Johnson Shows Opposite Field Power in 7-2 Defeat

HICKORY- The Asheville Tourists competed in an Education Day matinee on Thursday against the Hickory Crawdads. Hickory built a 5-0 lead and traded runs with Asheville down the stretch. Ultimately the Tourists fell by a final score of 7-2.

The Crawdads scored three runs in the third and added two more in the fourth. Asheville’s Ryan Johnson led off the top of the fifth with a long Home Run over the right field wall to put the Tourists on the board. In the seventh, Johnson reached on a single to short, stole second, and raced home on a Brice Matthews RBI single into centerfield.

Johnson finished 2-for-4 with both of Asheville’s runs scored. John Garcia and Luis Baez also delivered hits for the Tourists in the contest. Alejandro Torres and Railin Perez combined for 2.2 innings of scoreless action out of the Asheville bullpen.

The Tourists also made some noise on the base paths with a season-high three stolen bases. Matthews even swiped his team leading fifth bag of the year. Asheville will attempt to even up the current series on Friday night. Game time is set for 7:00pm.