Bellozo Closes Out the Drive in Brilliant Debut

GREENVILLE- The Asheville Tourists worked 11 walks and came up with a few clutch hits to hold off the Greenville Drive 6-5 on Friday night. Asheville held Greenville to only two earned runs in the game and won their second straight overall.

The Tourists struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. Tim Borden II stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and smacked a two-run single back up the middle. Greenville plated the game’s next four runs; one in the second and three unearned runs in the third.

Asheville responded in the top of the fifth. Joey Loperfido hit a Sacrifice Fly to score Kenedy Corona and Logan Cerny tied the game 4-4 with an RBI single that brought in Jacob Melton. The Tourists recaptured the lead, 5-4, in the sixth inning when Corona drew a bases-loaded walk.

Peyton Plumlee pitched into the fourth inning for Asheville but left with an injury. Plumlee surrendered only one earned run. Cole McDonald threw a scoreless frame and turned the ball over to Valente Bellozo.

Bellozo, in his Tourists debut, worked two shutout innings but the Drive used a triple and a wild pitch to knot the game up 5-5 in the seventh. Bellozo bounced back with a shutout eighth and the game went into the ninth inning all tied up.

Asheville took the lead for the third time in the game when Freudis Nova worked a one-out walk in the top of the ninth, stole second, and scored on Zach Dezenzo’s two-out RBI single. Bellozo came back out to pitch the bottom of the ninth and polished off his fantastic outing with another scoreless frame. The right-hander earned the win with five innings pitched in relief.

The Tourists and the Drive are back in action from Fluor Field with Game Five on Saturday night. The first pitch is set for 7:05pm.