Ten-Run Fourth Inning Powers Tourists Past Cyclones in Season’s Longest Game

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — It started with a loud Thirsty Thursday crowd and ended well past ten o'clock at night in front of fewer than a hundred die-hard fans who stuck around through an hour-long lightning delay. Through it all, the Tourists put together one of the most explosive innings of their season.

A ten-run fourth inning turned a 4-1 deficit into an 11-4 lead and sent Brooklyn spinning, as Asheville beat the Cyclones 13-6 Thursday night in a four-hour, four-minute affair that tested everyone's patience before ending the right way.

Adam Shoemaker has had his ups and downs since joining the roster, but Thursday was his best start. The left-hander went 4.1 innings, struck out seven, and held Brooklyn to just two hits. The four runs he allowed came largely on walks and a three-run homer, but the strikeout total told the real story of a pitcher who is re-finding his footing at the High-A level.

Trey Snyder gave Brooklyn a quick three-run lead with a home run to left-center in the first to make it 3-0 before Asheville had recorded two outs. Xavier Neyens answered in the bottom half, launching his first home run of August past the scoreboard in left-center to cut it to 3-1. Brooklyn added one more in the fourth on a John Smith III double play groundout to make it 4-1.

Then the bottom of the fourth happened.

Thirteen Asheville batters came to the plate. Eight of the nine in the order scored a run. It started with a Zach Daudet double to score Kenni Gomez, then two straight walks to score two more and tie the game. Anthony Huezo singled to score two and put the Tourists ahead. A Nick Monistere soft ground ball to the catcher drew a throwing error from Daiverson Gutierrez to score another. Gomez singled to score Huezo. Daudet doubled again, his second of the inning, to score two more. A Gutierrez passed ball scored Daudet to cap the frame. Ten runs, six hits, and a completely different ballgame. 11-4 Asheville.

Two more runs in the fifth on a Moss single and a Monistere groundout pushed it to 13-4. Brooklyn got two back on a John Smith III home run in the sixth and a Daudet error in the seventh, but by then the game was well decided.

Then the lightning rolled in.

With 2,712 fans at the start of the night, the tarp came out and the crowd thinned to fewer than 100 diehards willing to wait out a 57-minute delay. When play resumed, Grayson Saunier finished off the final two innings with a clean scoreless performance to close it out.

Moss went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Daudet went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two doubles in the fourth inning alone. The first seven batters in the order all recorded RBIs on the night.

In a footnote worth mentioning, the Astros completed a minor league sweep Thursday with wins from Fayetteville, Asheville, Corpus Christi, and Sugar Land all on the same night.

Asheville and Brooklyn meet again Friday night at HomeTrust Park. Kellan Oakes takes the ball for the Tourists against Brooklyn's Jose Chirinos. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.