SAL1 Asheville Tourists

Tourists drop second-half opener

Published on June 24, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Asheville Tourists News Release


ASHEVILLE - Hickory pitching shut down the Tourists all night long, limiting Asheville to just five hits for the second night in a row. The T's dropped their first game in the second half at McCormick Field by a 7-1 margin - their fourth loss in six games this half.

Asheville struggled mightily to stay in the ballgame, however, the eighth inning was their enemy in this one. The Crawdads held a 4-1 lead into the eighth inning as Joey Williamson tried to keep the Dads' bats at bay. Bobby Spain led off with a single and Andrew Walker contributed his second home run of the night for Hickory to push the lead to five and send many fans home early. Spain would drive in another with a ninth inning RBI single.

The Tourists were in the hole from the get-go. Miles Durham hit a ball in the`first that deflected off starter Sheng-An Kuo with a runner on first base, Albert Laboy. Jeffrey Cunningham tried to field the deflection but he threw the ball past Kuo, allowing Laboy to score all the way from first when no one was left to cover home. In the second, Spain and Walker led off with back-to-back home runs. On the night, Spain and Walker both went 4-5 for Hickory. Spain drove in a pair of runs while Walker drove in three.

Michael Mitchell led off the Asheville third with a walk and would come around to score on Brian Rike's RBI single. Little did the Tourists know it would be their only run of the night. Asheville went just one for ten at the plate with runners in scoring position and left ten men stranded on base. Hickory picked up another run in the fifth to pad their lead.

Sheng-An Kuo (8-5) picked up his second loss in as many starts in the second half of the year. He didn't make it out of the fifth inning, allowing four runs on four hits with a season-high six walks in 4.1 innings while striking out four. Brad Clapp (1-7) picked up his first win as a starter in 11 months, hurling five effective innings without an earned run on just three hits while striking out five.

Hickory's bullpen - Harrison Bishop and Tom Boleska - slammed the door on the Tourists with four innings of shutout ball on just two hits, while recording six consecutive strikeouts in a span lasting from the sixth through the eighth innings.

Wednesday the Tourists will send ace Jhoulys Chacin (10-1, 1.98) to the mound to face Duke Welker (1-4, 5.16). It's another Seniors Eat Free Night, compliments of Humana, and it's Western Alliance Computer Collection Night. Anyone that donates an old computer with all working components will receive four free general admission tickets to that night's game First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. and the game can be heard on the Tourists flagship station WRES-FM, 100.7.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 24, 2008


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