Late Blast Leaves Tourists Stunned
April 26, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Asheville Tourists News Release
CHARLESTON - Tonight was the night. Asheville was going to get back in the win column. Ryan Feltner was fantastic. John Cresto hit a two-run inside-the-park Home Run. The Tourists never trailed. However, it was not to be. West Virginia hit a two-out, two-strike, walk-off two-run Home Run in the bottom of the ninth and beat the Tourists 4-3.
Dean Nevarez, who homered earlier in the game, stepped to the plate with two down in the bottom of the ninth. The tying run was only at first base and Asheville's closer Alexander Martinez seemed as calm as ever. Martinez fired in a couple of strikes to Nevarez and needed just one more good pitch to end the game. That pitch never came. Instead it was a meatball that Nevarez ate in one bite. The ball left the yard just as fast as it left Martinez's hand.
The Tourists were left stunned but Asheville played a really good contest when you step back and look at the game as a whole. They took a 1-0 lead on a two-out RBI double by Kyle Datres in the second inning. After Nevarez tied the game with his first Home Run, Cresto blasted a ball off the centerfield wall and circled the bases for an inside-the-park Home Run.
Asheville held their lead all the way up until the last pitch of the game. Feltner pitched a season-high six innings, struck out eight, and did not walk a batter. Jacob Bird and Nick Kennedy combined to pitch two shutout innings in relief. Martinez allowed a lead-off single in the ninth but two quick outs later the Tourists looked poised to close out the win.
One thing the Tourists can look at was their inability to add runs late. Asheville left five runners aboard in the seventh and eighth innings and the top of the Tourists batting order went 0-for-13 with seven strikeouts. The Tourists are right back at it on Saturday with an afternoon game to try and right the ship. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05pm.
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- Legends Prevail in Pitching Duel with Walk off Hit in Bottom of the Tenth - Lexington Legends
- Charleston Pounds 14 Hits in Blowout Win over Columbia - Charleston RiverDogs
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