ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — In a thrilling 10-inning finish, the Asheville Tourists strung together a comeback victory to beat the Greenville Drive 6-5 on Sunday afternoon at McCormick Field.
The Tourists (37-43) fell behind during the middle innings to the Drive (40-40), but rallied back to score four unanswered in the final three innings of action.
Joseph Sullivan and Walker Janek sailed back-to-back homers over the wall on back-to-back pitches in the third inning. Sullivan also registered two doubles later on.
Trailing 5-2 in the eighth, the Tourists notched a pair of runs on a double from Lucas Spence and a single from Kenni Gomez, pulling to within one.
With two outs in the ninth, Alejandro Nunez tabbed his second two-bagger of the game, which brought home the tying run to force extra innings. In the 10th, Chase Jaworsky came out of the dugout as a pinch hitter with a runner on second. He fell behind in the count, worked it back full, then blistered a double into the right center field gap to win the game.
From the pitching staff, Railin Perez (W, 7-2) tossed the ninth and 10th, not allowing a run on just one hit while striking out four. He dominated during the most important part of the contest to give his team a chance.
The trophy of the “Ville vs. Ville” series will be heading Asheville’s way. In 18 games this year, the Tourists beat Greenville in 10.
They will hit the road for a lengthy bus ride to New York, as the Tourists see the Hudson Valley Renegades next. Tuesday’s first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.