Tourists Sweep in Style; Toss Eighth Shutout of the Year

COLUMBIA-- The Asheville Tourists completed a three-game sweep of the Columbia Fireflies with a 4-0 shutout win on Thursday night. The victory clinched a winning road record for the Tourists in 2017 and was their eighth shutout victory of the season.
Logan Longwith, making his first start with the Tourists, tossed 6.1 innings and did not allow a run. Longwith received help from the bullpen in Kenny Oakley and Julian Fernández. Oakley retired all five batters he faced while Fernandez churned in a scoreless ninth inning.

The Tourists plated two of their runs in the top of the first inning. Tyler Nevin made it 1-0 with an RBI groundout and later Manny Melendez stole third base and scored on a missed catch error.
Asheville doubled their lead with two more in the fourth. Once again it was Melendez coming through in the clutch. With the bases loaded and two outs, Melendez shot a two-run single up the third base line.
The Fireflies struggled against Asheville's pitching all series. Columbia managed a total of three runs throughout the series' 31 innings. They scored just one over the final 27 innings.
Asheville will wrap up their 2017 slate with a four-game home series against the Greenville Drive that begins on Friday night.