Swanson and Company Silence the Grasshoppers

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists put on a pitching display Friday night and defeated the Greensboro Grasshoppers 3-2 in front of a McCormick Field sellout crowd. Nic Swanson threw a six-inning gem and the bullpen combination of Kelly Austin and Layne Henderson closed out the contest.

Luis Baez gave the Tourists a 2-0 lead with a two-run Home Run to right-centerfield in the bottom of the first inning. That was the only scoring play during the game’s first seven innings. Asheville then added a key insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Austin Deming doubled and scored from second base on a single into centerfield by John Garcia.

Greensboro came to bat in the top of the ninth down 3-0 and put the leadoff man aboard on a Tourists error. The Grasshoppers then strung together two base hits to push across their first run. Austin and Henderson combined to retire the next three hitters and Asheville held on for the win.

The Tourists will attempt to make it two wins in a row with their next matchup scheduled for Saturday night at 6:05pm ET. A limited tickets are still available.