Ribera blasts Tourists into Sally Finals

Asheville's Seth Willoughby was called on to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning with two outs and the bases loaded.

He was facing someone who'd already homered Saturday night.

And a berth in the South Atlantic League Championship Series was on the line.

The pressure did not overwhelm Willoughby, who struck out Rome's Robby Hefflinger to seal the Tourists' 4-3 victory in the decisive third game of their semifinal series.

"[After] the pitching change, the best part about it was that every guy in the infield wanted that ground ball," Asheville first baseman Jordan Ribera said. "Everyone wanted to be the one to end the game. That shows a lot about a team. Nobody was scared, we weren't panicking."

It was Ribera's two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh that snapped a 2-2 tie and put the Tourists in position to reach the Finals for the first time since 2001.

Ribera initially tried to bunt after Taylor Featherston led off the seventh with a single. Then manager Joe Mikulik told his cleanup hitter to swing away.

"Coach Mikulik gave the bunt sign at first and I bunted through a ball," the 23-year-old first baseman explained. "Then he took [the sign] off because he wanted me to hit the next fastball. I took it and then I fouled a couple of pitches off and, God bless it, I was fortunate enough to get a fastball down and in. And that two-run shot ended up being enough for the 'W.'"

The win was a welcome end to a grueling three-game series for the Tourists. They were held hitless for eight innings in a 5-3 loss in Game 1 -- its only runs coming on Ribera's bases-clearing triple in the ninth -- and did not plate a run until the sixth on Friday before rallying for a 6-2 win.

"It really shows the character of this team," Ribera said. "We had our backs pinned against the wall. We had two hits the other night [in Game 1], and to come out two days in a row and handle it the way we did is an awesome feeling."

After Featherston's RBI double gave Asheville a 1-0 lead in the first, Hefflinger tied with a blast to left in the second. Rome plated single runs in the seventh and ninth on singles by Elmer Reyes and Ross Heffley but could not push across the tying run.

The Braves issued eight walks, including four by starter A.J. Holland, who was lifted after four innings.

Chris Johnson pitched 6 1/3 innings for Asheville, striking out seven and allowing two runs on eight hits. Russell Brewer (1-0) picked up the win in relief.

The Tourists will have a day off before hosting Greensboro on Monday night in Game 1 of the best-of-5 Championship Series. The Grasshoppers took three out of four in Asheville the last time the teams met nearly two months ago. All three losses came by two runs or fewer, however, and Ribera said his team has the weapons to dethrone the defending champs.

"Greensboro came here [back in July] and it was a tough series," he added. "Our game plan is just to play solid defense. I think we led the league this year in defense and fielding percentage, and our pitchers have done a great job of keeping us in any ballgame.

"If we swing the bats like we're capable of, this is a very tough lineup to beat."