Tourists Edge Drive 3-2 as Late Homers Decide Tight Independence Eve Battle

**Tourists Edge Drive 3-2 as Late Homers Decide Tight Independence Eve Battle

**

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Greenville Drive fell just short on Wednesday night at Fluor Field, dropping a narrow 3-2 contest to the Asheville Tourists in front of a lively holiday-weekend crowd of 6,551.

In a game that showcased stellar pitching, timely power, and aggressive baserunning, it was Walker Janek’s eighth-inning solo homer — his fifth of the season — that ultimately stood as the difference for Asheville (35-42), denying the Drive (39-38) a chance to build momentum before the Fourth of July.

Greenville starter Brandon Clarke was sharp through 2.2 scoreless innings, scattering just one hit while striking out four. The right-hander gave way to Shea Sprague in the third after hitting Janek with a pitch and allowing a walk to Drew Vogel.

Sprague escaped that jam but ran into trouble an inning later. Asheville broke the scoreless tie in the fourth when Will Bush drew a leadoff walk and scored on Kenni Gomez’s RBI single. An errant throw by first baseman Albert Feliz allowed Chase Jaworsky, who had reached on a bunt single, to move up and later score on Reylin Perez’s groundout, putting the Tourists up 2-0 in the top of the fourth.

Hudson White put Greenville on the board in the bottom of the fifth, launching a solo home run off Asheville starter Juan Bello to cut the deficit to 2-1. It was White’s fourth homer of the season and one of the Drive’s few breakthroughs against Bello’s sharp mix of fastballs and off-speed offerings. The right-hander struck out eight over five innings, yielding just four hits.

Greenville threatened again in the sixth after Miguel Bleis doubled off reliever Jose Guedez and swiped third base — his 18th stolen bag — but the middle of the order came up empty as Johanfran Garcia, Antonio Anderson, and Freili Encarnacion all struck out to strand Bleis and a walked Nelly Taylor in scoring position.

Bleis wouldn’t be denied later. After Janek’s critical blast in the top of the eighth padded Asheville’s lead to 3-1, Bleis led off the bottom half by pulling a solo shot just inside the left-field foul pole for his 11th homer. Taylor walked again, stole third after moving up on a groundout — one of his three stolen bases on the night — but the Drive again failed to bring him home.

Aggressive baserunning was Asheville’s edge all evening. The Tourists swiped eight bases — including two apiece from Joseph Sullivan, Drew Vogel, Kenni Gomez, and Janek. Gomez added a key outfield assist, gunning down Garcia at second in the fourth. Despite getting picked off once, the Tourists’ relentless pressure forced Drive pitchers to work with runners in motion all game long.

Greenville’s staff — Clarke, Sprague, and Cooper Adams — still punched out 14 Asheville hitters and limited the Tourists to just five hits, but Janek’s late homer off Sprague proved decisive. Sprague (1-1) took the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) across 4.2 innings.

Guedez earned his first save of the season with four solid innings in relief of Bello, striking out five and closing the door on the Drive’s late push. Asheville’s bullpen received a boost when right fielder Tyler Whitaker was ejected in the seventh for arguing a called third strike, but his replacement, Drew Brutcher, held his ground defensively.

The Drive left seven runners on base and went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Feliz reached twice but also committed two errors that aided Asheville’s early runs.

Garcia collected two hits for Greenville while Bleis reached base three times, adding a double, a homer, and his stolen base. But with Anderson and Encarnacion combining to strike out five times and Greenville’s lineup whiffing 13 times in total, the clutch hit proved elusive.

The Drive will wrap up their holiday series against Asheville with 3 games in North Carolina beginning on Independence Day and concluding Sunday, July 6. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. as Greenville looks to bounce back and reclaim momentum heading into the second half of the series north of the border.