Tourists Drop Regular Season Finale 3-1
Published on September 1, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Asheville Tourists News Release
ASHEVILLE - The Augusta Greenjackets picked up a pair of seventh inning runs in yet another strange baserunning play in this series to break open a 1-1 tie to pick up a 3-1 win on the last day of the South Atlantic League regular season.
With runners on second and third with two outs, Dom Duggan's single into deep short scored a run from third when Helder Velazquez's throw to first got away from Bo Bowman. Sensing the opportunity, James Simmons barreled around second and would've been out at the plate had he not bulldozed catcher Lars Davis and jarred the ball loose to pick up the inning's second run and the eventual winning margin for the GreenJackets.
Augusta jumped out to a first inning lead on a two-out home run by Nick Noonan - the second day in a row the GreenJackets have tallied a home run with two outs in the first. Asheville knotted things back up in the third when Michael Mitchell grounded out to short to bring home Everth Cabrera and tie the game at one.
Though the bullpens became involved early, pitching was the game of the game in this one. Christian Friedrich, in his best start as a Tourists, fired five innings of one-run baseball on four hits with two walks. The first-rounder struck out six. He was matched by Buster Lussier, making his first start since 2005. Lussier, also in a no-decision, allowed just a run on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts in four innings.
The Augusta bullpen came up huge, limiting the Tourists to just one hit over the final five scoreless innings. Wilmin Rodriguez (2-1) gets the win for the GreenJackets, tossing three innings in relief of Lussier, while Edgmer Escalona (6-2) is tagged with the loss after almost working his way out of the seventh inning jam.
Asheville ends the regular season with a full season record of 83-56, while Augusta takes an 88-50 mark into the postseason series with the Tourists.
Game 1 of the South Atlantic League Southern Divisional Playoffs takes place on Wednesday at Lake Olmstead Stadium in Augusta, with Connor Graham (12-6, 2.26) getting the nod for Asheville to face Madison Bumgarner (15-3, 1.46) in a battle of the league's top two hurlers. First pitch from Augusta is at 7:05 p.m. and the game can also be heard on the Tourists flagship station WRES-FM, 100.7.
Game 2 will be back at McCormick Field on Friday night. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
The Asheville Tourists are the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Tickets are available by contacting the front office at (828)-258-0428 or on the website, www.theashevilletourists.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from September 1, 2008
- Tourists Drop Regular Season Finale 3-1 - Asheville Tourists
- Suns Fall In Season Finale 12-8 - Hagerstown Suns
- Jackets End Regular Season with Win over Tourists - Augusta GreenJackets
- Taylor Becomes Legends Career Hits Leader - Lexington Legends
- BlueClaws close season with 2-1 loss at Delmarva - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Shorebirds win 78th of season - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Captains Win Final Regular Season Game - Lake County Captains
- All Good Things Must Come to an End - Hickory Crawdads
- Legends Fall in Dramatic Fashion in Season Finale - Lexington Legends
- Gnats Close Out 2008 Season with Win - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Drive Fall 8-2 to Crawdads in Season Finale - Greenville Drive
- Intimidators Finish Season With 4-3 Loss To Power - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Hoppers Walk Off With Win, Again - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Power Finish Regular Season with a Walk Off Victory - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Catfish Catch Braves - Rome Emperors
- Taylor Breaks All-Time Hits Mark - Lexington Legends
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.
