Sergio Guerra, Sports Editor/Photographer 

The Greensboro Grasshoppers, High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, hosted and defeated the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, winning four out of six games in the series. The results bring Greensboro’s record to 11-4, the joint-best record in the South Atlantic League of MiLB.  

MiLB stands for Minor League Baseball, which consists of several leagues and divisions for farm teams and player development. Currently, there are 120 teams spread across four levels of play: Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, and Single-A. Each of the 120 teams is an affiliate of a Major League Baseball team, meaning the MLB team pays for and provides staff while maintaining control over the players. The Greensboro Grasshoppers are an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, while the Jersey Shore BlueClaws are an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.  

The Greensboro Grasshoppers began the weeklong series last Tuesday (April 15) with a disappointing 12-3 loss to the BlueClaws. The Jersey Shore team had built a 7-0 lead at the top of the fifth inning, thanks to Dylan Campbell’s homer and a wild pitch from the Grasshoppers. Campbell continued to influence the game significantly, hitting another home run in the very next inning and finishing with five runs batted in.  

The second game of the series saw early inning success from the Grasshoppers that led to a 4-0 win, but they could not take that momentum into the third game, where the BlueClaws broke Greensboro hearts and won in the tenth inning.  

Greensboro needed a response on Friday to level the series. The two sides went into the ninth inning tied at 9-9. Jersey Shore failed to score at the top of the ninth, placing Greensboro in a prime position to secure victory. Even having the bases loaded, two outs for the Grasshoppers began to make the victory look unlikely. Despite that, Javier Rivas stepped up to the plate and hit a single with a line drive that allowed Duce Gourson, who was at third, to score a run, resulting in a Greensboro walk-off win. The win would kick off a three-game winning streak (Sat. 9-4, Sun. 8-4) that saw off the Jersey Shore BlueClaws.  

The Greensboro Grasshoppers’ recent success catapults them up the South Atlantic League standings, regaining the top spot they occupied before the week-long series. However, Greensboro is now sharing that space with the Hudson Valley Renegades, who also boast an impressive 11-4 record. The Grasshoppers will spend next week on the road, going up against the Bowling Green Hot Rods from April 22-27. After that? A rematch at home against the Winston-Salem Dash.