Crawdads Crawl Past Tourists
Published on April 18, 2009 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Asheville Tourists News Release
(Asheville, NC) - The Tourists (3-7) took the field Saturday night against the Hickory Crawdads (6-4) looking to erase the memory of Friday night's 16-6 defeat. Asheville sent LHP Christian Friedrich (1-1, 0.82) to the mound to get the job done, and it looked as though he would make easy work of the Hickory lineup early. Friedrich retired the side in order in the top of the first inning, striking out two batters in the process.
Friday night's hero for the Crawdads, Michael Bianucci, broke the scoreless tie with a solo homerun in the top of the second. It was the seventh hit in his last seven trips to the plate, and he scorched it over the wall in dead center field. Friedrich settled down, however, and struck out nine Crawdads before leaving after the fifth inning. Hickory pushed across an unearned run in the top of the fourth inning on an errant throw by catcher Jordan Pacheco.
Alan DeRatt came on to take over for Friedrich in the sixth. DeRatt had been lights out so far this season, and he struck out the first batter he faced tonight. But Jason Ogata hit a one-out single and Eric Fry followed with a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third. DeRatt then got the dangerous Bianucci to pop out in foul territory, but Jared Bolden delivered a two-run single into center field, putting the Crawdads up for good by a score of 4-0.
The Tourists mustered eight hits in the game, half off the bat of catcher Jordan Pacheco. But Asheville stranded nine baserunners in the contest, unable to come up with a big hit when they needed it. The teams will meet for the third game in this four-game series Sunday afternoon, with Tourists RHP Dan Houston (0-1, 12.00) facing off against Crawdads LHP Cliff Springston (0-0, 0.00). Tickets are still available by calling the Tourists ticket office at (828) 258-0428. The contest can be heard live online or through the Tourists flagship radio station 100.7 FM WRES.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 18, 2009
- BlueClaws take 3rd straight from Suns - Hagerstown Suns
- Grasshoppers Hold Off Greenville Rally to Claim 4-3 win - Greenville Drive
- Crawdads Crawl Past Tourists - Asheville Tourists
- Charleston Trounces Braves, 6-4 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Charleston Slips by Rome - Rome Emperors
- Sand Gnats pound GreenJackets, 18-3 - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Crawdads Record 4th Shutout of the season - Hickory Crawdads
- BlueClaws Benefit, Make itThree Straight - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Crawdads Crawl Past Tourists - Asheville Tourists
- Legends Shut Power Out Again - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Intimidators back in form with 2-1 win in Bowling Green - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
