Hickory snatches 5-4 win away from Asheville in extras

In the second longest game of the season, the Tourists just couldn't deliver the knockout punch Tuesday night against Hickory and eventually fell 5-4 in 13 innings. Asheville held a one-run lead twice, once in the ninth inning, and again in the 12th. In each case, the Crawdads were able to scratch across the tying run, before winning it on a Cristian Santana home run in the 13th. For the Tourists, it was their fourth straight loss and 14th in their last 18 games.

Juan Gonzalez (1-0) pitched seven strong innings, his longest outing on the year, allowed only two runs, and left with the lead. In the first inning, one of the strangest plays I have ever seen occurred. With two outs and a Crawdads runner at third, Gonzalez threw a wild pitch. Tourist's catcher Dallas Tarleton gathered it up and tossed it back to Juan, who was covering home plate. In a stunning course of events, Gonzalez caught the ball as the Crawdads runner, Leury Garcia, approached the plate. Garcia stopped about three feet from home plate knowing he was going to be out, but Gonzalez just walked away from the play without tagging Garcia. Leury was as stunned as everyone else in the ballpark, but he took his last few steps and scored the game's first run.

The Tourists took the lead in the fifth inning after Orlando Sandoval doubled in two runs. Hickory tied it at two in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Edwin Garcia. With the game tied, Eliezer Mesa came in to score on a Joe Sanders sacrifice fly in the sixth to give the Tourists a 3-2 lead. The score remained 3-2, as Asheville left a runner on third base in the eighth and ninth innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Vinny DiFazio hit a solo home run to tie the game at three. The momentum of the game had shifted as it went into extra innings, but Asheville was able to score Eliezer Mesa in the 12th inning. Ahead by one, it was the Crawdads' turn for some fireworks. With runners on first and second, Ed Koncel hit a double down the left field line, and the tying run scored from second, but the winning run was thrown out at home plate on a perfect relay from Tyler Massey and Joe Scott to Tarleton.

Unfortunately, Asheville was not as fortunate in the 13th inning. After Leuris Gomez retired the first two hitters, Cristian Santana hit a 1-and-2 fastball over the left field wall to win the game. It was another heartbreaking loss for the Tourists who have only managed one road victory in nine chances. Aside from the excellent pitching performance from Gonzalez, Asheville was led by Avery Barnes who had a team high three hits, including a double. Barnes has recorded at least one hit in all nine Tourists road games.