Late Rome Rally Falls Short as Asheville Survives 4-3
May 28, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Rome Emperors News Release
ROME, GA - The Rome Braves staged a furious 9th inning rally in their series finale against Asheville on Tuesday afternoon but could not complete their comeback in a 4-3 loss, sending the Tourists to their third straight win at State Mutual Stadium.
The Rome offense managed 12 hits but was largely held in check with runners in scoring position, going 3-14 in those spots and leaving 13 runners on base. The Braves had at least one base runner in every inning but scored in only 2 of 9 frames.
Asheville struck early against Rome starter RHP Alan Rangel, as leadoff man Terrin Vavra walked to open the game. He stole second base, and then scored on an infield hit to make it 1-0 Tourists.
The Braves answered with a run in the 2nd inning as the bottom of the order continued to produce. Ariel Montesino walked and moved up on a single by Jose Bermudez. Rome tied the score 1-1 on an RBI single by Carlos Paraguate.
Things stayed tight until a two out rally by Asheville in the 6th inning which chased Rangel from the game. The Tourists got four consecutive hits including two doubles to take a 4-1 lead.
Rome had many chances to score throughout the afternoon but finally broke through in the 9th inning against Tourists reliever RHP Boby Johnson. Andrew Moritz it a single into left and Greg Cullen followed with single into center. Hagen Owenby then fired a groundball to first and outran the pitcher to reach with an infield hit. With the bases loaded Griffin Benson dumped a double into left, scoring Moritz and Cullen and pulling Rome to within 4-3. The Braves got the winning run into scoring position with only one out but a grounder and a pop up ended the threat and gave Asheville a series victory.
Owenby had another multi-hit game, going 3-5 on the day. Derian Cruz was 2-5. Benson went 1-5 with a double and two RBI. Moritz was 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base. He also was hit by a pitch and scored a run. Rangel was tagged with the loss, going 5.2 innings and allowing four runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked two. Reliever LHP Jake Higginbotham was very good out of the bullpen, throwing 2.1 shutout innings. He gave up one hit and struck out three with no walks.
Rome will enjoy an off day on Wednesday and open a long road trip on Thursday in Hagerstown, Maryland against the Suns. Rome will play seven games over the course of eight days during the trip, starting in Hagerstown and ending in Columbia, South Carolina. First pitch in Game 1 from Hagerstown is scheduled for 7:05 pm Thursday evening.
Rome Braves (25-27): 3 R 12 H 0 E
Asheville Tourists (22-29): 4 R 8 H 2 E
W: Derrik Watson (2-1)
L: Alan Rangel (4-3)
S: Boby Johnson (1)
Time: 3:04
Attendance: 1,854
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