SAL1 Asheville Tourists

Tourists hit high water mark with 10-2 win over Rome

Published on May 20, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Asheville Tourists News Release


ASHEVILLE - The Tourists scored early and often in their return home from an eight-game road trip, taking a 10-2 win over the last place Rome Braves.

Asheville scored in the first, third, fourth, fifth and eighth innings en route to the blowout win. Jeffrey Cunningham led the way with a 2-5, 4 RBI effort. Cunningham's two-run double keyed a four-run first inning. Michael Mitchell and David Christiansen would add RBI's as well, with a groundout before the double and a single respectively.

The Tourists added another in the fifth on a throwing error and two more in the fifth off Cunningham's eighth home run of the year - a bomb to right-centerfield over the 42-foot high scoreboard - to jump to a 6-0 lead. Faulty Braves relief pitching would allow two more runs to walk across the plate in the eighth.

Sheng-An Kuo (4-3) picked up the win for the Tourists in a performance that cannot necessarily be judged by numbers alone. Kuo threw eight innings, giving up only two earned runs on 10 hits. He struck out six hitters without allowing a single walk. Kuo did give up 10 hits, but pitched out of a couple jams - most notably in the fifth inning when three singles in a row would've loaded the bases, but Kuo made a heads up play on defense to catch Stephen Shults off third base for the inning's final out.

Kuo's biggest mistake came in the seventh as Shults sent a fastball over the right field fence for a solo home run to break up the shutout. Cody Johnson's eighth inning RBI single provided Rome's only other run.

Eric Barrett (1-4) takes the loss for the Braves, tossing just four innings and giving up six earned runs on five hits and five walks. Barrett threw three wild pitches on the night to equal his season total, further highlighting his lack of command on the evening.

On Wednesday the Tourists will send ace Jhoulys Chacin (6-1, 1.77) to the hill to face Chad Rodgers (1-6, 3.63). It will be the first of two Education Days this season, with a majority of the crowd composed of students and teachers from area schools. First pitch is at a special start time of 11:05 a.m. and if you're stuck at work the game can be heard on the Tourists flagship station WRES-FM.

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.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 20, 2008


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