SPARTANBURG, S.C. — There is no way to sugarcoat it. Wednesday morning's Education Day game was one to forget for the Tourists, who were shut out 21-0 by the Hub City Spartanburgers in wire to wire domination.
Yeriel Santos gave Asheville three solid innings to start, only allowing a sacrifice fly in the second to fall behind 1-0. Then the fourth inning arrived and everything unraveled at once.
Yeison Morrobel hit a three-run home run to make it 4-0. Hector Osorio followed immediately with a two-run shot. 6-0. In the fifth, Esteban Mejia launched a two-run homer, Morrobel added an RBI single, and Maxton Martin capped the carnage with a two-run blast. Hub City scored eleven runs across the fourth and fifth innings alone, turning a one-run game into a 12-0 blowout before Asheville could catch its breath.
Santos finished with a line of 3.2 innings, six earned runs, and five strikeouts. Connor Steinbaugh followed and couldn't stop the bleeding, allowing six runs in just two thirds of an inning. Michael Cuevas made his Tourists debut and was the lone bright spot out of the bullpen, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings without allowing a hit or a walk and striking out two. Eurys Martich followed and was roughed up, allowing five earned runs in a third of an inning while hitting two batters.
Hub City loaded the bases in the seventh and strung together a single, two hit batters, and another single to push the lead to 16-0. Osorio added an RBI single to cap the inning at 17-0.
With the game well out of hand, catcher Freuddy Batista took the mound in the eighth, a common late-game move when a team is down big. He allowed four runs on three hits and four walks, though he did get Morrobel looking at strike three to provide at least one moment worth cheering about.
The Asheville offense was silent throughout. Only four Tourists recorded hits on the night. Alejandro Nunez was the lone standout going 2-for-4. Nehomar Ochoa Jr. singled to extend his hitting streak to all seven games he has played since joining Asheville, a quiet but encouraging note on an otherwise rough afternoon.
The Tourists fall to 16-42. Hub City improves to 29-29. Asheville looks to bounce back Thursday night in Spartanburg. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.