Gillingham, Riggins Lead Tourists in 9-6 Victory
Published on April 16, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Asheville Tourists News Release
The Asheville Tourists took care of business once again in Hickory. They defeated the Crawdads 9-6 at L.P. Frans Stadium Sunday evening. Asheville continued to put up big innings against Hickory, scoring three in the first and adding four more in the seventh.
Alex Gillingham (1-0, 5.40) earned his first win of the year by pitching five strong innings. Gillingham induced a number of groundball outs while mixing in four strikeouts. The Crawdads were able to generate just three runs off Asheville's starter.
The Tourists jumped ahead early. After Delta Cleary Jr. reached on an error to begin the game, Brian Humphries laid down a bunt single to put runners at first and second. David Kandilas followed with a double up the left field line to score Cleary Jr. Harold Riggins made it four straight Tourists to reach by singling home Humphries. Kandilas also scored in the frame on a double-play.
Hickory answered with three in the third. Kellen Deglan led off the inning with a Home Run to right. A bunt single and hit batsman later, the Crawdads received an RBI single. Another runner scored on a double-play that was crucial as the Tourists tried to limit the damage.
Asheville answered with a single run in the fourth. Riggins came in to score on another double-play grounder. Asheville clung to their 4-3 lead until the seventh.
Will Swanner doubled with one out and scored on Jose Rivera's RBI single. Humphries and Riggins also delivered RBI singles in the inning while the Tourists had another runner score on a wild pitch. Leading 8-3, the Tourists were in control the rest of the way.
Hickory scored once in the eighth but the Asheville answered again with one in the ninth. The Crawdads' two runs in the bottom of the ninth were not enough as Asheville made it six wins in their last seven contests.
Riggins finished 4-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and three RBI's. Humphries and Jared Simon also chipped in with two hits apiece. After being held to just two runs in game one of the series, the Tourists tallied 29 runs in the final three games.
Asheville now heads to West Virginia for a three-game set. The Power, coming of a sweep of the Greenville Drive, are looking for some revenge. Asheville swept West Virginia at McCormick Field just a few days ago.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 16, 2012
- Tough Extra Inning Loss for Braves - Rome Emperors
- Asheville Plates 16 in Mayo's Complete-Game Shutout - Asheville Tourists
- Legends Take Series Opener Over Greenville, 6-2 - Lexington Legends
- Suns' Late Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Defeat to Shorebirds - Hagerstown Suns
- Bats Fail to Come Alive Again In 5-1 Setback - Augusta GreenJackets
- Shorebirds Survive Late Rally by Suns to Win, 5-4 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Power Walloped by Asheville - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Error Helps BlueClaws to 5-4 Win - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Crawdads Top Kannapolis, 4-3, to Open Series - Hickory Crawdads
- Cone Paces Crawdads to 4-3 Win in Hickory - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Matt Barnes Takes Home SAL Weekly Pitching Honors - Greenville Drive
- Charleston's Tyler Austin Named SAL Player of the Week - Charleston RiverDogs
- Crawdads Weekly - More Than 10,000 Fans Come out for Opening Weekend - Hickory Crawdads
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Shorebirds Game Notes Vs. Hagerstown - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Gillingham, Riggins Lead Tourists in 9-6 Victory - Asheville Tourists
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