Finishing Issues Creep Up for Second Straight Night

ASHEVILLE- For the second straight night the Asheville Tourists played eight great innings of baseball. After blowing a two-run lead in the ninth inning yesterday, the Tourists watched a 4-0 lead slip away in the ninth inning today. The Lakewood BlueClaws eventually won 7-5 in 11 innings.
Shelby Lackey paced the Tourists from the onset. Asheville's starting pitcher threw six shutout frames and allowed just two hits. The Tourists offense built their lead methodically. Niko Decolati doubled home Will Golsan in the first inning. Daniel Montano led off the fifth with a Home Run and Terrin Vavra added an RBI double later in the inning. Willie MacIver raced home from third on an error in the sixth.

Lakewood only managed one hit over the seventh and eighth innings against Asheville's bullpen for a total of three knocks through eight frames; however, in the ninth the BlueClaws woke up again. A lead-off Home Run made it 4-1. The next three hitters all reached thanks to an infield single and a pair of walks. Jake Holmes promptly cleared the bases with a double to the gap and the game was tied 4-4.
The Tourists kept it tied and had a chance to walk off in the bottom of the ninth. Asheville put runners at second and third with two outs but could not plate the winning run. Lakewood scored once in the top of the tenth and Coco Montes tied the game with an RBI double in the bottom half.
The BlueClaws scored two in the top of the 11th and that was the final blow. The Tourists went down without a run in their last at-bats. This is the third time this season the Tourists have led by four runs down the stretch and failed to secure a victory.