Baserunning Blunders, Walks Do In the Tourists

BOWLING GREEN- The Asheville Tourists dropped Sunday afternoon’s series finale to the Bowling Green Hot Rods 7-5. Despite playing with effort and energy throughout the contest, the Tourists shot themselves in the foot over and over again which led to the Hot Rods completing the series sweep.

The Tourists took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on a Michael Sandle RBI single. In the bottom of the third, starting pitcher Ernesto Jaquez issued back-to-back walks before surrendering a three-run Home Run to Kyle Manzardo. Jaquez has allowed at least one Home Run in each of his last six appearances. The Hot Rods then plated three more runs in the fourth with help from a pair of free passes.

Miguel Palma launched his second Home Run in as many days in the top of the fifth; a solo shot that made the score 6-2. The Tourists added two more runs in the inning on RBIs from Kenedy Corona and Chad Stevens. The two teams traded runs late with Asheville’s coming on a seventh inning RBI single by Sandle.

Asheville ran themselves out of four different rallies in the game. The Tourists had a runner picked off of second base with one out in the second inning, saw a runner thrown out at second base in their three-run fifth, had a runner picked off of first base with no outs in the sixth, and had another runner picked off of second base with no outs in the seventh.

Rhett Kouba and Jose Betances combined to toss 4.1 innings out of the Tourists bullpen down the stretch with only one run allowed. Sandle, Stevens, A.J. Lee, and Deury Carrasco all finished the contest with two-hit efforts.

Tourists Game Recaps are presented by Jackson Electrical Contractors, Inc