Tourists Stun BlueClaws Late, Win 6-4 in Extras

LAKEWOOD- The Asheville Tourists pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind win against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws on Saturday night. Asheville scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to force extras and added two more runs in the tenth to secure a 6-4 win. The victory was Asheville’s sixth extra-inning win of the year and their 26^th win by either one or two runs.

Asheville took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the third. John Garcia led off the frame with a triple and Rolando Espinosa brought him in with a Sacrifice Fly. The Tourists used a Michael Sandle Sacrifice Fly in the fourth to tack on another for a 2-0 advantage.

Jersey Shore pushed one across in the fifth after Asheville removed starting pitcher Nolan DeVos. The BlueClaws then tied the game and took the lead with a pair of RBI hits in the sixth. The home team added one more in the seventh and led the Tourists 4-2 heading into the ninth.

Tommy Sacco Jr. drew a leadoff walk and scored all the way from first base on a Sandle RBI double into the left field corner. On the very next pitch, Garcia ripped a sharp groundball up the first base line that went for an RBI double that scored Sandle and tied the game 4-4.

Walker Brockhouse pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth inning to secure extras. In the tenth, Ryan Wrobleski crushed a Cam Wynne delivery over the left field wall for a go-ahead, two-run Homer. Brockhouse came back out and slammed the door shut in the bottom of the tenth.

The Tourists will attempt to split the series with a win against the BlueClaws in Sunday’s finale. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm.