ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Another high-scoring affair between Hub City and Asheville finished in favor of the home team. The Tourists (10-5, 27-53) topped the Spartanburgers (5-10, 39-42) 11-8. The season series concludes in favor of Hub City 11-7 after Asheville won five games of six this past week.
Hub City brought the bats early on against Asheville starter Dylan Howard. Chandler Pollard grounded an infield single on the first pitch of the game. A walk put two runners on, and Hector Osorio singled in the first run. A throwing error on the play brought in a second run and moved Osorio all the way to third. He scored on a single from Antonis Macias.
With three runs of cushion, DJ McCarty locked down the lead in the first, facing the minimum. After Hub City went down scoreless in the second, Chase Call got the Tourists on the board with a leadoff home run to start the bottom of the second. Maxton Martin responded with a leadoff homer of his own to begin the third; both long balls surpassed 450-feet.
McCarty (L, 2-4) lost his command in the third. He walked the first two batters of the inning and ceded a game-tying home run to Nehomar Ochoa. After a strikeout for the first out of the inning, McCarty walked a third batter in the inning. A fielder’s choice and hit batter followed before Alejandro Nunez gave Asheville its first lead of the day with an RBI double. Josh Sanders replaced McCarty, and Keduar Trujillo delivered two more runs with a single before the inning came to a close.
Hub City put together a two-out rally in the fourth to knock Howard out of the game. With nobody on and two away, Yeison Morrobel worked a walk and Osorio singled. Raimy Rodriguez came out of the bullpen and walked Martin to load the bases. Macias singled in a pair of runs to cut the Hub City deficit to one.
Asheville got one run back against Sanders in the fourth. Caden Powell singled to start the inning and made his way to third for a Jack Moss sacrifice fly. The Tourists got Zach Daudet to third in the fifth on Sanders but stranded him there. Hub City went quiet offensively against Rodriguez (W, 2-1) in the fifth and sixth.
Luke Savage came in to pitch the sixth for the Spartanburgers. Ochoa roped a one-out double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Cesar Hernandez singled off Savage’s mitt and Ochoa hustled home to advance the Tourists’ lead to 9-6.
However, Martin wasn’t done. Asheville’s Bryce Collins entered to pitch the eighth. Osorio led off with a single, and Martin crushed another tape-measure homer to cut the deficit to 9-8. Kai Wynyard couldn’t keep the Tourists silent in the bottom of the eighth, as Daudet whacked a two-run double off the wall in right-center to plate Ochoa and Call.
Trailing by three runs with three outs to go, the Spartanburgers rallied once more. Cal Stark stomached his third hit-by-pitch of the game, and Pollard singled to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. A pair of strikeouts and a groundout back to the pitcher Jackson Wells (S, 1) ended the game.
The Spartanburgers return home for their final series before the All-Star Break against Bowling Green. Hub City welcomes the SAL South Division first-half champs to Fifth Third Park at 6:35 p.m. ET Tuesday.
About the Hub City Spartanburgers
The Hub City Spartanburgers are the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and the reigning South Atlantic League South Division Champions. For more information on the Spartanburgers, visit milb.com/hub-city. For information about tickets to any of Hub City’s 66 home games, call 864-594-0701 or email: tickets@hcspartanburgers.com. For media inquiries, email: iunsworth@hcspartanburgers.com. Follow along with the Spartanburgers on social media.
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