Vavra's huge night paces Tourists' rout

Terrin Vavra strode to the plate in the seventh inning Thursday night needing a triple for the cycle. Afterward, he could admit it was on his mind.
"I mean, yeah," he said with a laugh. "You can't just ignore something like that. It's a cool feat, and when it's right in front of you, it's hard not to think about it. Nothing really changed, I tried to stick to hitting the ball hard somewhere and let the rest take care of itself. It didn't happen tonight, but that's OK. It's definitely still a good night that I was able to enjoy with my teammates."
Instead, he took another trip around the bases to finish off a night for the books.
Colorado's No. 13 prospect belted two homers in a 4-for-7 performance and matched a career high with six RBIs to lead Class A Asheville's monster offensive night in a 26-9 win over Columbia at McCormick Field.

Gameday box score
"You definitely have to enjoy it," Vavra said after the big win. "It doesn't happen every day in baseball. There are a lot of 0-for-4s that come with this game, and you've just got to enjoy this one and then, when you wake up tomorrow, refocus on the next one."
Vavra helped kick-start the Tourists' bats on what looked like a normal night early. With the score tied, 2-2, going to the bottom of the third, the shortstop belted a solo homer to right-center field.
Asheville's lead was short-lived after a five-run Columbia fourth, but the Tourists again wrestled their way in front with three runs in the bottom of that frame. Vavra contributed a single through the left side to load the bases with no one out and scored two batters later on an RBI double to center by Niko Decolati.
Following a groundout to first base in the fifth, the 2018 third-rounder cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to center during the Tourists' six-run sixth. An inning after that, he left the yard again, hammering a two-run shot to center in Asheville's 10-run seventh.
"I was just trying to keep it simple and get a pitch over the middle of the plate that I could do some damage with," he said. "Fortunately, I was able to get a few pitches tonight, and I didn't miss. It was just one of those nights that you've got to enjoy, and like I said, try to move past and get ready for tomorrow."
The outburst for Vavra, part of Asheville's 26-hit blitz, marked his first four-hit contest since May 13 and his first game with more than two hits since May 27. The Tourists' 16 extra-base hits matched the South Atlantic League record for the most in a game. The 42 hits and 35 runs between the teams were one shy of matching league marks.

"You look around and everybody's smiling, everybody's laughing and having a good time, and that's what this game is all about," Vavra said. "It was a fun one to be a part of."
Second baseman Coco Montes went 3-for-6 with a homer and a double, driving in five runs. Outfielder Decolati and third baseman John Cresto chipped in four hits and three RBIs apiece as the Tourists went 12-for-28 with runners in scoring position.
"We definitely have a pretty talented group here, and we're very confident," said Vavra, whose team opened the second half with a win after going 29-41 before the break. "The first half didn't go the way we wanted it to go. We had a lot of games where if somebody puts up a big inning on us, we'd kind of fold. That was kind of our message going into the second half, just keep battling, keep grinding. That's what we were able to do tonight."