Vines, Riley, Yeager Combine to One-Hit Asheville In Saturday Night Victory
In a memorable night at State Mutual Stadium, the Rome Braves (37-40) picked up a massive 3-0 shutout triumph over the visiting Asheville Tourists (31-43). Rome carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning and ended up one-hitting Asheville on Saturday night. Rome got things started extremely quickly on offense,
In a memorable night at State Mutual Stadium, the Rome Braves (37-40) picked up a massive 3-0 shutout triumph over the visiting Asheville Tourists (31-43). Rome carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning and ended up one-hitting Asheville on Saturday night.
Rome got things started extremely quickly on offense, taking the lead in the bottom of the second inning. After Kevin Josephina doubled and advanced to third on a groundout, he came across thanks to an RBI single by Garrett Saunders. The R-Braves doubled their lead the following inning. Michael Harris II tripled and then touched home plate with a Jesse Franklin V sacrifice fly. Rome scored once again in the fourth as Andrew Moritz drove in Beau Philip with a one-out single, giving the home squad a 3-0 lead.
Darius Vines threw the first seven innings, giving up just one walk in the fourth and another in the sixth. Trey Riley tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Justin Yeager entered in the ninth looking to achieve history, as Rome’s most recent no-hitter came on June 7, 2005, in a 5-0 win over Savannah. The no-no ended after 8 1/3 innings, though. Asheville broke up the combined no-hit bid when Shay Whitcomb singled on a ground ball that was just out of the reach of shortstop Garrett Saunders. Yeager allowed a walk but responded well, forcing a flyout and a strikeout to secure the shutout victory.
Darius Vines shined brighter than any of the lights in the sky on Back to School Fireworks Night. The Cal State Bakersfield product pitched seven scoreless and hitless innings, striking out nine Tourists and surrendering two total walks. Vines picked up the win, improving his season record to 1-3. Trey Riley (1IP, 0H, 0BB) received credit for a hold while Justin Yeager (1IP, 1H, 0BB) earned the save.
Harris finished 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored. Josephina (1-4, R) and Philip (1-4, R) both doubled in the victory. Moritz went 1-for-3 with a RBI, extending his hitting streak to sixteen games. The UNC Greensboro alum is now one away from tying the High-A East's longest hit streak of the season, which was seventeen games by Winston-Salem's Lenyn Sosa (June 15 to July 3).
Rome out-hit Asheville 5-1 while the Tourists had two errors to the Braves’ one.
The R-Braves now hold a 3-2 lead in this week-long series against the Tourists. Rome remains in fourth place in the High-A East South. They trail third-place Greenville by 2.5 games, second-place Greensboro by 10.5 games, and division-leading Bowling Green by 18 games.
Rome will aim for a series victory over Asheville with a win on Sunday afternoon. Gates will open at 1 p.m. EDT and first pitch is set for 2 p.m.
Sunday’s ticket offer is the Family Fun Day Pack. The ticket package includes four tickets, four hats, four hamburgers, four sodas, and four popcorns (over $100 value). Fans can purchase the package in advance for $50 or day-of for $70.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit RomeBraves.com/Promotions or call the Rome Braves Box Office at 706-378-5144.