigan at third base. The grounder rolled all the way to the left field corner and seemed destined to just plate the tying run, but the speedy Campbell raced home well-ahead of the throw to the plate to secure the win.

Both starters, the Drive’s Cooper Adams and Greensboro’s Hunter Barco, dominated the early-going allowing just three base runners each through the first three innings. Adams wouldultimately toss five solid innings for the Drive, allowing three runs on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. The runs came via a Sammy Siani homer in the first inning and a Brannigan homer in the fifth.

Barco cooled the Drive bats, which produced 12 hits and eight runs the night prior. In his four innings of work he gave up two runs on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. The Drive trailed 3-0 entering the bottom half of the fifth but three straight singles, capped by a Coffey RBI-single put the Drive on the board. Coffey’s single ended the night for Barco who failed to record an out in the bottom of the fifth. Castro would chip in his first RBI of the night on a fielding error by Termarr Johnson allowing Gonzalez to cut the lead to 3-2.

Bryce Bonnin, making his first appearance in two years after injury sidelined him, followed up Adams with a perfect inning, picking up a strikeout.

Nathan Landry pitched the seventh and eighth for the Drive allowing two runs on two hits with a walk and four strikeouts. His up-and-down innings would ultimately plate two as Caleb Bolden took over for him in the ninth. A Josiah Sightler sac-fly and a Rodolfo Nolasco single plated Greensboro’s final runs in the ninth.

The Drive return to action tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. for game three of the six-game series with Greensboro. The Drive lead the series 2-0.