Tebow collects first triple on three-hit day

Tim Tebow hit his first career triple and turned in another three-hit game on Wednesday to help Class A Columbia take down Asheville, 5-0.
Tebow, who raised his average to .246 with a 3-for-4 performance, singled and scored in the second inning and added a two-out single in the third off Tourists starter Brandon Gold before pulling a ball into right field with one out in the sixth for the first three-base hit of his Minor League career. He scored his second run later in the inning when Jose Miguel Medina singled to right for a 5-0 lead.

It was the second three-hit game in the last week for the 29-year-old Mets outfielder, who has nine hits in his last six games. He hit a long double off the wall Tuesday against Asheville and also picked up an outfield assist when he threw a runner out at second base.

Tebow's first three-hit day came April 21 at Lexington when he went 3-for-3 with a walk. He hasn't driven in a run since April 16 but has gradually raised his average from .167 on April 15 to today, when he briefly was up to .250 after his third hit.
The former NFL quarterback started the year with a bang, homering twice in his first three games April 6-9. April 21 marked his first multi-hit game, and he followed that up by going 2-for-4 with a double on April 23. He's struck out 16 times in 18 games.
Columbia starter Merandy Gonzalez (4-0) didn't need much offensive support on Wednesday, though -- the 21-year-old righty struck out five and held the Tourists to five hits and two walks over 7 2/3 innings for his fourth win. He's gone at least six innings in all four starts this year and has yet to allow a run in 28 1/3 innings.
Shortstop Michael Paez went 2-for-4 with a homer in the third, and outfielder Gene Cone added a double and two RBIs for Columbia (12-9).
Gold (1-2) was charged with four runs on six hits in three innings to suffer the loss.