Drive fall 15-8; Gonzalez knocks two three-run homers

Bryan Gonzalez chipped in six RBI for the Greenville Drive (22-36) on the strength of a pair of three-run homers, but the night belonged to Asheville Tourists (25-31) who amassed 18 hits enroute to a 15-8 victory at Fluor Field Tuesday night.

The Tourists’ Austin Deming was 4-for-5 with a homer, four RBI, and one walk on the night while John Garcia was 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI, and Jackson Loftin chipped in a 2-for-5 night with three RBI. Much of the damage would come off the Drive’s Cooper Adams, who allowed eight runs on nine hits in the fourth and fifth innings. He exited without recording an out in the fifth.

Blake Wehunt, recently called up from Single-A Salem, made his Fluor Field debut Tuesday. The start was anything but smooth sailing, as he gave up a pair of two-run homers, one in the first and one in the third, putting the Drive in a 4-0 hole. He ultimately tossed three innings, allowing four runs on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Adams, piggybacking Wehunt, did not fare much better. The Tourists tagged him for three runs on four hits in the fourth inning, his first inning of work, coupled with a few Drive errors. Ryan Johnson reached on an error, Garret Guillemte was hit with a pitch with one out and Jackson Loftin tripled to score both as right fielder Allan Castro overplayed the angle. Brice Matthews added an RBI single to make it 7-0.

Jhostynxon Garcia cut into the lead with a solo homer in the Drive half of the fourth, but the night continued to slip from the Drive in the fifth. Adams gave up a double, back-to-back singles, and another double resulting in two more Asheville runs. Jackson Loftin added an RBI single to make it 10-1.

After a Matthews walk, Adams was pulled in favor of Isaac Stebens. After picking up a strikeout, Stebens walked home a run before back-to-back singles from the Tourists made it 13-1. Stebens finished the night going two innings, allowing one run on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

Gonzalez cut the lead with his 10th homer of the season, a three run shot to left, before Cutter Coffey launched his sixth of the season, cutting the lead to 13-5.

Asheville answered with a run in the sixth via an Austin Deming RBI-single. John Garcia boosted the lead to 15-5 in the ninth with a solo shot off reliever Cade Feeney. Feeney tossed three innings, the homer being the only hit and run, with three strikeouts.

Gonzalez launched his second three-run shot of the game in the ninth, cutting the score to 15-8 but any thoughts of a comeback were dashed with a double-play ending the game.

The Greenville Drive return to action on Tuesday, June 12 at 7:05 p.m. at Fluor Field for game two of a six-game homestand with Asheville. The Tourists lead the series, 1-0.