Tourists Build Big Lead, Collapse Late

ASHEVILLE- Things appeared to be turning in the right direction for the Asheville Tourists on Sunday afternoon. Asheville jumped out to a huge 9-1 lead on the Greenville Drive over the game’s first five innings. The Drive then reeled off nine unanswered runs to stun Asheville 10-9 and send the Tourists to a 1-8 start on the season.

Jordan Brewer and Zach Daniels each homered in the first inning for the Tourists as part of a four-run frame. The two teams each plated a run in the second inning with Asheville’s coming on Brewer’s second Homer of the contest. Ray Gaither kept the Greenville offense quiet early on with one unearned run over three innings.

Michael Sandle made it 6-1 with an RBI single in the fourth and Will Wagner promptly followed with a three-run blast of his own. Asheville kept their eight-run lead until the Drive rallied to score four runs, all with two outs, in the top of the sixth.

Greenville used a Tourists error to plate two more in the seventh and then capitalized on another Tourists error to score three in the eighth. Asheville committed four errors in the game which led to six unearned runs for the Drive.

The Tourists were held without a hit for the game’s final five innings. Derek West pitched a scoreless ninth for Asheville; however, the Tourists were unable to mount a rally in the bottom half. Brewer, Sandle, and Wagner all finished with two hits.

The Tourists head to New Jersey to take on the Jersey Shore BlueClaws for a six-game series beginning on Tuesday night. The BlueClaws also sport a 1-8 record over the first week and a half of the season.