Batista Tosses Five Scoreless in Asheville's 6-2 Win in Rome

ROME- The Asheville Tourists evened up their current series with the Rome Braves at two games apiece with a 6-2 victory at AdventHealth Stadium on Friday night. Asheville’s pitching duo of Edinson Batista and A.J. Blubaugh pitched the full nine innings. Rome was shutout for the first eight innings of the game.

Asheville took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Jacob Melton walked, stole second, and scored on a Tim Borden II RBI single to right. The Tourists added four more runs in the fourth. Logan Cerny hit a two-run single and the Tourists took advantage of three Braves errors in the frame to build a 5-0 lead.

Zach Dezenzo led off the eighth with a single and later scored on a Miguel Palma RBI hit to left. Dezenzo finished 4-for-5 and became the third Tourists player this year to record a four-hit game. Borden II had three hits and Cerny finished 2-for-4.

Batista spun five shutout innings, allowed one hit, did not walk a batter, and struck out six. The right-hander earned his first win of the season. Blubaugh entered in the sixth and tossed three straight scoreless innings that included a stretch of six consecutive strikeouts. The Braves plated two runs in the bottom of the ninth to avoid being shutout; however, Blubaugh still earned his first save of the season.

The Tourists and Braves are back at it on Saturday night with the first pitch scheduled for 5:00pm ET.

Notes: All ten of the Tourists hits in the game were singles. The two runs allowed are the lowest the Tourists have given up in a nine-inning game this season. Ryan Wrobleski and Freudis Nova are the other two Tourists players who have recorded a four-hit game this season.