Winston-Salem Drops 7-5 Nailbiter to Asheville

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (May 20, 2022) — Winston-Salem dropped another heartbreaker to the Asheville Tourists, falling by a final score of 7-5.

Asheville got the first batter of the game on base, as Christian Gonzalez worked a walk. Then, Will Wagner laced a one-out single to move Gonzalez to second, and JC Correa drove Gonzalez in with another single.

The Dash responded in the home half of the first, starting when Luis Curbelo reached on an error. Harvin Mendoza followed, and lined the first pitch he saw into right field, and Curbelo was able to score from first to tie the game at 1-1.

In the bottom of the third inning, Terrell Tatum got a pitch he could handle and sent it out over the right field wall for a solo home run. That was Tatum’s first bomb of the year, and it gave Winston-Salem a 2-1 lead.

In the very next half inning, Chad Stevens returned the favor for Asheville with a solo shot of his own.

Asheville was able to break the 2-2 deadlock in the fifth inning. First, Michael Sandle was plunked, then Will Wagner worked a walk. With two men aboard, JC Correa slapped a single the other way to bring in both Sandle and Wagner, as the Tourists grabbed a 4-2 edge. Correa moved to second on a walk, before scoring on a Luis Santana single.

The Tourists pushed another run across in the sixth, on a Correa single to plate Christian Gonzalez and make it 6-2. A wild pitch in the eighth inning let Christian Gonzalez score again, pushing the Tourists advantage to 7-2.

But in the eighth, Winston-Salem kicked off a rally. Luis Mieses reached on a one-out single, then took second on a wild pitch. Tyler Osik walked, before Adam Hackenberg flew out for the second out. Luis Curbelo then singled to load the bases. Both Harvin Mendoza and Alsander Womack drew bases-loaded walks to cut the deficit to 7-4. A passed ball let Curbelo cross the plate, and the Dash headed to the ninth trailing just 7-5.

Oscar Colas opened the home half of the ninth by reaching on an error, and later moved to second on a Luis Mieses walk to bring up the go-ahead run with one out. Unfortunately, the Dash couldn’t scratch across any more runs as they dropped game four against the Tourists 7-5.

Chayce McDermott grabbed the win for Asheville, and Matt Thompson took the official loss.