Near Shutout Turns into Extra-Inning Loss

GREENVILLE- The Asheville Tourists suffered their first loss of the season (22-1) when leading heading into the ninth inning on Sunday. Asheville held a 3-0 advantage over the Greenville Drive with two outs, the bases empty, and the Drive down to their final out. The next five batters all reached base; a walk followed by four singles, on two strike counts. Greenville netted three runs and then beat the Tourists 4-3 with a run in the tenth.

The pitching staff trio of Nic Swanson, Ronny Garcia, and Brayan De Paula were the story through eight innings. Swanson pitched five shutout frames with six strikeouts; Garcia struck out the side in his one inning; and De Paula pitched two scoreless innings with six strikeouts.

Carlos Calderon was called upon in the ninth and the right-hander suffered the blown save. Offensively, Asheville used a sneaky run in the second inning on a pick off play and a two-run single by Tim Borden II in the fifth to build their advantage. The Tourists were limited to only six hits and were held scoreless for five innings against the Greenville bullpen.

After Asheville blew their lead in the ninth, Greenville hit a game-winning Sacrifice Fly in the bottom of the tenth. The Tourists were unable to plate their automatic runner in the top half.

Asheville was one strike away from their first shutout of the season and their first road series win against a Southern division opponent. The Tourists will attempt to bounce back on Tuesday when the Rome Braves come to McCormick Field.