Valdez, Schreiber Pace Asheville in Wild Win
Published on June 22, 2021 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Asheville Tourists News Release
ASHEVILLE - Many fans in attendance thought the Asheville Tourists had an easy night on their hands when the home team built a ten-run lead on the Winston-Salem Dash after four innings. That was not the case. The visitors came all the way back to tie the game in what turned out to be an exciting contest all the way to the end. Asheville hung on to win 15-14.
The Tourists exploded for six runs in the bottom of the first to jump on the Dash early. Scott Schreiber, the reigning High-A East League's Player of the Week, knocked in the game's first run with an RBI single. Enmanuel Valdez followed with a three-run Home Run. C.J. Stubbs and Deury Carrasco also plated runs in the first with RBI doubles.
Valdez made the score 9-0 in the next inning with his second three-run Homer in as many at-bats. After the Dash plated one in the third and another in the fourth, Alex Holderbach drove in two with a double off the centerfield wall and Cody Orr's RBI double made it 12-2 after four.
Winston-Salem would not go quietly. The Dash played small ball in the fifth to score two runs. In the sixth, Asheville saw their entire lead disappear when the road team put together an eight-run inning.
Despite losing the lead and the momentum, Asheville responded in the bottom of the sixth. Valdez doubled off the right-field wall and Schreiber raced home from first on an errant relay throw. The Tourists continued to build their lead back up when Alex McKenna blasted his 11th Home Run of the season; a solo shot to right in the seventh.
Orr struck again in the bottom of the eighth with a clutch two-out RBI double to score Schreiber, who had led off the inning with a triple. That insurance run proved to be the difference because Yolbert Sanchez hit his second two-run Homer of the game in the top of the ninth. Yeremi Ceballos was able to nail down the save when he struck out Yoelqui Cespedes to end the game.
Matt Ruppenthal was Asheville's starting pitcher and did not factor in the decision. Ruppenthal went five innings and did not allow a hit over his first three frames. The right-hander left the game when the Tourists were up by eight. Chandler Casey did a nice job in relief to earn his third win of the season.
Asheville and Winston-Salem are back in action for game two of their six-game series on Wednesday night. The first pitch is slated for 6:35pm.
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