The Rome Braves took to the road this weekend to open the 2022 season in a three-game series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Game One: Rome 16, Greensboro 6On Friday night, the Braves continued their tradition of winning on Opening Day. The Rome Braves have now won their season opener for six straight years. Rome’s Jake McSteen was the winning pitcher of record after putting up two perfect innings with two strikeouts.
Landon Stephens smacked the team’s lone long ball, with Rome scoring in eight out of the nine innings. Justyn-Henry Malloy and Vaughn Grissom each had two RBI’s in the contest. All but two Rome Braves recorded a hit, while six batters had multi-hit performances.
The 16 runs scored on Opening Day sets a franchise record, and Rome now moves to 13-6 all-time on Opening Day.
Game Two: Rome 5, Greensboro 4On Saturday night, Andrew Hoffmann took to the bump for his High-A debut. Rome jumped out early thanks to an RBI single from Vaughn Grissom. Rome would not score again until the top of the fourth, where two consecutive batters were hit by pitches with the bases loaded. Then, a wild pitch would plate another run.
Rome’s bullpen would hold up their end of the deal thanks to perfect outings from Alec Barger and Lisandro Santos. Barger would ultimately be credited with the win. Austin Smith slammed the door out of the pen and picked up his first career save in his professional debut.With the win, Rome would clinch the series and move to 2-0.
Game Three: Rome 2, Greensboro 3Bryson Horne would get Rome on the board early with a 2 RBI double in the top of the first. However, that would be the only offense the Braves could muster up, as Rome would drop the third and final game of the series.
The Rome Braves return home to AdventHealth Stadium on Tuesday, April 12th for a six game homestand against the Hudson Valley Renegades, an affiliate of the New York Yankees.