Final from Thursday night, at Asheville, N.C., where the Asheville Tourists have defeated the Greensboro Grasshoppers for the Third Straight Game…
Final:Asheville Tourists 10, Greensboro Grasshoppers 9
(This is our Fred Anderson Toyota of Raleigh Game Report.)
WP:Conor Steinbaugh(1-1)/LP:Cameron Keshock(2-3)
Tourists' Line-10-10-2 Hoppers' Line- 9-11-2
Greensboro Grasshoppers fall to (33-21) on the season, while the Asheville Tourists improve to (14-39)…The Hoppers remain a Game and a-Half back of the Frederick Keys(33-18) in the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division, with the First Half of the season moving by us, in a hurry…Frederick lost 10-1, to the Hudson Valley Renegades, on Thursday night…
The Grasshoppers have been scoring a bunch of runs, with 15 on Wednesday, and then 9 runs tonight/Thursday…But, on the flip side, they have given up 16 runs, and 10 runs, in their two most recent losses…Got to cut down on the Tourists and their scoring, since Asheville has been posting runs, like they are on a mission…Asheville also has had the worst record in the SALLY this season, and the Hoppers have proceeded to drop three straight at A’ville…
On Thursday night, the Hoppers trailed the Tourists 10-3, as they headed to the ninth inning…In the ninth, the Hoppers battled back, posting 6 runs to cut the lead to one, 10-9, but in the end, the visiting Greensboro Grasshoppers came up one run short…Play at the Plate, to end it…See More Below…
Here is how that scoring comeback charge/surge by the Hoppers happened in the Top of the Ninth Inning….
Top 9th
Tony Blanco Jr. singles on a ground ball to shortstop Kyle Walker. Jared Jones scores. Murf Gray scores. Edward Florentino to 2nd.
GBO 5,ASH 10
Camden Janik walks. Edward Florentino scores. Tony Blanco Jr. to 3rd. Jhonny Severino to 2nd.
GBO 6,ASH 10
Shalin Polanco walks. Tony Blanco Jr. scores. Jhonny Severino to 3rd. Brian Sanchez to 2nd.
GBO 7,ASH 10
Jared Jones walks. Jhonny Severino scores. Brian Sanchez to 3rd. Shalin Polanco to 2nd.
GBO 8,ASH 10
Throwing error by catcher John Garcia on the pickoff attempt. Brian Sanchez scores. Shalin Polanco out at home on the throw, right fielder Nehomar Ochoa Jr. to catcher John Garcia. Jared Jones to 2nd. 3 outs
GBO 9,ASH 10
(Hoppers’ Shalin Polanco thrown out at the plate to end the game.)
And the game ended, with the Tourists taking it, 10-9….
Hopper Hitters on the night:Wyatt Sanford 1-4/2 BBs/RBI/SB…Stolen Base #21 of the season for Sanford…Yordany De Los Santos 2-6/Double…Jared Jones 1-4/Double/2 BBs/Run/RBI…Murf Gray 1-4/Run…Edward Florentino 1-3/2 BBs/2 Runs…Tony Blanco Jr. 1-5/Run/2 RBI…Jhonny Severino 2-4/HR/BB/3 Runs/2 RBI…Camden Janik 2-4/BB/RBI…Shalin Polanco 0-4/BB/RBI…Brian Sanchez 0-0/Run…
Kind of, sort of, wild numbers for the Hoppers at the plate…Nine(9) runs, on Eleven(11) hits, and the Hoppers walked Ten(10) times, but they struck out Fourteen(14) times…Hoppers starting pitcher, Cameron Keshock goes 2 1/3 Innings, and he gives up 5 Runs, on 5 Hits, with 4 BBs/2 Ks…Asheville’s Winning Pitcher, Conor Steinbaugh went 3 Innings in relief for the Tourists, and he gave up 0 Runs, on 3 Hits, with 1 BB/2 Ks…Asheville’s starting pitcher, Cole Hertzler, worked 4 Innings, and he gave up 2 Runs, on 3 Hits, with 3 BBs/7 Ks, and he gave up the Two-Run Home Run, to the Hoppers’ Jhonny Severino…Seven Strikeouts for Hertzler, for the Tourists…The top Asheville Tourists’ hitter on the night was, Alejandro Nunez, who went 3-3/2 Doubles/BB/Run/3 RBI…
Game Details:
Attendance-3,236
Time of Game-3:30
Game Time Temp-78 Degrees/Clear
Up Next:Greensboro Grasshoppers(33-21) at the Asheville Tourists(14-3) on Friday night, at 6:35pm…
**********Hoppers-Tourists Game Report from the Asheville Tourists’ website…***********
Tourists Hang On by Literal Inches in 10-9 Thriller
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — For the second straight night, HomeTrust Park needed a miracle finish. This time it came from right field.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, a throwing error from catcher John Garcia that sailed into right field with the bases loaded allowed Brian Sanchez to score from third and made it 10-9. On that same play Shalin Polanco was rounding third with a full head of steam, ready to tie the game. Nehomar Ochoa Jr. fielded the ball in right field, reared back, and fired a strike to catcher John Garcia. Garcia met Polanco at the plate. Home plate umpire Reginald Webb wound up and punched him out. HomeTrust Park exploded for the second straight night.
Asheville held on to win 10-9, its third straight victory and fifth in its last six games.
The Tourists wasted no time setting the tone. The bottom of the first was an avalanche. Chase Call doubled to center to score Kyle Walker. Ochoa followed immediately with another double to score Call. Then Alejandro Nunez singled to bring home Ochoa. Three batters, three hits, three runs, and the rout appeared to be on. It was part of a stretch of six straight hits for Nunez dating back to Tuesday night.
Cole Hertzler was electric on the mound to back up the offense. The right-hander struck out seven over four innings, allowing just two runs on a Jhonny Severino two-run home run in the second. Hertzler now leads the Tourists with 64 strikeouts on the season.
The middle of the Asheville order took over from there. Call, Ochoa, and Nunez combined to go 7-for-10 with five RBIs and two walks on the night. In the third, Call singled and Ochoa moved him to third. Nunez cleaned them both up with a double, then scored himself on a John Garcia fielder’s choice to push the lead to 6-2.
Caden Powell went opposite field in the fourth, clearing the 36-foot right field wall for a two-run home run that made it 8-2. Nunez added another RBI single in the seventh, and a Jack Moss double, his first hit at HomeTrust Park, set up a Kyle Walker RBI single in the eighth to push the cushion to 10-3.
Connor Steinbaugh was outstanding in relief of Hertzler, tossing three scoreless innings with two strikeouts to earn the win. The Tourists pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts on the night.
Then came the ninth.
For the second consecutive game, Asheville nearly gave it all back. Nate Wohlgemuth entered having struck out three in a solid eighth but couldn’t escape the ninth. A walk, a double, and another walk loaded the bases with nobody out. A Tony Blanco single scored two. Still nobody out. Wohlgemuth was done.
Francisco Frias came on and immediately walked Severino to reload the bases. Then walked Camden Janik to force in a run. Then walked Polanco to force in another. 10-7 Asheville, bases still loaded. Frias dug deep and struck out Sanford swinging, then struck out Yordany De Los Santos swinging. Two outs, 10-7, one away from ending it.
Then another walk scored a run. 10-8.
Needing to do something to stop the avalanche, Garcia tried to pick off Jared Jones at first and the throw sailed wide into right field. Sanchez scored. Polanco turned third and never slowed down. That’s when Ochoa stepped up and delivered the throw of his life. Wohlgemuth and Frias combined to allow six runs on five hits while walking six in two innings of work, but it didn’t matter.
Ochoa’s throw, Garcia’s tag, and Webb’s emphatic punch out did.
Nunez finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk. Ochoa went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk in addition to the throw that saved the game. Call, Ochoa, and Nunez were simply too much for Greensboro to handle all night long.
The Tourists improve to 14-39. Greensboro falls to 33-21. Asheville hosts the Grasshoppers again Friday night at HomeTrust Park, and the Tourists will take the field as the Asheville Snot Otters, donning their alternate jerseys inspired by the Hellbender of the Smoky Mountains. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.