SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Nine combined errors. Two lead changes in the final three innings. A tying run thrown out at the plate with two outs in the ninth. And a walk-off on a wild throw to end it. Thursday night in Spartanburg was not pretty, but it was never boring.
Hub City edged Asheville 8-7 in ten innings, handing Asheville its second straight loss in the series.
Caden Powell got things started on the second at bat of the game, tagging a solo shot to left-center to put the Tourists up 1-0. Hub City answered immediately when Hector Osorio launched a ball that hung up in the air before finally clearing the center field wall. 1-1.
The second inning swung back and forth twice. Asheville loaded the bases on two walks and a single, and Justin Thomas Jr. drew a walk with the bases loaded to score Kyle Walker. 2-1 Tourists. Then Hub City took over. Luke Hanson led off the bottom half with a home run to tie it. Quincy Scott singled to take the lead. Yeison Morrobel added another RBI single before Kellan Oakes escaped the inning. Oakes, making his first start for Asheville after being promoted earlier in the week, finished with two innings pitched, four runs allowed, and four strikeouts. A tough debut.
Jackson Wells came in to relieve Oakes and was outstanding, one of the best relief outings of the season for any Tourist. He threw four innings without allowing a hit or a run, walking two and striking out three to keep Asheville within striking distance.
Zach Daudet got one back for Asheville in the fourth, dropping a blooper to right that scored John Garcia from third. 4-3 Hub City. The game went quiet from there until the seventh.
With the game still 4-3, a dribbler to the left of the mound by Daudet was scooped up by relief pitcher Adrian Rodriguez, who yanked his throw wide of first. Daudet reached safely and Cesar Hernandez scored from second to tie the game. Then Nehomar Ochoa Jr. came through with a single up the middle to give the Tourists a 5-4 lead.
Hub City answered right back. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Osorio hit a fly ball to left-center that twisted and dropped quickly, splitting Thomas Jr. in center and Powell in left. The unfortunate bounce tied the game at five.
With Raimy Rodriguez on the mound, the game continued to swing. Thomas Jr. singled to give Asheville a 6-5 lead in the eighth, but Chandler Pollard answered with a massive two-RBI single in the bottom half to put Hub City back on top 7-6.
Down to its final out in the ninth with runners on first and second, John Garcia lined one to center. Centerfielder Paxton Kling threw home and Ochoa Jr. slid in just ahead of the tag to tie the game at seven. Colby Langford then struck out Quincy Scott with runners on second and third to send it to extras.
In the tenth, Cesar Hernandez started on second as the automatic runner. Daudet bunted him to third, but a strikeout and a groundout ended Asheville's threat. In the bottom half, Pollard attempted to bunt Scott over to third. Langford threw to first and the ball sailed wide. Scott scored standing up. Game over.
Ochoa Jr. had the best night of any Tourist, going 3-for-5 with a single, a double, and a triple, finishing a home run short of the cycle.
The nine combined errors, four from Asheville and five from Hub City, told the story of a sloppy game that ultimately came down to one bad throw at the worst possible moment.
Asheville falls to 16-43. Hub City improves to 30-29. The two teams meet again Friday night in Spartanburg. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.