RiverDogs Squeezed by Tourists in 11 Innings

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Charleston RiverDogs went 11 innings for the second time in three meetings with the Asheville Tourists, falling 6-5 to snap Charleston's three game winning streak following the All-Star break on Sunday evening at McCormick Field.
After starting both extra frames with a runner on second, the RiverDogs failed to capitalize on their chances before Asheville (30-43, 3-1) used a suicide squeeze by center fielder Shael Mendoza to win the game with left fielder Casey Golden taking off on first move by right-hander Dalton Higgins (2-2) to steal the series opener from the Dogs.
The RiverDogs went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position in the game, stranding 11 runners, including five over the final three innings. The loss dropped Charleston to 2-6 in extra inning contests this year. It marked the second time in the last three meetings that the Rockies affiliate won a game against Charleston in 11 innings after stealing one at The Joe on June 13.
The game would have ended in walk-off fashion after nine had it not been for a game-saving play by center fielder Pablo Olivares, who slid feet first at the warning track to rob Tourists second baseman Bret Boswell of a walk-off knock and send the game to extras.
The Tourists rallied after an hour and 40-minute rain delay that interrupted the contest in the bottom half of the sixth and Charleston leading at the time, 5-4. Two RiverDogs errors out of the break helped Asheville plate the tying run in the seventh, including a two-out dropped ball by Chris Hess at second that allowed the tying run to score.
Oswaldo Cabrera and Steven Sensley roped back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches to push the RiverDogs out to a 4-0, first-inning lead. Sensley's booming fly to right was the lefty's team-leading 10^th of the season and carried well past the short porch in right, traveling an estimated 427 feet. It marks his second straight season reaching double figures in the power department; the Yankees' 12^th round pick out of Lousiana-Lafayette last summer now has 23 long balls over his first 116 career games in the minors. His back-to-back blast with Cabrera marked the third time this season Sensley followed a teammate with a home run of his own.

Cabrera got the RiverDogs on the board, following an Olivares single and a Wilkerman Garcia walk with a three-run fly to right-center, the 19-year-old's fifth of the season and third in his last five games.
Asheville got on the board with an RBI double from Matt McLaughlin in the third and used a pair of home runs to get back into the game.
Upcoming
The RiverDogs continue the three-game series on Monday night in Asheville. The RiverDogs will send left-hander Dalton Lehnen (5-3, 2.92) to toe the rubber. The Tourists will counter with right-hander Will Gaddis (3-4, 5.63) with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. Monday's game can be tuned into on "The Big Talker" WTMA 1250 AM and streaming live at riverdogs.com and the RiverDogs' TuneIn radio station.
RiverDogs single-game tickets, including options to the Riley Park Club, are now available for the 2018 campaign, the club's 25^th season as the RiverDogs and their "175^th season in dog years." Ticket information can be secured by contacting the box office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com/tickets.
--RIVERDOGS--