ROME, Ga. — A good day on the mound, a series win, and a climb out of last place.
Asheville beat the Rome Emperors 6-3 Saturday afternoon to take the series two games to one, extending a stretch that has seen the Tourists win four of their last six series after losing their first nine in a row to open the 2026 season.
Dylan Howard was the foundation of the win, going 4.2 scoreless innings against a Rome lineup that includes some of the best prospects in the Atlanta Braves system. He allowed five hits and two walks but kept the Emperors off the board throughout, handing a clean game to the bullpen.
Xavier Neyens got the Tourists on the board in the third. The Astros' top-ranked prospect scorched a double into the right field corner to score Justin Thomas Jr. for his first RBI as a Tourist. 1-0. The run came against Cam Caminiti, the 42nd-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline's top 100, who was sharp but ran into trouble in the fourth by walking Zach Daudet. Daudet came around to score on a wild pitch from reliever Drew Christo, a run that was charged to Caminiti's line. 2-0.
The seventh inning blew it open. Alejandro Nunez scored on a Freuddy Batista RBI single. Then a breaking ball from Justin Long got past catcher Maverick Headly, a Major League rehabber making a rare mistake, for a passed ball to score Batista. 4-0. Ethan Frey followed with an RBI single to score Thomas Jr., and Caden Powell doubled to score Frey. 6-0. Four runs in the inning, and the game appeared to be well in hand.
Then Eric Hartman stepped in. The South Atlantic League's second-leading home run hitter launched a deep three-run shot to right-center, his 22nd of the season, to make it 6-3 and wake up the Rome crowd.
Garrett Apker had a bumpy seventh, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks. But Bryce Collins and Jackson Wells took care of the rest. Collins was clean in the eighth, and Wells was great in the ninth, striking out three including the final two batters with runners on the corners to end the game.
Thomas Jr. went 2-for-4 for the only multi-hit performance on the team. Frey finished the series with four RBIs in his first series back from injury.
The series win also comes with a notable footnote. With the victory, Asheville has officially jumped Jersey Shore to climb out of last place in the South Atlantic League standings for the season as a whole. It’s a meaningful milestone for a team that lost its first nine series of 2026 and has since won four, lost one, and tied one.
Next up is a six-game road series at Bowling Green, which has won nine of its last ten games and jumped Asheville for first place in the Southern Division. First pitch Tuesday is set for 7:35 p.m E.T.