Drive Drop Third Straight to Tourists

Asheville, NC - On a night where both offenses collected 12 hits, the Asheville Tourists managed to edge out the Greenville Drive by a 6-4 score on Sunday, and they notched their third consecutive victory of the weekend.
 
For the second straight game, the Tourists (39-30, 68-69) got ahead early and never looked back. They took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first off Jhonathan Diaz (6-6) when Tyler Nevin hit an RBI single and Bobby Wernes lifted a sacrifice fly.
Vince Fernandez singled home Ben Johnson in the second to push the lead to 3-0.
The Drive (37-32, 78-60) scored twice in the fourth to trim the Asheville lead to one. Ryan Scott began the inning with an infield single, and he moved to third on a double by Pedro Castellanos in his Greenville debut. Two batters later, Mitchell Gunsolus plated Scott with a sacrifice fly, and an error later in the inning tacked on a second run.
In the bottom half, Asheville roared back with three runs to extend their lead. Fernandez continued his hot hitting against Greenville with a two-run double, and he came in to score on a single by Joel Diaz.
Santiago Espinal and Carlos Tovar led off the top of the fifth with singles, and a sacrifice fly by Roldani Baldwin gave the Drive a run. Scott drove home Tovar later in the inning with a single.
Erick Julio (7-11) got the win for the Tourists, and Julian Fernandez logged his third save with a scoreless ninth.
Diaz was relieved by Hunter Smith, who fired three scoreless innings of relief to hold down the Tourists.
Scott led the Greenville offense with three hits, while Castellanos and Espinal added two hits apiece.
The regular season finale is scheduled for a 2:05 PM start on Labor Day in Asheville. The Drive will send right-hander Bryan Mata (5-6, 3.79) will take the mound for the Drive, who are looking to set a franchise record for victories in a season and avoid a series sweep. Right-hander Antonio Santos (9-9, 5.30) takes the hill for the Tourists.
~Greenville Drive~

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