Crawdads Turn Triple Play; Beat Tourists 7-4

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists had a tough time driving in runs against the Hickory Crawdads on Wednesday night. Asheville went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and hit into a triple play with the bases loaded in the second inning. Hickory held on late to win 7-4.

Both teams plated a run in the first inning with Asheville’s coming on a Ryan Clifford laser Home Run over the right-centerfield wall. After the Tourists bounced into the triple play in the second, the Crawdads scored the game’s next four runs.

Jacob Melton clubbed a two-run Home Run in the bottom of the fifth, his sixth extra-base hit in his last four games, to bring Asheville back into the game at 5-3. The Tourists put the first two men on in the sixth but they were both stranded.

Hickory used a two-run Home Run in the seventh to go in front 7-3. Asheville then took advantage of a couple Crawdads errors to score a run in the eighth; however, the Tourists were never able to bring the tying run to the plate.

Ryan Gusto pitched very well out of the Asheville bullpen. Gusto tossed five innings and his only blemish was the two-run Home Run. Brayan De Paula suffered the loss with four runs allowed in three innings pitched. Eight of the nine Tourists players in the batting order recorded a hit.