Tour de Force: Renegades blast way to 9-4 victory over Tourists

Asheville, N.C. (April 24, 2025) — Propelled by a big top of the first inning, the Hudson Valley Renegades defeated the Asheville Tourists 9-4 on Thursday night at McCormick Field.

The Renegades stormed out to an early lead with a five-run outburst in the top of the first. Brendan Jones walked and George Lombard, Jr. was hit by a pitch to start the frame off, and Jackson Castillo brought them both in with a two-run double to center. Two batters later, Omar Martinez launched a two-run homer over the 36-foot-high right field wall to extend the lead to 4-0.

The blast was the first round-tripper of the season for Martinez, who tied for the Renegades team lead with 13 home runs in 2024. He finished 1-for-4 with a run scored, a home run, two RBIs, and a walk.

Alain Pena (0-3) faced two more batters – allowing a single to Coby Morales and walking Josh Moylan – before exiting with one out in the first. Tomas Frick brought in Morales with a sacrifice fly off Matthew Linskey to extend the advantage to 5-0.

That was more than Josh Grosz needed, as he fired 4.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits, three walks and striking out six while throwing a season-high 73 pitches.

Jones drove in two more runs with a double in the top of the third to extend the lead to 7-0, before the Tourists got a run off Grosz in the bottom of the third when Joseph Sullivan scored on a wild pitch.

The Renegades tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth when Jace Avina drove a two-run single to right to plate Lombard and Castillo and extend the lead to 9-1. Avina and Castillo each finished with two hits, with Castillo scoring two runs and Avina driving in two.

Hueston Morrill (1-0) picked up the win by firing 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen behind Grosz. Hayden Merda allowed two runs in the eighth, and Bryce Warrecker surrendered a run in the ninth in closing out the win.

Hudson Valley and Asheville continue their series on Friday night at McCormick Field at 6:35 p.m. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Renegades Baseball Network with the Heritage Financial Credit Union Pregame Show. To stream live or find a station near you, visit www.hvrenegades.com/broadcast. RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz (1-1, 3.38) takes the mound for the Renegades, while the Tourists send RHP Anderson Brito (0-0, 3.38) to the bump.

Following this week’s six-game series with Asheville, Hudson Valley returns home for a six-game series against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. An exciting list of promotions includes Education Day presented by Heritage Financial Credit Union on April 30, Hockey Night on May 1 with a Renegades Hockey Jersey giveaway for the first 1,000 fans presented by Heritage Financial Credit Union, and the first Copa de La Diversión game of the season on May 4 celebrating Cuatro de Mayo. Tickets are available at www.hvrenegades.com/tickets or by calling (845) 838-0094.