Four Asheville Home Runs Help Sink Rome 8-3

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists won their sixth straight home game and eighth in their last 11 overall with an 8-3 victory over the Rome Braves Wednesday night. The Tourists fell behind 3-0 but reeled off eight unanswered. Ryan Clifford hit two of Asheville’s four Home Runs in the win.

Nolan DeVos took the mound and battled the Braves for a little over three innings. DeVos escaped the first inning but allowed a run in the second and two more in the third. The Tourists offense and bullpen had DeVos’ back.

Freddy Guilamo pulled a two-run Homer down the left field line in the bottom of the third to bring the Tourists to within a run at 3-2. Max Roberts helped DeVos escape a bases-loaded jam in the fourth with back-to-back outs.

Clifford tied the game with a 449-foot leadoff Home Run in fourth. Valente Bellozo took the mound in the fifth and pitched five shutout innings down the stretch.

Asheville took the lead when Jacob Melton doubled in the sixth, went to third on a groundout, and scored on a Clifford Sacrifice Fly. A few batters later, Tommy Sacco Jr. crushed a two-run Home Run to right and the Tourists led 6-3.

Asheville padded their lead with a Kobe Kato run in the seventh. Clifford then led off the eighth with his second Home Run of the game; a line drive off the right field foul pole to cap the scoring.

Notes: This is the second time this season Bellozo pitched five scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Kato and Clifford both finished 2-for-3. The Braves left 11 runners on base while the Tourists left only one.