Tourists Use Big Inning to Defeat Drive, 6-4

Greenville, SC - One bad inning doomed the Greenville Drive on Friday night at Fluor Field, and the Asheville Tourists took advantage to come away with a 6-4 win to even the series at a game apiece.

The highlight of the evening for the Drive (1-1) was the effort of 18-year old starting pitcher Anderson Espinoza, who stymied the Tourists for five shutout innings while allowing only two hits and striking out four.

Friday's game was scoreless through six innings, but the wheels came off for the Drive in the seventh, as they committed four errors and Asheville (1-1) pounded out five hits off reliever Victor Diaz (0-1) to put up a six-spot in the frame. Yonathan Daza hit a two-run single in the inning, while Chris Rabago and Carlos Herrera added run-scoring hits as well.

Parker French (1-0) matched Espinoza pitch-for-pitch in the Asheville victory. He allowed only two baserunners over six innings to go with three strikeouts.

The Drive made a valiant effort to come back late in the game, scoring once in the seventh and three more times in the eighth. Michael Chavis began the seventh with a double down the left field line and came home two batters later on an Austin Rei groundout.

Mitchell Gunsolus drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and came in when Kyri Washington cranked a triple to the wall in left-center, his second three-bagger in as many games. Jeremy Rivera brought Washington home with an RBI groundout, and Chavis added an RBI double later in the inning.

The series continues on Saturday night at Fluor Field. First pitch is at 7:05 PM. The Drive will send LH Logan Boyd to the mound, and LH Jack Wynkoop, a former South Carolina Gamecock, takes the hill for the Tourists.