Asheville Clinches Home Winning Record in Blowout Win

ASHEVILLE- The Asheville Tourists bested the Rome Braves by a final score of 15-3 on Saturday night. The Tourists hit five Home Runs and added seven doubles to the offensive outpouring. The victory upped Asheville’s home record on the season to 30-27 which clinches a winning record at McCormick Field. The Tourists have only one home game remaining.

The barrage began in the bottom of the first inning. Freudis Nova, Shay Whitcomb, and Yainer Diaz all doubled and the Tourists led 2-0. The Braves knotted the score at 2-2 in the second; however, Asheville’s offense took off again in the third. Whitcomb hit an RBI single to give the Tourists a 3-2 lead. Diaz and Deury Carrasco then hit back-to-back Home Runs to put Asheville on top 6-2.

The Braves scored one in the top of the fourth inning but Alex Holderbach and Luis Guerrero opened the bottom of the fourth with another set of back-to-back Home Runs. C.J. Stubbs joined the party later in the inning with a two-run bomb to deep centerfield.

Asheville tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning that included a Whitcomb sacrifice fly and a Stubbs two-run double. Wilyer Abreu and Zach Daniels combined to hit three doubles and score four runs. All nine Tourists players had at least one extra-base hit.

The pitching trio of Juan Pablo Lopez, Diosmerky Taveras, and Derek West held the Braves to a total of five hits. The three combined to strike out 11 batters and Lopez earned his team-leading sixth win of the season.

Asheville and Rome will face off for the final time this season on Sunday afternoon. A Tourists victory would even up the season-series with Rome and give the Tourists another home series win. The first pitch is set for 1:05pm.