Asheville splits twin bill

ASHEVILLE, NC - Resuming action from Thursday night’s suspended contest, the Asheville Tourists played two games today against the Greenville Drive at McCormick Field.

The Drive (3-4) took the opener 5-0 while the Tourists (3-4) walked off in the nightcap.

Game 1

Shutout for the first time this year, the Tourists (2-4) were held to three hits and struck out 17 times in the early game. Jumping ahead on Thursday night, the Drive (3-3) scored first in the opening frame to make it 1-0.

They added two in the third before inclement weather shut the contest down. Resuming play today, the Greenville bats kept momentum going and plated runs in the seventh and eighth innings, including a home run.

Hayden Mullins (1-0) got the start today but technically was in relief as he entered the game in the fourth inning. He struck out seven in four frames of work, allowing just two hits. For Asheville, Jose Guedez (0-1) was given the loss as he started on Thursday night and allowed a trio of runs (two earned) in four innings.

Game 2

Bouncing back for the second game, the Tourist traded leads with Greenville in the eight-inning affair.

Greenville took the first lead in the third inning after scoring on an error. Fighting back in the fourth, Kenni Gomez notched his first hit of the year with a long ball over the 42-foot high wall in right-center field.

Asheville took its first lead of the day in the fifth, thanks to an RBI double from Chase Jaworsky.

The Drive leveled the playing field at two with another run in the sixth.

Only slated to play seven innings because of the doubleheader, the two sides went into extras.

Hudson Leach (1-0) dominated as the final Tourists pitcher, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Most importantly, he struck the final two men of the night out and stranded the inherited base-runner on third in the final frame. Alain Pena was also dominant as the starter, allowing just one unearned run in four innings.

With momentum on their side, the Tourists bats followed what Leach left behind.

Cristian Gonzalez hit an infield single to put runners on second and third. Two batters later, Garret Guillemette was facing Jojo Ingrassia (0-2), when he launched a ball into the left field bullpen on a walk-off home run, sending the home crowd into pandemonium.

The backend win for Asheville evened the series at two games a piece, and the rubber game is tomorrow at 1:05 PM ET.