Wild Pitch, Wild Throw, Wild Win: Tourists Take 9-8 Walk-Off

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Bowling Green closer Junior William had not allowed a run in June. Every fastball he threw Tuesday night was at or near triple digits. He had struck out 14 batters this month without issuing a single walk. On paper, he was unhittable.

Alejandro Nunez didn't care about the paper.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the game tied at eight, and Kyle Walker on third base, Nunez fouled off four straight triple-digit fastballs before William bounced one to the backstop. Walker scored from third to tie it. Nunez battled for nine pitches total before grounding one to second base. As Walker charged home, Narciso Polanco's underhand scoop sailed past first baseman Ryan McCoy and into the outfield. Walker scored standing up. Asheville won 9-8.

It was that kind of night.

Luis Rodriguez started on the mound and was solid, going five innings and allowing three earned runs while navigating traffic throughout. Jack Kartsonas took the ball for Bowling Green coming off one of the hotter stretches of any pitcher in the league. One walk and 16 strikeouts across his first two starts, both wins. Tuesday was a completely different story. Asheville jumped on him for ten hits and six earned runs across five innings, chasing him before the game was decided.

Zach Daudet got the Tourists started in the second, clearing the bases with a two-run double off the wall. 2-0 Asheville. Bowling Green answered in the third. Aiden Smith lofted a soft single to left to score one, and Narciso Polanco doubled to score Smith. 2-2.

The game swung back and forth from there. Asheville went back in front in the fourth when a chopper to third gave Alejandro Nunez just enough time to score from third with the only available throw going to first. 3-2 Tourists.

Then the fifth inning got messy. Bowling Green loaded the bases with one out and Polanco hit a tailor-made double play ball to Kyle Walker. Walker's throw to second was in time for one, but Daudet’s relay throw was low. Jack Moss couldn’t dig it at first and two runs scored. 4-3 Hot Rods. Nehomar Ochoa Jr. tied it right back up with a liner to center that scored Thomas Jr. from second. 4-4.

The sixth inning saw both teams exchange blows again. Asheville couldn't turn two with the bases loaded and allowed a run to score from third. Caden Bodine added an RBI single to make it 6-4. But the Tourists answered in the bottom half. A Walker leadoff double set up a Nunez single to score him, and Daudet came through with an RBI single, his third hit and third RBI of the night, to tie it at six.

Anthony Cruz came on in relief and kept Asheville in it when it mattered most. With runners on second and third and one out in the seventh, Cruz struck out back to back batters to escape the jam. But Bowling Green retook the lead on a Ryan McCoy double that scored a run to make it 7-6.

Then came the moment of the night, before the real moment of the night. With Caden Powell on third and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Walker struck out on a big breaking ball that skipped away from catcher Nathan Flewelling. Walker took off for first on the dropped third strike and Powell came racing home. 7-7.

Cruz couldn't hold it. Flewelling stepped to the plate and launched a first-pitch 426-foot bomb to dead center to put Bowling Green back on top 8-7.

Jackson Wells came on for the ninth and found immediate trouble, putting a runner on third with one out. He buckled down and got a strikeout followed by a groundout to strand the runner and send Asheville to the bottom of the ninth with a chance. It was enough to earn Wells his first win as a Tourist.

Then came Junior William. Then came Nunez. Then came pandemonium.

Daudet finished 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs in another big night at the plate. Nunez's two-hit performance was his sixth multi-hit game of June. He is hitting .356 this month, quietly putting together one of the best stretches of any Tourist all season.

Asheville improves to 17-46. Bowling Green falls to 45-18. The two teams meet again Wednesday night at HomeTrust Park. Yeriel Santos takes the ball for Asheville against Bowling Green's Trevor Harrison. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.