Slow Start Costly in 11-2 Loss to Wilmington

De Paula Stellar with Four Shutout Innings

By Doug Maurer

June 3, 2023

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists fell to the Wilmington Blue Rocks 11-2 on Saturday night in front of another sellout crowd at McCormick Field. The Blue Rocks hit four Home Runs and Asheville was held without a deep shot. Despite the lopsided loss, there were a number of positives for the

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists fell to the Wilmington Blue Rocks 11-2 on Saturday night in front of another sellout crowd at McCormick Field. The Blue Rocks hit four Home Runs and Asheville was held without a deep shot. Despite the lopsided loss, there were a number of positives for the Asheville club.

Wilmington jumped on Asheville’s starting pitcher Ryan Gusto in the second inning with back-to-back Home Runs. The Blue Rocks added a solo shot and a two-run blast in the fourth.

Brayan De Paula came on in the sixth and pitched the rest of the game. De Paula worked four scoreless innings, allowed two hits, and struck out seven. It was one of De Paula’s best outings of the year.

Offensively, Miguel Palma paced the team with a 3-for-5 performance. Palma doubled and drove in a run with a ninth inning single off the scoreboard. Tim Borden II recorded his team-leading 26^th RBI of the season with a run-scoring single in the fifth. Michael Sandle also chipped in a multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 performance.

Asheville will attempt to secure a series split by winning Sunday’s series finale. It is the final regular season matchup between the Tourists and the Blue Rocks this year. The afternoon game is set to begin at 1:05pm.