Tourists Explode for 14 in Series Opener, Top Rome 14-9

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The homestand is off to a good start. Asheville put up fourteen runs Tuesday night at HomeTrust Park, getting big contributions from all over the lineup in a 14-9 win over the Rome Emperors to open the series.

Nick Potter headlined the night on the mound. The Astros' 17th-ranked prospect made his first start at HomeTrust Park and dialed his fastball up to 101 miles per hour in a three-inning, three-strikeout outing. Drafted as a reliever, Potter is being stretched out as a starter by the Astros organization, which means short outings and low pitch counts, just 43 on Tuesday, while a veteran arm eats innings behind him. Yeriel Santos followed in that role and was rougher, allowing six runs in 3.2 innings, but the offense had already done more than enough damage.

Before any of that, the night took an unexpected turn in the bottom of the first when Nick Monistere took a pitch to the face. With blood-stained teeth, Monistere was visibly frustrated when told to leave the game. He clearly wanted to stay in, but was replaced by Kyle Walker at second base for the remainder of the night.

Asheville jumped on Rome starter Ethan Bagwell immediately. The Tourists scored two in the first on a Jack Moss double and a John Garcia single. Then the second inning blew it open. A DJ Newman grounder, two walks, and two sacrifice flies produced six more runs. 7-1 Asheville before Rome had recorded six outs. Bagwell was removed from the game by the trainer after just one inning, though the injury seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

The third inning added to the pile. Another Newman grounder scored one, then Anthony Huezo launched a monster three-run home run to right-center that bounced off the tallest tree beyond the outfield wall. 11-1. Rome chipped back with three runs in the fourth, but Newman singled to score another in the bottom half to push it back to 12-3.

Rome continued to battle, getting runs in the sixth and seventh to trim it to 12-7, but the Tourists answered both times. Newman hit his first home run as a Tourist in the seventh, a fly ball to right that scraped the wall. Thomas Jr. followed on the very next at bat with his team-leading 16th home run of the season to make it 14-7. The outfield trio of Newman in left, Huezo in center, and Thomas Jr. in right combined for nine of the team's thirteen RBIs on the night.

Joan Ogando was the bullpen standout, coming on and striking out all four batters he faced in a dominant 1.1-inning appearance.

Moss went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Huezo finished with four RBIs. Newman had four RBIs in his HomeTrust Park debut. Yosweld Vasquez added a nice night in his Tourists debut going 2-4 with a pair of hard hit singles.

Rome added two late runs in the ninth to set the final at 14-9, but it was a footnote to a dominant offensive night for Asheville.

The Tourists and Emperors meet again Wednesday night at HomeTrust Park. Javier Perez makes his first start at HomeTrust Park for Asheville. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.