Up and Down Eighth Inning Sends Tourists Home Unhappy

LAKEWOOD- The Asheville Tourists entered the top of the eighth inning on Sunday down 3-2. Staring at a seventh loss in their last eight games, the Tourists rallied for their biggest inning of the season; a four-run frame. The Jersey Shore BlueClaws bested that effort with a ten-run bottom of the eighth and handed Asheville a 13-6 loss.

Cristian Gonzalez gave the Tourists a 2-0 lead with his first Home Run of the season; a two-run shot in the second. The BlueClaws rallied to tie the game in the third inning with a pair of two-out RBI hits. Jersey Shore then claimed the lead on a solo Home Run in the fifth.

The score remained 3-2 until Asheville came to bat in the eighth. Deury Carrasco raced home from third base on a wild pitch to tie the score. Later in the frame, Nerio Rodriguez hit a bases-loaded double that plated all three runners. Asheville led 6-3; however, it was short lived.

The BlueClaws went to work in the bottom of the eighth. In a matter of minutes, Jersey Shore tied the game. A few minutes later, Jersey Shore took the lead and padded it with seven more runs. When it was all said and done, the home team scored ten runs, recorded six hits, worked five walks, took advantage of two Tourists errors, and sent 15 men to the plate.

Asheville will head home to open a six-game series with the Winston-Salem Dash on Tuesday evening.