Dash Falls Behind Early in 14-7 Loss to Asheville

The Winston-Salem Dash (6-5) fell behind early and could not recover in a 14-7 loss to the Asheville Tourists (4-7) at Truist Stadium.

Asheville wasted no time setting the tone in the first inning. Justin Thomas Jr. opened the scoring with a solo home run, and later in the frame, Jason Schiavone added a two-run shot to extend the lead. The Tourists capped the inning with an RBI single to take a 4-0 advantage.

The Tourists kept the pressure on in the second. Freuddy Batista launched a two-run home run to push the lead to 6-0.

Asheville added on again in the fourth, scoring twice on an RBI double to stretch the advantage to 8-0.

Winston-Salem responded in the bottom half of the fourth. Caleb Bonemer delivered a two-run home run to get the Dash on the board and cut the deficit to 8-2.

The Tourists continued to build their lead in the fifth, adding two more runs to make it 10-2.

The Dash chipped away in the sixth when Kyle Lodise drove in a run with an RBI single, trimming the deficit to 10-3.

Asheville answered once again in the seventh and broke the game open in the eighth. A two-run triple from Alberto Hernandez highlighted a four-run inning that extended the lead to 14-5.

Winston-Salem showed late fight in the final innings. Boston Smith homered twice, and T.J. McCants added a solo shot, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.

The Tourists collected multiple extra-base hits, including several home runs, and consistently applied pressure against the Dash pitching staff throughout the night.

Winston-Salem will look to regroup as the series continues.