Tourists Dealt 11-0 Loss in Home Opener

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists fell to the Greenville Drive 11-0 in their home opener on Tuesday evening. Asheville struggled offensively and has not scored in their last 18 innings of play. Opponents have outscored the Tourists 34-7 to begin the season.

In the top of the first frame, the Drive batted around and scored four runs. Three of the four runs scored on wild pitches from Tourists starting pitcher Heitor Tokar. The right-hander settled down and pitched back-to-back scoreless innings in the second and third.

Greenville used a trio of Tourists errors to build on their lead in the fourth inning. The Drive scored four more and doubled the advantage to 8-0. The visitors then hit Home Runs in the sixth and seventh frames to tally their final three runs of the contest.

Asheville finished with six hits for the fourth consecutive game; two from A.J. Lee and two from Colin Barber. All six hits were singles. The best scoring opportunity for the home team came in the bottom of the ninth when the bases were loaded with one out. A strikeout followed by a flyout ended the threat and the game.

Yusniel Padron-Artiles earned the win for Greenville with six shutout innings. Asheville’s Ray Gaither worked 2.1 frames out of the bullpen and surrendered only one run with four strikeouts. Luis Santana, a Tourists position player, pitched the ninth and did not allow any damage.

The Tourists will attempt to pick up their first win of the season on Wednesday night in Game Two of the series. The first pitch is slated for 6:35pm.