Statement Made - Tourists the Team to Beat Down the Stretch

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists played their final regular season home game on Sunday night and treated the McCormick Field faithful to a 16-6 blowout victory over the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Asheville won five of the seven games played this week and is 12-4 over their last 16 games. The Tourists have gone from 9.5 games back of first to 2.5 games back of first during that stretch.

The Tourists still have one more series left on the schedule and it is a six-gamer beginning on Tuesday in Greenville. The momentum could not be higher after Sunday night’s win. Asheville opened the game with two runs in the first inning and added nine more in the second to tie their largest scoring output in a single inning this season.

All nine of their runs scored with two outs. Michael Sandle hit a three-run Home Run. Three batters later Luis Santana added an RBI single. A walk then loaded the bases for Tim Borden II and he crushed a Grand Slam. The rally continued when Kenedy Corona roped an RBI single.

Bowling Green plated three runs in the third; however, Asheville countered with three of their own in the fourth. Santana delivered a two-run single to center and the third run scored on a Hot Rods error. Zach Daniels punctuated the evening with his 20th Home Run of the season; a two-run shot in the eighth. Daniels also stole two bases and became the first Tourists player since Casey Golden in 2018 to join the 20 Home Run/20 Stolen Base club.

Aaron Brown earned the win by pitching five innings and Jose Betances fired the final four innings out of Asheville’s bullpen. Betances allowed only one hit, an infield single, and no runs in his longest outing of the season.

The Tourists finished the regular season with a 35-31 record at home, their second straight season under Manager Nate Shaver with a winning record at McCormick Field.

Tourists Game Recaps are presented by Jackson Electrical Contractors, Inc