Tourists Top Braves 4-3 in Ten Innings

ROME- The Asheville Tourists defeated the Rome Braves 4-3 in ten innings on Sunday afternoon. The final game of the 2023 season for both teams came down to the wire. Rome erased a 3-1 deficit in the bottom of the ninth and Asheville responded with a winning rally in the top of the tenth.

Justin Williams delivered the game-winner for the second time in the last three games. Williams crushed a two-out RBI double off the right field wall in the top of the tenth to plate the winning run. Franny Cobos ensured the victory with a scoreless bottom of the tenth. Rome was able to put the tying run at third but Cobos ended the contest with a strikeout.

Rolando Espinosa gave the Tourists a 1-0 lead with a solo Home Run in the second inning. It was the only Home Run hit by either team all week. Ryan Wrobleski added an RBI single in the sixth inning and Asheville also scored a run on a Braves throwing error.

Rome overcame the 3-0 deficit with a run in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the bottom of the ninth. Asheville’s starting pitcher, Tyler Guilfoil, went five scoreless innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts. Guilfoil did not give up a hit.

Carlos Calderon, Ronny Garcia, and Max Roberts all earned holds by pitching the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings respectively. The Asheville pitching staff struck out a season-high 18 opposing hitters.

The Tourists won 11 of their 18 meetings against the Braves this year and finished the 2023 season on a three-game win streak.