Rico Rallies Tourists to Sixth Straight Win

ASHEVILLE-- The Asheville Tourists won their sixth straight game on Friday night by beating the playoff bound Greenville Drive 4-2. Greenville had won eight straight prior to squaring off against one of the hottest teams in the South Atlantic League, the Tourists.
Asheville was led once again by their starting pitcher. Rico Garcia dominated Greenville's lineup by recording ten strikeouts over six innings. Garcia earned his second win in as many starts. The Kapolei, Hawaii native did not walk a batter.

With the Tourists down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Tyler Nevin hit an RBI single into centerfield that scored Vince Fernandez. Asheville made it 2-1 with another run in the second. Ben Johnson clubbed an RBI double to deep left field. The Drive were able to tie the score with a run in the top of the third; however, back-to-back RBI hits from Joel Diaz and Taylor Snyder in the bottom of the third provided the Tourists with their final victory margin.
Garcia turned the ball over to Asheville's bullpen at the start of the seventh inning. Heath Holder tossed two shutout frames before Reid Humphreys notched his 13th save of the season with a scoreless ninth. Humphreys has earned a save in each of his last four appearances.
The Tourists have now won nine of their last ten games and have matched a season-high in consecutive wins with six straight. Both teams will be back in action on Saturday night with the first pitch scheduled for 6:05pm. Asheville has three games remaining in the 2017 season.