Drive Route Tourists 13-1 in Series Opener in Asheville

The Greenville Drive began this six-game road trip with a 13-1 win in the series opener versus the Asheville Tourists. The Drive improves to 40-54, while the Tourists falls to 33-63. In the second-half standings, Greenville is now 14-17, while Asheville is 16-15.

Justin Gonzales started the scoring with a blast on a first-pitch homer to center. Five straight walks allowed Yoeilin Cespedes and Gerardo Rodriguez to jog across home plate, making it 3-0. A sac-fly for Maximus Martin scored one more for the Drive in the first.

Martin continued his night with a two-run homer, his first hit in five games, to extend the lead and kick-start a five-spot in the third inning. RBI singles for Enddy Azocar and Cespedes grew Greenville’s advantage to nine runs.

Justin Thomas Jr. scored the only run for the Tourists with a solo shot off Kyson Witherspoon in the bottom of the frame. The Drive got that one back plus two more from an RBI single by Ronny Hernandez and a two-run hit for Azocar, making it hard to reach for the Tourists, 12-1.

The offense came to a halt for the next four innings until Azocar hit his 10th home run of the season to close out the scoring 13-1.

Greenville mustered up 15 hits in game one. Azocar led with a 4-for-6 showing at the plate with his homer, two runs scored, and four RBIs. Hernandez went 2-for-3, reaching base four times. He walked twice, scored twice, and drove in two. Martian had his best game since his return on July 17, going 2-for-4 with a run scored, three RBIs, and his first home run of the season.

The Thomas Jr. homer was the solo run for Asheville, ending with six hits as a team. John Garcia was responsible for half of those, going 3-for-4. Overall, the Tourists went 0-for-6 in scoring opportunities and left nine runners stranded.

Witherspoon earned his third win, pitching five innings, allowing four hits, one run, and one walk while striking out five. Alex Bouchard pitched the remainder of the game, giving up two hits, walking three, and striking out three in 3.2 innings.

The Tourists used five different pitchers after starter Yeriel Santos faced just nine batters before exiting with the loss. Santos issued six walks, leading to three of his four first-inning runs, two of which were walked in, with Luke Heyman adding a fourth run by tagging up on a sac-fly.

The Greenville Drive continues its six-game series with a doubleheader against the Asheville Tourists tomorrow, making up for Tuesday's rainout. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 5:05 PM, with Game 2 following shortly after. Both games will be seven innings.