Tourists drop series opener
April 12, 2012 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Asheville Tourists News Release
The Asheville Tourists dropped their series opener to the Hickory Crawdads by a final score of 5-2 on Thursday night. The team fought hard the entire game and just fell short at the end. The home opener for the Crawdads was packed with Crawdads supporters and the Tourists nearly spoiled their fun.
Delta Cleary Jr. starting things off on the right foot for the Tourists; doubling up the right field line to begin the game. Brian Humphries dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance Cleary Jr. to third and Sam Mende drove home the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to right. The first inning run was the second straight game Asheville struck in their first at-bat.
Hickory drew even in the second when Zach Cone hit a towering Home Run to left while leading off the frame. The Crawdads added one more in the third with a two-out rally. Luis Sardinas earned a walk and then stole second. Chris Grayson, the South Atlantic League's leader in batting average, drove home Sardinas with a single to center; giving the Crawdads a 2-1 advantage.
The T's battled back in the fourth inning when David Kandalis drew a one-out walk. Kandilas promptly stole second. After Tyler Massey drew a walk, the two then executed a double steal to perfection, putting runners at second and third with two outs. Hickory's starting pitcher Victor Payano (1-0, 1.80) then threw a wild pitch allowing Kandilas to cross the plate and tie the score at 2-2.
The game remained tied all the way until the bottom of the eighth inning. Hickory put the lead-off man aboard on a single to right-center and two wild pitches later, the go-ahead run was just 90 feet away. Jefri Hernandez struck out the next two batters, but Jordan Akins served a single into right that scored the runner from third. The Crawdads tacked on two more insurance runs in the inning.
Asheville rallied in the top of the ninth, bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs in Rosell Herrera. The Tourists third-baseman drove a ball to deep right field, but Cone chased it down just shy of the wall to give the Crawdads the victory.
Chris Jensen (0-0, 3.60) pitched outstanding for Asheville, going six innings strong while allowing just two runs on five hits. Cleary Jr. finished the contest 2-for-3 with a run scored and Mende extended his hitting streak to eight games as Asheville's second-baseman finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.
The Tourists and the Crawdads meet up for game two of their scheduled four-game set Friday night in Hickory, with the first pitch slated for 7:00pm.
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