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Friday, October 2, 2009 Asheville Tourists Calling on All 'Chiliheads'11:21 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists have a few openings for both contestants and vendors for the team's Inagural Fall Festival and Chili Cook-off, which will be held at McCormick Field on Saturday, October 3, from noon until 5 p .m.
The cook-off competition will be held in the Pepsi Party Pavilion and is limited to 20 individual and 20 restaurants. The entry fees are $35 for individuals and $50 for restaurants. The coveted "Best Chili in WNC" title will be awarded, and there will be three cash prizes of $300 each for the individual winner, the restaurant winner and the fans' choice award. "The initial response has been outstanding, but we still have a handful of openings for both individuals and restaurants," said Mike Bauer, exectuive director of the Tourists and Palace Baseball. "We plan on having a lot of fun, because we believe chili cannot be defined. Whatever you call chili, we call chili, regardless of whether or not it has beans and meat or is red, white or any other color." Vendor booths are also available for $50. Arts and crafts artisans, exhibitors from local businesses and vendors of all varieties are invited to participate. Booths will be located along the warning track of the outfield, with each vendor receiving a 12' x 12' space. Vendors are responsible for bringing their own tables, chairs and other needs. Music will be provided throughout the event, beginning with the Jamie Pelfrey Band playing country hits at noon. The Sharkadelics will take the stage at 1:45 p.m. with their popular set of classic rock hits before Mighty McFly starts playing top 40 hits from the 1980s and 1990s at 3:30 p.m. Numerous other events will also be held, including a pumpkin drawing contest and an ice cream eating contest. >Tickets for the Tourists Fall Festival and Chili Cook-off are on sale at the McCormick Field box office as well as ticketmaster.com. Cost for the event is $10 for adults, $5 for children age 5-12, and free for youngsters age four and under. For more information or to register for the Asheville Tourists Fall Festival and Chili Cook-off, call the Tourists front office at (828) 258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, restaurants, tourists Thursday, September 3, 2009 Cesario Smashes Asheville To Victory9:12 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists entered play Wednesday night just 2.0 games ahead of second-place Augusta for the final playoff spot in the South Atlantic League, desperately searching for a victory over Lexington. Tied at 2-2 in the eighth, Jimmy Cesario led off the bottom of the inning with a solo homerun to open the floodgates for a four-run inning, lifting the Tourists to a 6-2 win.
Carlos Luna made his third start for the Tourists and pitched 5.2 great innings, the longest start of his career. Luna looked sharp through three shutout frames before allowing a run in the top of the fourth to put Lexington ahead, 1-0. The Tourists tied it up at 1-1 in the fifth on an RBI single for Scott Robinson that plated Ryan Peisel. Luna came out for the sixth inning and allowed a leadoff walk before a sacrifice bunt put a runner on second with one out. Luna struck out Eric Suttle for the second out before Jay Austin drove his second of two doubles to the gap in left-center. The double scored the go-ahead run for Lexington and Luna was chased from the game. Stephen Dodson came on with runners on the corners and retired the side with no further damage. Asheville tied the game again in their half of the sixth inning, scoring a two-out run. After the first two batters of the inning were set down, Kiel Roling singled to left field and Mike Zuanich followed with a two-bagger that nearly cleared the tall scoreboard in right-center, scoring Roling to make it 2-2. The score remained locked at 2-2 going into the eighth, setting the table for Cesario's dramatic homerun, his 11th of the season and his sixth in his last 16 games. After a Jordan Pacheco groundout, Roling doubled and Delta Cleary, Jr. was walked to set up a two-run triple off the bat of David Christensen to make it 5-2 Asheville. Thomas Field would drive Christensen home with an infield base hit to put the Tourists up 6-2.Adam Jorgenson came on and worked a perfect ninth inning in a non-save situation, striking out one batter. The Tourists (40-24) have now whittled their Magic Number to three with five games remaining. They will face the Legends (28-37) in the finale of this three-game series Thursday night at 7:05 for the last regular season home game of the year. RHP Juan Nicasio (8-3, 2.41) will take the mound for Asheville against Lexington LHP David Duncan (4-3, 4.24). Tickets for Thursday's game and the 2009 Playoffs are available by contacting the McCormick Field Box Office at (828) 258-0428. All 140 Tourists games can be heard live on the radio on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Monday, August 31, 2009 Tourists' 16 Inning Marathon Smells Sweet for Rose10:02 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists completed the longest game in the SAL this season in 16 innings with a 3-2 win thanks in part to Patrick Rose. The seldom used second baseman was in the midst of every key scoring play including plating the winning run in the 16th inning. The Tourists bullpen combination of Isaiah Froneberger, Stephen Dodson and Tyler Trice hurled eight scoreless innings in the win, backing up a strong start form Dan Houston. The victory ends the Tourists three game skid and keeps Asheville at least 3.5 games up in first place with eight more to play.
With the game tied at 2-2 since the seventh inning Rose scored the winning run on a Delta Cleary double. Rose walked to begin the frame, stole second base and scored on Cleary's second double of the afternoon. Adam Jorgenson entered in the bottom of the inning and struck out the final two batters to earn his league-leading 26th save on the year. The Tourists were held hitless through the first five innings off Hot Rods start Chris Andujar until Patrick Rose broke through with a bunt single. Rose broke up the no-hitter and scored the games first run on Jordan Pacheco's single in the sixth inning. Andujar tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts.Bowling Green took a 2-1 lead with two runs off Dan Houston in the sixth inning. Jason Corder squeaked an infield single to score Jake Jeffries and Isaias Velasquez. With two outs and two runners on Asheville intentionally walked Mike Sheridan to load the bases. Corder then came through with the infield to score the only runs off Houston. Houston left with a no decision after seven innings of work .Houston stuck out four, walked six and allowed just two runs on five hits. Houston has now allowed just two or fewer earned runs in 15 of his 25 starts this season. Isaiah Froneberger entered the game in the eighth inning and tossed two scoreless innings to send the contest into extra innings. Patrick Rose contributed once more in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at two runs apiece. Mike Zuanich was hit by a pitch and moved to third base on a two out Tyler Massey single. Rose then yanked a pitch into right field to tie up the game. Dodson, Froneberger, and Tyler Trice and Jorgenson combined for the final nine innings of relief. The quartet allowed a sparse three hits with Trice (5-5) picking up the win. Diego Echeverria tossed his knuckleball for four scoreless innings. Diego Echeverria (3-2) took the loss despite allowing one run in six innings pitched. The knuckleballer danced around trouble and five walks to keep Bowling Green going. The Tourists had a scoring opportunity end with a triple play in the first inning. Delta Cleary began the game by reaching on an error and David Christensen followed with a walk off Chris Andujar. With the runners in motion, Jordan Pacheco lined a 3-2 pitch to the right fielder who then tossed to first baseman Mike Sheridan to double off Christensen. Sheridan then ran the ball to second base to complete the triple play. Asheville will play the final game of the three game series in Bowling Green on Monday at Noon. Jonathan Aristil (3-8, 5.36) will face off against Shane Dyer (1-9, 5.56) for the Hot Rods. The Tourists will return home on Tuesday for the final homestand of the season. Tickets are available by contacting the front office at 828.258.0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Tourists Bounce Back in 11-9 Win4:00 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - Mike Zuanich and Kiel Roling homered once more to vault the Asheville Tourists back from a five-run deficit to an 11-8 victory to open a four game series against Greensboro on Tuesday. Zuanich hit a three run homerun to tie the game 7-7 in the fifth inning and Roling smacked the go-ahead homer in the sixth. Stephen Dodson tossed three innings of relief to earn his sixth win of the year. Adam Jorgenson pitched the ninth for his league-leading 24th save of the season.
Mike Zuanich hit a three-run homer to tie the game at 7-7 in the fifth inning. Kiel Roling then delivered his 18th homerun of the season to give the Tourists an 8-7 lead. Asheville has now hit 17 homeruns in their past nine ballgames. Greensboro scored six runs in the third inning to take a 6-1 lead. Ryan Keedy and Thomas Hickman each had homeruns in the frame to make it a short night for Asheville's starter Jonathan Aristil. Aristil was removed following the third inning for Stephen Dodson out of the bullpen. Dodson (6-0) tossed three innings and allowed just one run to earn the win. Rex Brother hurled two innings and allowed a solo homerun to Thomas Hickman - his second homer of the game. Adam Jorgenson entered the ninth with a three-run lead and picked up his 24th save of the season in the 11-9 win. Scott Robinson had three extra-base hits and scored three times while Patrick Rose had a multi-hit contest as well. The Tourists collected 19 hits on Tuesday after being shutout 3-0 on Monday. The win keeps Asheville at least 2.5 games up in first place with 13 remaining on the schedule. Game two of the series vs. Greensboro will be Wednesday at 7:05. Alan DeRatt (2-5, 5.21) will go against LHP Brad Hand for Greensboro. Tickets are available by contacting the front office at 828-258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports, tourists Monday, August 24, 2009 Tourists To Sell Playoff Tickets Beginning Today at 10 A.M.12:06 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists, currently in the heat of the race for the second-half Southern Division pennant in the South Atlantic League, have announced that playoff tickets will go on sale at the McCormick Field box office beginning Tuesday, August 25, at 10 a.m. The Tourists would host the first game of the Southern Divisional Championship Series against the Greenville Drive, the first-half winner, on Wednesday, September 9. The winner of the Southern Divisional Championship Series will then host the third, fourth and fifth games of the South Atlantic League Championship Series, slated for Thursday, September 17, Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19. All games at McCormick Field would start at 7:05 p.m. Single game playoff tickets at McCormick Field will be available beginning Monday for $9 for general admission, $12 for box seats, $42 for the Asheville Citizen-Times Clubhouse and $47 for the Bojangles Dugout Suites. Four-game playoff packages are available at a reduced rate, including $32 per general admission pack, $44 for box seats, $152 for the Asheville Citizen-Times Clubhouse and $172 for the Bojangles Dugout Suites. Senior, children and military discounts are also available at the box office. Fans who purchase or renew their season ticket packages, flex packages or mini-plans will receive playoff tickets at no cost. The number of playoff tickets will be equal to the number of seats purchased for the regular season or two per flex plan. Any money remaining from unplayed playoff games will be credited to the 2010 season. The pennant race returns to McCormick Field on Tuesday, August 25, when the Tourists and Greensboro Grasshoppers begin a four-game series, with each contest starting at 7:05 p.m. The Tourists also will host the Lexington Legends for three games, from September 1-3, which will be the final regular-season series of the slate. For additional information, contact the Tourists front office at (828) 258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, tourists Monday, August 17, 2009 Intimidators Hold Off Tourists, Salvage Split10:32 AMASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists entered play on Sunday afternoon's series finale hoping to take three out of four, but could not solve the Kannapolis pitching staff, losing 7-2. Asheville managed nine hits but plated just two runs, after being held to just one run on ten hits in game three Saturday. Colorado Rockies' supplemental first round draft pick in 2009, Rex Brothers, made his debut for Asheville pitching a scoreless inning in relief. Thomas Field snapped out of a slump, going 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored, reaching base in each of his four plate appearances. Asheville had the lead early on, scoring a run in the bottom of the third inning on a Mike Zuanich sacrifice fly. The flyout gave the Tourists a 1-0 lead, and it was the sixth RBI in the four-game series for Zuanich. Kannapolis answered back with three runs in the top of the fourth. Asheville starter Alan DeRatt pitched around a few hits early on, but didn't have his best stuff, allowing three consecutive hits in the fourth before being chased from the game. Stephen Dodson came on in relief and allowed two inherited runners to score before retiring the side with the Intimidators ahead, 3-1. David Christensen delivered his second homerun of the series in the bottom of the inning, bringing Asheville to within 3-2. It was the team-leading 16th homerun of the season for Christensen, and one of his longest of the year. Stephen Dodson held Kannapolis scoreless until the seventh, when the Tourists turned to Kurt Yacko out of the bullpen. Yacko struggled, allowing four runs on five hits before getting out of the inning with Asheville trailing 7-2. Brothers made his debut in the top of the eighth, getting a groundout and a strikeout before allowing a bloop single into left field. Brothers then got catcher Luis Sierra to ground out to second base to end the frame. Asheville manufactured a great opportunity to get back in the game during the bottom of the eighth against Kannapolis reliever Kevin Asselin. Asselin hit the first two batters of the inning, Beau Seabury and Thomas Field, to get things started. Tyler Massey then smacked a base hit into left-center to load the bases with no outs. The Intimidators brought in closer Dan Remenowsky, who changed the game for Kannapolis. He struck out the side; Delta Cleary, Jr., Keil Roling, and Mike Zuanich, to leave Asheville scoreless. Remenowsky worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn the save and give his club a split of this four-game series. The Tourists (30-17) will travel to West Virginia Monday to take on the Power (27-18) for a four-game series before heading to Hickory for four more. Asheville will have RHP Parker Frazier (10-7, 4.44) on the mound for game one in West Virginia. You can listen to all 140 Tourists games live on the radio at 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports, tourists Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Rain Suspends Threatening Tourists7:43 AM LEXINGTON, KY - The Asheville Tourists had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth inning before the rain ended the night from Lexington. Kiel Roling was intentionally walked with two runners on as the rain came down to suspend Monday's game. The game will be finished at 6:05 on Tuesday with a seven inning game following the completion.Alan DeRatt tossed four scoreless innings with three strikeouts in his third start of the season. DeRatt allowed two hits and walked none. The UNCA product has now made three starts this season and has allowed just three runs with 13 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched. Lexington starter Kyle Greenwalt pitched around baserunners in every inning. Scott Robinson singled to begin both the third and fifth innings. The Tourists used three sacrifice bunts to move runners over but were unable to bring anybody home. Jimmy Cesario followed the Robinson single in the fifth and Jordan Pacheco advanced the runners with a bunt to third. Roling was then intentionally walk to load up the bases for Mike Zuanich. The skies then opened up to end the night. The Tourists will pick up the suspended game on Tuesday and follow that with a seven inning contest in the regularly scheduled game. Parker Frazier (9-7, 4.70) is slated to pitch the seven inning contest. Asheville will wrap up the road trip on Tuesday with a day off on Wednesday. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Monday, August 10, 2009 Tourists Fall Short in Ninth9:04 AMLEXINGTON, KY - Kiel Roling smacked a homerun in the ninth inning but Asheville fell 7-6 on Sunday afternoon in Lexington. The Tourists (52-58, 26-15) had the potential tying run on second base in the final inning but came up short. The loss, with an idle Augusta moves Asheville 1.5 games up on the Greenjackets for first place. The homerun for Roling was his third solo homerun in as many games. Jonathan Aristil (2-7) was the losing pitcher in 4 2/3 innings of work. Aristil allowed six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts. Lexington scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-1 lead. Asheville tied things up in the fourth with a two-run single off the bat of Ryan Peisel. David Duncan tossed six innings and allowed four runs on eight hits in the win for Lexington. Duncan pitched around leadoff hits from Ryan Peisel and David Christensen in the sixth inning. Beau Seabury executed a sacrifice bunt moving runners to second and third. Thomas field then struck out and Scott Robinson flew out to end the inning. Asheville had opportunities but stranded nine men on base. Tyler Trice entered to relive Aritsil and tossed 2 1/3 innings. Trice's only mistake was a solo homerun to Steve Brown in the seventh inning. For Brown it was his second homer of the series and ended up being the winning run for Lexington. Asheville will play on Monday night game three of the series from Lexington. The Tourists will send Alan DeRatt to the mound at 7:05. All the action can be heard online or on the Flagship station 100.7 FM WRES. Labels: baseball, events, sports, tourists Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Asheville Tourists Shut Out Hot Rods11:13 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists and Hot Rods waited over two hours past the scheduled first pitch to begin game one of their series, but completed nine innings just before midnight, with Asheville blanking Bowling Green 7-0. Jonnathan Aristil threw the longest outing of his career, going 6.2 shutout innings to earn his second victory of the season.
Asheville plated a run in their first turn at bat and never looked back, getting to Bowling Green starter Frank De Los Santos early and often. Scott Robinson led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Delta Cleary hit a routine ground ball to shortstop, but Tim Beckham threw it away, allowing Robinson to score from second. De Los Santos escaped the first with the deficit 1-0, but it grew larger from there. The Tourists rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third inning as David Christensen led off and reached on a fielding error by first baseman Mike Sheridan. Christensen stole second base and Thomas Field hit a weak ground ball to the third base side of the pitcher's mound that fell for an infield hit. With runners on the corners, Scott Robinson smoked a line drive over second baseman Robi Estraded that fell in shallow right-center and rolled all the way to the wall. Christensen scored from third and Field came all the way around from first to score easily to make it 3-0 Asheville. Robinson advanced to third on a groundout, then came in to score on a wild pitch to make it 4-0. With the bases empty and one out, Jordan Pacheco singled through the hole into right field, and Mike Zuanich drilled a double off the right-field wall, plating Pacheco to make it 5-0 Tourists. Aristil struck out six and walked just one in his 6.2 shutout frames, handing the ball to the bullpen in the seventh. Alan DeRatt worked out of a jam in the seventh, coming in with runners on first and second and two outs, and struck out the only batter he faced. Shane Lindsay, with the Tourists on a rehab assignment, worked a 1-2-3 eighth, and Isaiah Froneberger and Adam Jorgenson combined for a perfect ninth to close out the win. Asheville added insurance runs in the fourth and eighth innings to make the score 7-0, taking their second of seven head-to-head contests from the Hot Rods this year. The Tourists (23-13) and Hot Rods (20-16) will play game two of this four-game set Wednesday at 7:05 pm. Asheville will send RHP Parker Frazier (8-7, 4.94) to the mound to face off against Hot Rods RHP Nick Barnese (5-4, 2.30). Tickets for Wednesday's game and all Tourists home games are available by contacting the Tourists box office at (828) 258-0428. You can also listen to all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Tuesday, August 4, 2009 Asheville Tourists Return Home Tonight12:11 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - With just 15 home games remaining in the regular season, the Asheville Tourists are in the hunt for the division title in the second half; don't miss your chance to see them live at McCormick Field! The Tourists come home for a four-game homestand beginning Tuesday, August 4th - live on television!
Asheville will host the Bowling Green Hot Rods for four games, starting Tuesday, August 4th with the final TV game of the season, broadcast live on WMYA MY 40. Tuesday is Breast Cancer Awareness Night, compliments of Asheville Radiology - the Tourists will be wearing one-of-a-kind pink jerseys for the game, which will be auctioned off following the contest. Tuesday is also another KRAFT Singles Night, where you can exchange a KRAFT Singles wrapper for a buy one get one free General Admission ticker voucher. Finally, as with all Tuesday home games, it is Papa John's Kids Eat Free night, where all kids receive a coupon for a free slice of Papa John's pizza and soda. Wednesday is Seniors Appreciation Night at McCormick Field, all seniors receive complimentary tickets to that night's game. Thursday is a Thirsty Thursday featuring $1 drinks, compliments of Wild Wing Café, Rock 104.9 and Star 104.3. The homestand will conclude on Friday, August 7th as the Tourists and Hot Rods get underway at 7:05 pm. Tickets are still available for all 15 remaining home games this season. To purchase tickets or other information, contact the McCormick Field Box Office at (828) 258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports Monday, August 3, 2009 Rain Washes Out Asheville's Streak8:29 AM
ROME, GA - The Asheville Tourists had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 7-3 loss in a rain-shortened six inning game on Saturday. The Rome Braves put together a four-run sixth to break a 3-3 tie just before the rain came down. Luis Sumoza doubled in three runs to give the Braves the lead and win. Dan Houston tossed 5 2/3 innings for Asheville (48-56, 22-13) in the loss. Houston (5-8) shutout Rome for the first four innings before allowing three runs (one earned) in the fifth. Houston took a 3-3 tie into the sixth inning until the Braves broke through. With two outs Chaise fuller singled to begin Rome's assault. Houston then lost his command and walked the next three batters before being lifted for Michael Marbry. Luis Sumoza then cracked his fourth hit of the game, a double to clear the bases pushing Rome up 7-3 after six innings. Asheville scored in the first inning with a Scott Robinson leadoff double. Robinson stole third base and came in on a Kiel Roling double. Asheville took a 2-0 lead in the third inning with a one out single form Delta Cleary followed by two Rome errors. The Braves pushed across three runs to take the lead in the fifth on consecutive RBI hits from Joel Campusano and Sumoza. The Tourists tied the game 3-3 in the top of the sixth on a Mike Zuanich double and a Ryan Peisel sacrifice fly. Rome took over with the big bottom half of the sixth inning as the rain came to end the contest and the Tourists five game winning streak. Asheville will finish their four game series in Rome on Sunday at 2:00 with Alan DeRatt (1-2, 6.06) to make his second start of the season for Asheville. All the action can be heard on 100.7 WRES or online at www.theashevilletourists.com Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports, tourists Friday, July 31, 2009 Save the Date - Asheville Tourists Chili Cookoff and Fall Festival11:05 AM ASHEVILLE, NC - The baseball equipment may be back in storage by October, but the change of seasons will not keep the Asheville Tourists from welcoming a crowd. On Saturday, October 3, the team will host the Asheville Tourists Fall Festival and Chili Cook-off at McCormick Field, featuring more than 30 different styles of chili, live music from three bands, and affordable fun for every member of the family.Tickets for the Tourists Fall Festival and Chili Cook-off will go on sale, Monday, August 3, at 10 a.m. at the McCormick Field box office as well as ticketmaster.com. Cost for the event is $10 for adults, $5 for children age 5-12, and free for youngsters age four and under. Entry fees for the chili cook-off are $35 for individuals and $50 for restaurants. There will be three cash prizes of $300 each for the individual winner, the restaurant winner and the fans' choice award. Vendor booths are also available for $50. Music will be provided throughout the event, beginning with the Jamie Pelfrey Band playing country hits at noon. The Sharkadelics will take the stage at 1:45 p.m. with their popular set of classic rock hits before Mighty McFly starts playing top 40 hits from the 1980s and 1990s at 3:30 p.m. Numerous other events will also be held, including a pumpkin drawing contest and an ice cream eating contest. "Fall is the most popular time of the year in Asheville and we're adding to the beautiful weather and colorful leaves with an incredible fun-filled day at the ballpark," said Mike Bauer, executive director of the Tourists and Palace Baseball. "Chili is one of the world's great comfort foods, and we'll have contestants offering nearly every type for even the most devoted chili connessiouers." The Tourists return to McCormick Field on Tuesday, August 4, for a four-game series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. For more information, call the Tourists front office at (828) 258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, tourists Tuesday, July 28, 2009 Asheville Tourists Rides Big Inning to Victory11:12 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists battled Delmarva Monday night at McCormick Field, and took a 4-2 advantage into the fifth inning, before plating five runs in the bottom of the fifth to fuel a 9-2 victory. After dropping game one in extra innings, The Tourists were extra motivated for Monday's game two, and they played well on both sides of the ball. Starting pitcher Robinson Fabian earned his third win of the year in his first start since July 4th. Fabian went 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out a batter.
Asheville jumped out to the early 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Scott Robinson drew a walk to lead off the game and stole second base before moving to third on a groundout. Jordan Pacheco singled him home to take the 1-0 lead. The Shorebirds came back to tie it at 1-1 in the top of the second, as Joe Mahony picked up a one-out single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Tyler Kolodny walked and Jacob Julius grounded into a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with two away. L.J. Hoes tied it up with a base hit, scoring Mahoney to make it 1-1. The Tourists jumped back ahead in the bottom of the fourth when Tyler Massey reached on an error to lead things off. Massey then stole second base and came around to score on an RBI double by Carlos Martinez. It was the third double for Martinez in his last two games, and it gave Asheville the 2-1 lead. Delmarva tied it once more in the top of the sixth as Ron Welty led off with a double and advanced to third on a groundout before being driven in by a sacrifice fly from Mahoney to make it 2-2. Asheville then busted out with seven unanswered runs, picking up two in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Beau Seabury and a run-scoring single from Delta Cleary. With a 4-2 lead, the Tourists scored five runs on four hits in the bottom of the seventh, sending nine batters to the plate in the frame. Jordan Pacheco and Kiel Roling drew back-to-back walks to begin the inning and Jimmy Cesario singled to load the bases. Thomas Field lined a first-pitch fastball into center field for an RBI single, giving Asheville a 5-2 lead and leaving the bases loaded. Following a pitching change, Massey delivered with a single up the middle that plated two to make it 7-2. Carlos Martinez brought Field in to score on an infield single and Massey came home on a wild pitch to make it 9-2 Tourists. Michael Marbry and Stephen Dodson combined for three runs of shutout ball to close out the victory for Asheville. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Monday, July 27, 2009 Asheville Tourists Host Wild One9:15 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists and Shorebirds opened a four-game series at McCormick Field in dramatic fashion Sunday, with a back-and-forth extra inning contest culminating in a 6-3 Delmarva win. Asheville owned a 2-1 lead for most of the way, but a Shorebirds run in the top of the ninth tied it at 2-2, and a three-run rally in the top of the 12th inning gave them the victory.
Asheville got on the board quickly with a run in their first turn at bat. Jimmy Cesario ripped a one-out double into right-center field and Jordan Pacheco drove him in with a base hit to right to give the Tourists a 1-0 lead. Delmarva tied it up in the top of the second when catcher Victor Castillo drew a leadoff walk. After a fielder's choice, Kyle Hudson stood on first with one away. A groundout advanced Hudson to second base and, with two away, Ron Welty delivered his first of three hits, plating Hudson to tie the game at 1-1. The Tourists took the lead right back in the bottom of the frame when Cesario led off with a base hit. He then advanced from first-to-third on a couple of wild pitches and Mike Zuanich drove him in with a single to give Asheville the 2-1 advantage. Starting pitcher Dan Houston pitched well enough to earn the win, but got stuck with the no-decision. Houston went 6.0 innings, allowing just a run on six hits with five strikeouts. Isaiah Froneberger pitched two scoreless innings of relief and passed the game along to the closer, Adam Jorgenson, in the top of the ninth. Jorgenson gave up a leadoff single to Joe Mahoney, who promptly stole second base. After a popout and a strikeout, L.J. Hoes came up with the game on the line and lashed a base hit into left field to score Mahoney and tie the game at 2-2. Hoes was thrown out by Tyler Massey trying to stretch the single into a double, but the damage had been done. Asheville went down quietly in the bottom of the ninth, but the game changed beginning in the top of the tenth, with several exciting plays. Working against Tyler Trice, Victor Castillo led off the top of the tenth with a base hit and was then lifted for a pinch runner, Rodolfo Cardona. Kyle Hudson got the call to sacrifice bunt, and did so successfully. Trice then walked Greg Miclat intentionally to set up a potential double play. With runners on second and third, Ron Welty hit a high fly ball to deep right field that banged high off the 36-foot-high fence. Cardona hesitated on the play, but took off when the ball dropped, trying to score from second. David Christensen played it off the wall in right field and threw a strike to the plate. The throw was high, but Jordan Pacheco leapt, caught the ball, and dived toward the plate just in time to tag Cardona for the second out. That kept the game tied, and Trice struck out Elvin Polanco to end the threat. The Tourists had a chance to win it in their half of the tenth inning after Cesario drew a walk to lead things off. Jordan Pacheco was then hit by pitch and Mike Zuanich sacrificed the runners to second and third. With one out, Delmarva chose to walk Ryan Peisel intentionally to load the bases. David Christensen struck out for the second out of the inning and Tyler Massey grounded out to third base to end the threat and strand the bases loaded. Trice came back out to work the top of the eleventh and struck out the first batter he faced. He then allowed a single to Tyler Kolodny but erased him from the bases with a caught stealing. With two outs, Xavier Avery drew a walk and stole second base. Hoes then stepped in and lined a single up the middle. Delmarva waved Avery around third base as Scott Robinson came up throwing in center field. The throw from Robinson was slightly high, and Jordan Pacheco stood on the plate and leapt to receive it. As Pacheco came down, Avery bowled into the backstop, stepping on home plate. Pacheco came up still grasping the ball, but home plate umpire Joel Myers called Avery safe to make it 3-2 Shorebirds. Asheville manager Joe Mikulik stormed out of the dugout and vehemently disagreed with the call, earning himself an ejection. Welty stood on second base, having advanced on the throw home, and he was also waved around third when Luis Bernardo singled up the middle. Robinson once again threw a strike toward the plate, and this time the outcome was clear, nailing Welty at the plate for the final out of the frame. With their backs against the wall, Beau Seabury struck out to begin the bottom of the eleventh. Carlos Martinez then energized the crowd with a double to the gap in right-center field, his second double of the contest. Scott Robinson went down on strikes for the second out and, down to their final out, Jimmy Cesario chopped one to second base. Hoes fielded it but his throw was wide to first, allowing Martinez to score from second to tie the game at 3-3. After a Pacheco double, Zuanich popped out with runners on second and third to send it to the twelfth. Kurt Yacko came on for Trice and was knocked around by the Shorebirds lineup. Hudson led off with a base hit, then Yacko walked Welty intentionally following a strikeout. With runners on first and second, Elvin Polanco brought in the go-ahead run with a base hit, plating Hudson to give his team a 4-3 lead. After a flyout by Mahoney, Delmarva rattled off three consecutive singles, including RBI's for Kolodny and Avery to take a 6-3 lead. With two away and runners on first and second, Hoes singled to right field, and David Christensen threw home for yet another play at the plate, gunning Kolodny down at the plate for the final out. Asheville went down in order in the bottom of the twelfth, as T.R. Keating struck out the final two batters to end the game. The Tourists (17-12) and Shorebirds (15-14) will meet again Monday night for game two of the series, beginning at 7:05. Asheville will have RHP Robinson Fabian (2-6, 6.49) making the start, and he will face Delmarva RHP Oliver Drake (6-6, 3.70). Tickets for Monday's game and all Tourists home games are available by contacting the Tourists box office at (828) 258-0428. You can also listen to all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports, tourists Wednesday, July 22, 2009 Asheville Tourists Begin Homestand Tonight with 'Seniors Appreciation'2:29 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - As the second half of the 2009 South Atlantic League season rolls on, the Tourists continue their battle for first place and the Playoffs, with eight games against Lakewood and Delmarva, July 22nd through the 29th. The homestand is highlighted with tons of great promotions, including a free baseball card set giveaway and a live wrestling event at the ballpark following Sunday's game.
The homestand begins Wednesday, July 22nd against the Blueclaws, and all seniors receive a free General Admission ticket, compliments of Humana. Game two is a Thirsty Thursday featuring $1 drinks, compliments of Wild Wing Café, Rock 104.9 and Star 104.3. Saturday, July 25th is a premium giveaway night at McCormick Field, and each of the first 750 fans through the gates will receive a set of uncut baseball cards. Sunday the 26th is an Ingles Family Fun Day! Following Sunday's game against Delmarva, we will hold our weekly post-game autograph session with the team and kids can run the bases, compliments of Ingles Markets. Once the field has been cleared, it will be transformed into a wrestling ring for a ten-round live wrestling event, presented by the Wrestlers Alliance Revolution. Monday night is Goodwill Night at the ballpark, where three articles of new or gently used clothing can be exchanged for a General Admission ticket. Monday is alson another Capital Bank's Mega Money Monday. The first 750 fans entering the ballpark will receive an evelope that contains cash, tickets, gift certificates, and other great prizes. If the Tourists starting pitcher throws a perfect game on a Monday everyone in attendance splits $1,000,000. Tuesday night is another Kids Eat Free game, courtesy of Papa John's, where every child in attendance receives a slice of pizza and a drink. It is also Kraft Singles Night, when you can bring in a KRAFT Singles wrapper and exchange it for a buy one get one free General Admission ticket. The homestand concludes with another Senior night on Wednesday, the 29th, when all Seniors receive a free General Admission ticket, compliments of Humana. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports Monday, July 20, 2009 Suns Burn Tourists with 24 Hits8:32 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - Hagerstown pounded out 24 hits in a 15-3 drubbing of Asheville on Sunday afternoon. The Suns put up five runs in the sixth and six more runs in the seventh for the win. Each Suns player had at least two hits and Derek Norris had three hits with two RBI and Tyler Moore finished with three hits including a homerun and five driven in. Asheville (42-50, 16-7) will finish their road trip on Monday with Dan Houston on the mound.
Alan DeRatt (1-2) was the unfortunate pitcher on the mound for the Suns five run sixth inning. After back to back bunt hits to begin the inning, Steve Lombardozzi walked on a close 3-2 itch to load the bases. Norris then hit a single to tie the game and the Suns continued to attack with five hits in the inning. Tyler Massey delivered a two-run single in the second inning to give Asheville a 3-1 lead. Juan Nicasio was pulled with a 3-2 lead for Asheville after working four shaky innings. Nicasio allowed just one earned run on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts. The Tourists are 5-2 on their eight game road trip and will finish on Monday with Dan Houston (5-6, 4.07 ERA on the mound. All the action can be heard on WRES FM 100.7 or online at www.theashevilletourists.com Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Thursday, July 16, 2009 Asheville Tourists Win Again12:51 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists and the Augusta Greenjackets completed their season series Saturday night at McCormick Field, with Asheville coming out on top by the score of 5-2. Thomas Field, still working his way back from a hamstring injury, hit his first homerun of the year in the victory, and David Christensen hit his team-leading 14th long ball for one of his two hits.
Jonnathan Aristil started for Asheville, and earned his first victory of the season with 6.0 two-run innings. Aristil allowed just 6 hits and a walk while striking out 5 batters on the way to his first win this year. Asheville took an early lead in the bottom of the second when Christensen hit a two-out double and Field delivered his first homer of the season over the wall in right-center field to take a 2-0 lead. The Greenjackets cut the Tourists' lead to one run in the top of the fourth inning, when Ehire Adrianza drove Andy D'Alessio in with a base hit to make the score 2-1. The Tourists made it 3-1 in the bottom of the inning on a solo homerun by Christensen. With two outs, Christensen stepped in and smashed one over the wall in left field for his 14th homerun of the season and his second extra-base hit of the ball game. Augusta got another run back in the top of the sixth when Juan Perez and Johnny Monell hit back-to-back doubles to make it 3-2 Asheville. The Tourists pulled away in the bottom of the sixth when, with one out, Johnny Monell dropped a foul pop off the bat of Jimmy Cesario, extending the at-bat. Cesario would single and Christensen would draw a walk. With two away, Tyler Massey ripped a double down the left field line, plating Cesario from second and putting runners on second and third. With Carlos Martinez batting, Augusta went to the bullpen and Shane Kaufman, whose first pitch was wild and allowed Christensen to score to give the Tourists a 5-2 advantage. Kurt Yacko threw two scoreless innings of relief before the Tourists turned to Adam Jorgenson in the top of the ninth. Jorgenson struck out Wendell Fairley, got Dom Duggan to fly out, and struck out Jose Flores to end the game. It was the 17th save of the season for the Asheville closer, and his second in as many nights. The Tourists (11-5) will get Sunday off before an eight-game road trip, beginning with four in Lake County Monday night. Asheville will send RHP Parker Frazier (5-6, 5.01) to the mound Monday night to face the Captains. You can listen to Monday's game and all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Wednesday, July 15, 2009 Asheville Tourists Deliver Another Shutout12:13 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - Juan Nicasio picked up where Parker Frazier left off on Tuesday in the Asheville Tourist's 4-0 win over the Lake County Captains. Nicasio (4-1) struck out eight and allowed just four hits in the Tourists second shutout in as many days. Scott Robinson had four hits and Jordan Pacheco smacked his 11th homerun on the season in the win.
Asheville jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Kiel Roling single in the first inning. Roling drove in Scott Robinson with two out in the first inning. Pacheco pushed the lead to 2-0 with his homerun on the third inning and the Tourists added two more runs in the fifth to end the night for Lake County starter Trey Haley. The story of the night was Juan Nicasio picking up his fourth win of the year. Nicasio finished with no walks and eight strikeouts, allowing just the four hits. For most of the season Asheville was stuck with the worst ERA in the league. The staff has now tossed 22 consecutive scoreless innings including consecutive shutouts of the Lake County Captains. Asheville has won eight of their last nine and will try for four consecutive wins at 7:05 on Wednesday. All the action can be heard online or on WRES 100.7 FM. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Tuesday, July 14, 2009 Frazier Delivers Gem - Tourists in First Place3:21 PMASHEVILLE, NC - Parker Frazier turned in eight shutout innings and allowed just two hits in a 1-0 win on Monday from Lake County Ohio. Jordan Pacheco drove in the games only run with a single in the 7th inning to open an eight-game road trip. Frazier's outing was the longest for an Asheville pitcher this season and the longest of his career. The win, with a Bowling Green loss places Asheville (12-5) in sole possession of first place. Frazier (6-6) struck out three and walked none in the win. The right-hander picked up three double plays and retired the final 11 batters he faced before being removed after eight innings. Adam Jorgenson picked up his 18th save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth innings. Jorgenson is now second in the SAL in saves only two behind the leader Pat Venditte. Scott Robinson singled with two outs in the seventh, stole second base and scored on a Pacheco single for the only run of the game. Ryan Peisel singled in the ninth inning to extend his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games. The Asheville Tourists have won seven of their last eight and will send Juan Nicasio (3-1, 1.91) to the mound on Tuesday. All the action can be heard online or on WRES 100.7 FM. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Monday, July 13, 2009 Asheville Tourists Get Best of Greenjackets9:16 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Tourists and Greenjackets completed their season series Saturday night at McCormick Field, with Asheville coming out on top by the score of 5-2. Thomas Field, still working his way back from a hamstring injury, hit his first homerun of the year in the victory, and David Christensen hit his team-leading 14th long ball for one of his two hits. Jonnathan Aristil started for Asheville, and earned his first victory of the season with 6.0 two-run innings. Aristil allowed just 6 hits and a walk while striking out 5 batters on the way to his first win this year. Asheville took an early lead in the bottom of the second when Christensen hit a two-out double and Field delivered his first homer of the season over the wall in right-center field to take a 2-0 lead. The Greenjackets cut the Tourists' lead to one run in the top of the fourth inning, when Ehire Adrianza drove Andy D'Alessio in with a base hit to make the score 2-1. The Tourists made it 3-1 in the bottom of the inning on a solo homerun by Christensen. With two outs, Christensen stepped in and smashed one over the wall in left field for his 14th homerun of the season and his second extra-base hit of the ball game. Augusta got another run back in the top of the sixth when Juan Perez and Johnny Monell hit back-to-back doubles to make it 3-2 Asheville. The Tourists pulled away in the bottom of the sixth when, with one out, Johnny Monell dropped a foul pop off the bat of Jimmy Cesario, extending the at-bat. Cesario would single and Christensen would draw a walk. With two away, Tyler Massey ripped a double down the left field line, plating Cesario from second and putting runners on second and third. With Carlos Martinez batting, Augusta went to the bullpen and Shane Kaufman, whose first pitch was wild and allowed Christensen to score to give the Tourists a 5-2 advantage. Kurt Yacko threw two scoreless innings of relief before the Tourists turned to Adam Jorgenson in the top of the ninth. Jorgenson struck out Wendell Fairley, got Dom Duggan to fly out, and struck out Jose Flores to end the game. It was the 17th save of the season for the Asheville closer, and his second in as many nights. The Tourists (11-5) will get Sunday off before an eight-game road trip, beginning with four in Lake County Monday night. Asheville will send RHP Parker Frazier (5-6, 5.01) to the mound Monday night to face the Captains. You can listen to Monday's game and all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Friday, July 10, 2009 Asheville Tourists Play Doubleheader Tonight12:09 PMASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists will play a doubleheader Friday July 10th beginning at 5:35 p.m. Both games will be seven inning contests. Tickets are available at the McCormick Field Box Office. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Thursday, July 9, 2009 Asheville Tourists Return Home Tonight - 'Thirsty Thursday'9:45 AMASHEVILLE, NC - Thirsty Thursday returns to McCormick Field tonight. Come out to the ballpark and enjoy $1 drafts and sodas compliments of Wild Wing Cafe, Rock 104.9, and Star 104.3. The game starts at 7pm. Tickets for Thursday's game and the rest of the games this season are on sale now at the McCormick Field Box Office or by calling 828-258-0428. You can also purchase tickets online at ticketmaster.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports Tuesday, July 7, 2009 UNC Asheville Names Tom Smith as Head Baseball Coach10:55 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone today has announced the hiring of Tom Smith as the Bulldogs new head baseball coach, upon approval of the school's Board of Trustees. The announcement came at a morning press conference held at the Owen Conference Center. Smith becomes the eighth man to lead the UNC Asheville baseball program. He has served on the UNC Asheville coaching staff for the past two seasons, first as a volunteer assistant in 2008 and as an assistant this past spring. "Tom Smith is a proven leader with tremendous desire who will direct our baseball program forward," stated Cone. "He has the knowledge of the game of baseball and is a proven recruiter." "We are confident that Tom Smith will get the job done with our baseball program in the classroom and the community," stated Cone. "We are equally as confident he will lead our program to being just as competitive on the field." Before coming to UNC Asheville, Smith was one of the top high school coaches in the nation at T.C. Roberson HS in Asheville. He coached the Rams program for 28 years and led the school to three 3-A state titles in 1983, 2000 and 2002. The Rams won 14 conference titles during his tenure. Smith, 54, posted a 478-185 record at Roberson before retiring in 2006. Smith had 20 players drafted by major league teams during his time at Roberson. The list includes pitcher Darren Holmes who went to pitch 17 years in the major leagues, current left-hander pitcher Chris Narveson of the Milwaukee Brewers and outfielder Cameron Maybin of the Florida Marlins, who was drafted in the first round in 2005. "I am truly humbled and honored to be selected to be the next head baseball coach at UNC Asheville," declared Smith. "I greatly appreciate the confidence that Janet Cone and the search committee has placed in me to lead the Bulldog baseball program." "It is very exciting to be a part of a school that is so good academically and has an athletic department with so many outstanding coaches," added Smith. "We are looking forward to building the UNC Asheville baseball program." Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, UNCA Monday, July 6, 2009 Asheville Tourists Get Lit Up on the 4th11:49 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists returned home for the first of a four-game series with Charleston Saturday, hosting a season-high 4,270 fans, but losing to the Riversdogs, 14-4. With starting pitcher Ethan Hollingsworth filling in at High Class-A Modesto, Robinson Fabian was removed from his role as reliever and slotted into Saturday's starting position. The Riverdogs struck early and often Saturday, led by a 4-for-6 night for Corban Joseph, Charleston outhit the Tourists 17-to-8 in the victory. Fabian got into trouble right away when Jose Pirela led off the game with a double, and the Riverdogs lineup went to work. Charleston batted around in the top of the first, plating 6 runs on 6 hits to take a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the first. The Riverdogs pushed across another run in the second, taking a 7-0 lead. Fabian would leave after just two innings, allowing 7 runs (5 earned) on 9 hits without striking out a batter. Alan DeRatt took over in the top of the third, retiring the side without incident. He gave up a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI triple for Joseph, giving Charleston an 8-0 advantage. The Tourists got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, finally getting to Riverdogs starter Manny Banuelos. With two outs, Jordan Pacheco banged a double off the wall in center field, and David Christensen followed with a base hit up the middle to score Pacheco. Jimmy Cesario reached on an error by third baseman Garrison Lassiter, and Kiel Roling plated Christensen and Cesario with a double down the left field line, making it 8-3 Riverdogs.Charleston did not let Asheville stick around, putting the game out of reach with five more runs in the top of the fifth. DeRatt closed out the top of the fifth having allowed 6 runs on 6 hits through his 3.0 innings of work, with the Riverdogs ahead, 13-3. The Riverdogs added a run in the top of the seventh on another RBI double for Joseph, giving him four driven in on the night. Asheville would get a run back in the bottom of the inning when Ryan Peisel led things off with a solo homerun to straightaway center field. The solo shot brought the Tourists to within 14-4, but that's how things ended. Thankfully, the record crowd at McCormick Field was treated to a Fireworks Extravaganza following the conclusion of the one-sided affair. There will be another fireworks show following Sunday night's game two. The Tourists (5-4) and Riverdogs (6-4) will meet again Sunday night at 7:05 for game two of the four-game series. Asheville will send RHP Dan Houston (3-6, 4.15) to the mound Sunday to take on Charleston RHP Brett Marshall (3-5, 5.45). Tickets for Sunday's game and all Tourists home games are available by contacting the Tourists box office at (828) 258-0428. You can also listen to all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Tourists Win Third Straight12:49 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - Scott Robinson broke a 1-1 tie with the a three-run double in the 7th inning giving the Tourists a 4-1 win over Savannah on Tuesday night. Dan Houston (3-6) picked up the win to keep Asheville (4-1, 30-44) in first place in the SAL Southern Division for one more day. Beau Seabury picked up three hits and an RBI while Adam Jorgenson earned his 13th save with a scoreless 9th inning. The 13 saves places Jorgensen 2nd in the league behind Pat Venditte of Charleston.
Savannah took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Wilmer Flores doubled home Jefry Marte from first base. Josh Satin singled with two outs and Stefan Welch walked to load up the bases. Houston then picked up a groundball to end the threat. Savannah had the bases loaded twice on Tuesday and could not score, stranding 11 in the game. Beau Seabury tied up the game 1-1 with a single in the fifth inning. Seabury dove in Kiel Roling with his first of three hits off Chris Schwinden. Asheville took the lead with the bases loaded in the seventh inning on a Scott Robinson double. Robinson smacked a fly ball to right center with two outs plating Roling, Seabury and Andrew Goff putting Houston in position to win. Houston struck out six and walked three in his third win of the season. The Tourists have now won three straight and are 6-3 against Savannah this season. Jonathan Aristil (0-4, 5.08) will take the ball in game two of the series on Wednesday beginning at 7:05. Savannah will counted with LHP Robert Carson (5-5, 2.39) . All the action can be heard on WRES FM. 100.7 or online at www.theashevilletourists.com Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports, tourists Tuesday, June 30, 2009 Asheville Tourists To Host 'A Salute To Our Veterans'12:05 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - July is the most patriotic time of the year, and the Asheville Tourists are joining in the celebration by recognizing our country's greatest heroes. On Saturday, July 11, the Tourists will host "A Salute To Our Veterans" on Disabled American Veterans Night when the team takes on the Augusta GreenJackets at McCormick Field, beginning at 7:05 p.m. A variety of activities will be held prior to and during the game, headlined by the appearance of former World Wrestling Entertainment heavyweight champion Sergeant Slaughter, sponsored by David's Bedrooms. Fans will have a chance to take photos with and receive an autograph from the popular wrestler at the ballpark as well as at the David's Bedrooms store on Biltmore Avenue from 3-5 p.m. on July 11. Those visiting the David's Bedrooms during Sergeant Slaughter's appearance will receive two free tickets to that night's game. The first 2,000 fans through the gates at McCormick Field will receive a free special edition Tourists baseball card team set, compliments of the Disabled American Veterans. WNC Blue Star Mothers and ABCCM Post 526 also will be collecting items for North Carolina troops currently stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fans who donate three personal items, such as toothpaste, pens, nail clippers and dental floss, will receive a free general admission ticket to the game, thanks to 1-800-GOT-JUNK. A complete list of items can be found on the Tourists' website - www.theashevilletourists.com. In addition, all veterans and active members of the military may purchase general admission tickets to the contest for $2 each. Other events for the game include a pre-game recognition of veterans on the field. A color guard will be present, and a parachute team will deliver the American flag prior to the singing of the National Anthem. "This upcoming homestand is the biggest of the season for the Tourists," said Mike Bauer, executive director of the Tourists and Palace Baseball. "We open with fireworks and we conclude it with our salute to the veterans. Baseball truly is the national pastime, and we're looking forward to a special celebration with the help of the Disabled American Veterans and Sergeant Slaughter." The Tourists will play a four-game series at Savannah this week prior to returning home on Saturday, July 4, for an eight-game homestand against the Charleston Riverdogs and Augusta GreenJackets. The homestand begins with the team's annual Fireworks Extravaganza. For more information, call the Tourists' front office at (828) 258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports, tourists Monday, June 29, 2009 Asheville Tourists Win Thriller11:01 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists closed out their four-game series with the Greenville Drive in dramatic fashion Sunday afternoon, taking a back-and-forth contest 5-4 at McCormick Field. Jordan Pacheco drove in four runs for the Tourists, giving him ten RBI for the four-game series, and 47 on the year. Asheville starter Juan Nicasio pitched well enough to earn the win, but got his fourth no-decision instead. The Drive opened the scoring in the top of the first when Zach Gentile led off with a base hit. Jered Stanley worked a one-out walk, and Ty Weeden drove a double into right field, plating Gentile for the first run of the game. Mitch Dening followed with a single of his own, bringing Stanley in to score and making it 2-0 Greenville. Asheville answered back with a run in their half of the first, when Pacheco brought home Scott Robinson with a one-out single, cutting the Drive lead to 2-1. The Tourists pushed across another run to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third when Pacheco beat out a potential double play for an RBI fielder's choice and his second run driven in of the game. Nicasio worked four straight scoreless innings after the top of the first, finishing with 5.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8 batters. The Tourists took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth frame on an RBI sacrifice fly by Jimmy Cesario that scored David Christensen from third base. Greenville tied it up at 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning against reliever Kurt Yacko on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Jered Stanley. The Tourists brought in Tyler Trice to work the top of the ninth, and Trice retired the first two batters he faced before Ryan Dent blasted a solo homerun over the wall in left field to give the Drive a 4-3 lead. Asheville came up in the bottom of the ninth trailing by a run, and Beau Seabury reached base to lead off on an error by pitcher Mike Lee. Carlos Martinez struck out, but Scott Robinson lined a single into center field, putting runners on first and second. Delta Cleary followed by drawing a walk to load the bases for the Tourists MVP, Pacheco, with one out. Pacheco waited on an off-speed pitch and blasted a line drive into the gap in right center for a walk-off, two-run single. Seabury and Robinson came around to score on the play, giving Asheville a series victory with a 5-4 win. The Tourists (3-1) take on the Savannah Sand Gnats (2-1) in Savannah after an off day on Monday. Asheville will send RHP Dan Houston (2-6, 4.39) to the mound for game one in Savannah Tuesday night. You can listen to Tuesday's game and all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports, tourists Friday, June 26, 2009 Asheville Touirsts Begin Second Half of Season with a Bang12:25 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Tourists welcomed the Greenville Drive, champions of the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League for the first half of the season, for four games to begin the second half, winning a thriller Thursday night, 5-4. Jordan Pacheco blasted his eighth homerun of the year and Tyler Massey provided a huge two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Tourists the lead for good. Asheville now has a record above .500 for the first time this season. Greenville grabbed the lead right away on a solo homerun from Ryan Lavarnway, his eighth of the year, in the top of the first inning. The Tourists answered right back in the bottom of the inning when Jimmy Cesario picked up an infield hit with one out, and Pacheco demolished a two-run shot over the tall wall in right-center field, giving Asheville a 2-1 lead. The Drive came back with two runs of their own in the top of the second inning, banging out three consecutive one-out doubles. Oscar Tejeda and David Marks provided RBI two-baggers, putting Greenville ahead, 3-2. Asheville drew even in the bottom of the third when Scott Robinson led off with a double down the left field line. Jimmy Cesario laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that almost went for a hit, but Cesario was thrown out by a half step at first. Jordan Pacheco then followed by lifting a fly ball into left field, just deep enough to score Robinson from third. The sac fly was Pacheco's third RBI of the game, and it tied the game at 3-3. The score remained locked at 3-3 until the seventh frame, as Asheville starter Ethan Hollingsworth overcame some early trouble to keep the Tourists in the game. The righty went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out eight in the no-decision. He came on to start the seventh inning before allowing a one-out walk to Oscar Tejeda and another RBI double to David Marks. After Marks gave Greenville a 4-3 lead, Hollingsworth was replaced by Robinson Fabian, who worked 1.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. The Tourists came up in the bottom of the eighth trailing by a run against relief pitcher Felix Ventura. Cesario led things off with a base hit up the middle and took second on a passed ball by Lavarnway. After Pacheco grounded out to short for the first out, David Christensen picked up his second infield single of the game, putting runners on the corners. Greenville replaced Ventura with left-hander Lance McClain, but Christensen promptly stole second base to put runners on second and third, and Tyler Massey laced a two-run single into right field to give the Tourists a 5-4 lead. Adam Jorgenson came on in the ninth and worked a scoreless inning to earn his eleventh save of the season. The Tourists (1-0) and Drive (0-1) will meet again Friday night in game two of this four-game series. Asheville RHP Jonnathan Aristil (0-3, 4.95) will take the mound for game two, against Greenville LHP Nick Hagadone (0-1, 5.14). Tickets for Friday's game and all Tourists home games are available by contacting the Tourists box office at (828) 258-0428. You can also listen to all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, events, sports, tourists Thursday, June 25, 2009 Asheville Tourists Host 'Doggies on the Diamond Day' This Sunday at McCormick Field3:50 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - Animal Compassion Network joins the Asheville Tourists for Doggies on the Diamond Day starting at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Bring your dog to McCormick Field and enjoy various activities during the day. Happy Tails ice cream made just for dogs by The Hop will be available at ACN's booth while supplies last. The afternoon will also feature dogs available for adoption, raffles and giveaways. Those donating a bag of dog or cat food will receive a 2-for-1 voucher good for a future game. To learn more About ACN, call (828) 274-3647, visit www.animalcompassionnetwork.org or drop by the Pet Harmony store at 803 Fairview St., off Hendersonville Road, behind Province 620, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday or noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Labels: asheville, baseball, pets, sports, tourists Monday, June 22, 2009 Asheville Tourists Shut Out to End First Half of Season10:30 AM
BOWLING GREEN, KY - The first half of the season came to an end on Sunday with a 2-0 loss for the Asheville Tourists' on Father's Day. Dan Houston provided the Tourists with solid starting pitching but Asheville was held to just one hit in the loss. Asheville finishes the first half of the 2009 season with a 26-43 record. The 26 wins marks the lowest win total in the first half of the season as a Rockies affiliate, dating back to 1994. Beau Seabury provided an infield single for the only hit of the game. Dan Houston (2-6) tossed seven innings and allowed just two runs (one earned) in the loss. The Hot Rods centerfielder Anthony Scelfo smacked a homerun to leadoff the first inning for the only earned run of the game. Houston then controlled the pace from there on out and at one point retired 14 consecutive batters, ranging from the second until the seventh inning. Houston left trialing 2-0 after seven innings, walking one and striking out three. Bowling Green's Nick Barnese (1-1) held Asheville to jut the Seabury hit through seven innings in his first win of the season. Barnese struck out six and walked none in the win. Josh Satow pitched the final two innings of scoreless relief to earn his 8th save on the year. The loss drops Asheville to 1-5 against the Hot Rods in their inaugural season. The Tourists were held to just four base runners on the Afternoon. Ryan Peisel reached on a Tim Beckham error in the second inning and Beau Seabury reached on an infield single in the fifth. Josh Satow walked Seabury in the eighth and Pacheco in the ninth. The Tourists will take three days for the All-Star break, before returning to McCormick Field on Thursday to open up a four game series against the first half champion Greenville Drive. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Wednesday, June 10, 2009 Asheville Tourists Have No-Hitter Bunted Away12:07 PM
LEXINGTON, KY - Juan Nicasio took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in just his third start of the season in the Asheville Tourists' 5-0 victory over Lexington on Tuesday night. Steve Brown bunted with one out in the eighth inning to end Nicasio's no-hit attempt. It was the only hit of the game for Lexington off Asheville's pitching staff. The victory marks the first consecutive wins for Asheville in over a month and the team will go for the series sweep on Wednesday with Dan Houston on the mound. Nicasio had retired 17 consecutive batters from the second to eighth innings before the Brown bunt single. Nicasio struck out three and walked three - the final walk was the last batter he would faced in the game. Michael Marbry entered with one out in the 8th with a 2-0 lead and two runners on and picked up a double play to end the Lexington threat. Asheville took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a single from Jimmy Cesario that scored Tyler Massey. Lexington's Kyle Greenwalt would hold the Tourists to just two runs over 6 1/3 innings, scattering nine hits. Delta Cleary tripled and Scott Robinson singled Cleary home to end the day for Greenwalt and push Asheville up 2-0. The Tourists added three more runs on the ninth inning. Beau Seabury singled and Carlos Martinez doubled. Cleary then executed a squeeze bunt scoring Seabury giving Asehville a 3-0 lead. Cleary took second on a wild pitch and Thomas Field drove in both Martinez and Cleary with a single to right field. Field finished with three singles and a walk in his first start since exciting a game last weekend with a slight injury. Kurt Yacko tossed a scoreless ninth inning to improve Asheville to 22-36 on the season. The Tourists will attempt their first series sweep with Dan Houston (1-4, 5.03) on the mound beginning at 7:05. There are currently 12 more games in the first half of the season until the records reset. All the action can be heard on WRES FM 100.7 Labels: asheville, baseball, sports Monday, June 1, 2009 Asheville Tourists Rout Savannah7:45 AM
The Tourists exploded offensively in the rubber game of a five-game series against the Sand Gnats Sunday afternoon, collecting a season-high 25 hits in a 12-3 victory. Asheville starter Ethan Hollingsworth allowed a leadoff triple in the top of the first and a sacrifice fly before shutting Savannah down through the sixth inning. Every member of the Tourists lineup hit safely at least twice, with seven different players driving in runs, and eight Tourists coming around to score. After Savannah put up a run in the top of the first, the Tourists took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Scott Robinson led off with a double and scored on Delta Cleary's triple to tie the game at 1-1. Cleary then came around to score on a balk before Thomas Field drove in another run with a base hit to make it 3-1. Asheville put up three more in the bottom of the fourth on and RBI triple by Carlos Martinez, a sacrifice fly by Scott Robinson, and an RBI base hit by Kiel Roling. The Tourists carried their 6-1 lead into the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Tyler Massey got in on the fun with an RBI base hit that drove in Jordan Pacheco, making it 7-1 Tourists. Ethan Hollingsworth finally showed signs of fatigue in the top of the seventh, allowing back-to-back solo homeruns to Sean Ratliff and Wilmer Flores, cutting the lead to 7-3. Hollingsworth would exit before finishing the inning, having gone 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and eight strikeouts. Tyler Trice came on to relieve Hollingsworth with a runner on second, and struck out each of the two batters he faced to end the threat. The score remained 7-3 until Asheville put things away in the bottom of the eighth with five more runs. David Christensen led off with a solo homerun, then singles by Field, Massey, and Ryan Peisel pushed across another run, making it 9-3. Delta Cleary picked up an RBI single to push the lead to 10-3 before Kiel Roling drove in his second and third runs of the night with another base hit, completing the 12-3 rout. The Tourists (20-30) will have an off day Monday before heading to Greenville (25-23) for a three-game series beginning Tuesday. Asheville will send RHP Robinson Fabian (1-4, 5.96) to the mound for game one, Tuesday in Greenville. You can listen to Tuesday's game and all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Tuesday, May 19, 2009 Asheville Tourists Come Up Short Against Greenjackets11:59 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists and Augusta Greenjackets took the field Monday night to conclude Saturday's suspended game and play a seven-inning contest to close out this homestand at McCormick Field. Asheville extended their existing lead in game one to 5-1 before the Augusta bats woke up and blasted 12 runs on 16 hits to take the opener, 12-6. Game two saw Greenjackets RHP Kyle Nicholson go the distance, shutting out the Tourists lineup in a 4-0 Augusta win. Play began Monday night with Asheville leading 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning and RHP Michael Marbry on the mound. Marbry stranded two inherited runners before allowing six runs on five hits over 1.2 innings. Augusta would score at least one run in each of their five turns at bat, with Jonnathan Aristil, Isaiah Froneberger, and Stephen Dodson each allowing at least a run in the 12-6 loss. Asheville seemed to have the advantage in the pitching matchup for game two, but Augusta RHP Kyle Nicholson got the better of Christian Friedrich Monday night. Friedrich pitched well, allowing three runs (two earned) on three walks, and five hits while striking out seven, earning his second loss of the year. Nicholson was great, shutting the Tourists out on seven hits and two walks, striking out five. Nicholson hunkered down each time Asheville threatened offensively, stranding nine base runners through seven innings. The Augusta offense was provided by RBI hits from Josh Mazzola and C.J. Ziegler, fueling the Greenjackets win. Tourists shortstop Carlos Martinez went 2-for-3 in the loss. The Tourists (14-22) will now travel to Rome to take on the Braves (22-16) for a four-game series beginning Wednesday night at 7:00. Wednesday night will feature a matchup between Asheville RHP Dan Houston (0-1, 3.12) and Rome RHP Randall Delgado (1-3, 4.03). Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Thursday, May 14, 2009 Asheville Tourists Revved Up for NASCAR Night8:16 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists are changing gears in their next homestand by teaming with Time 4 Sports and hosting NASCAR night, Friday, May 15th. The event will feature a NASCAR show car, a driver look-alike contest, and several NASCAR-themed games, contests, and giveaways leading up to that night's Tourists game against the Augusta Greenjackets at 7:05. The festivities will begin as soon as fans enter the stadium, where they can check out Casey Mears' Number 07 Jack Daniels Show Car. From there, interested fans are encouraged to enter the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. look-alike contest at the Guest Services Gazebo. The Tourists fan judged by the crowd to be the most Junior-like will receive a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. jacket provided by Time 4 Sports and a pair of tickets to the May 24th race. There will also be a contest involving the following night's Sprint All-Star Race in Charlotte. Fans can enter a top-5 contest for the chance to win four tickets to the Sprint Cup Series at Charlotte on May 24th. There will be a table on the concourse at which fans can submit their predicted Top 5 finishers for the All-Star race the following night. Any fan that correctly submits the top 5 finishers in order will receive free tickets to the May 24th race, and should no fan guess correctly, the tickets will be awarded to the entrant with the most accurate submission. Winners will be awarded their tickets during the Tourists game against Augusta on Monday, May 18th. Any NASCAR know-it-alls can test their mettle in the Time 4 Sports NASCAR trivia contest. Three contestants will go head-to-head to answer a series of challenging NASCAR questions. The fan with the most correct answers will receive a pair of tickets to the May 24th race and a Jeff Gordon jacket supplied by Time 4 Sports. Finally, one lucky fan will leave McCormick Field with four suite tickets to the May 24th race in Charlotte. Whenever a fan makes a transaction of $10 or more on NASCAR night, they will receive an entry to the raffle. Fans may enter as many times as they like. The winner will receive the four suite tickets and second-and-third place winners will be drawn, each taking home four standard tickets to the May 24th race. The night's festivities will also include NASCAR-themed on-field promotions and giveaways, supplied by Time 4 Sports on Airport Road in Arden. Tickets for Friday's NASCAR night and all remaining Tourists home games are available by contacting the Tourists box office at (828) 258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Rome Fails to Fall and Beats Tourists 9-78:34 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - Rome first baseman Gerry Rodriguez lashed a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Rome Braves took the first of a four-game series in Asheville, 9-7 Monday night. Tourists' own first baseman Kiel Roling turned in an equally impressive individual performance, going 4-for-4 with two homeruns, a double, and five RBI of his own. Asheville starter Parker Frazier (0-3) struggled through four innings of work, allowing five runs on eight hits, walking three batters, and striking out one. Frazier did well to limit the damage and keep the game close, but the bullpen couldn't do the same. The Tourists jumped out to an early lead with runs in each of their first two turns at bat. Kiel Roling started his big night at the plate with an RBI double in the bottom of the first, and Ryan Peisel drove in David Christensen with an RBI groundout in the second. The Braves would answer back with four runs in the top of the third. After Frazier retired the first two batters of the inning, Luis Sumoza singled into right field. Gerry Rodriguez followed with his first RBI of the day on a triple to center field. Stephen Shults drove in Rodriguez with a base hit up the middle and moved to second base on a steal. Samuel Sime drew a walk to put runners on first and second for Jesus Sucre, who drove them both home with a double to left field, making the score 4-2 Tourists. Asheville responded immediately, tying the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the third on a two-run homerun by Kiel Roling. It was Roling's first homerun of the night and third of the year, each blast leaving McCormick Field over the right-center field wall. Rome regained the lead, 5-4 in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by center fielder Calvin Culver. As Culver rounded second base, he fell and sprawled on the infield dirt between second and third base. Culver lay motionless for a minute, got tagged for the second out of the inning, and was ultimately replaced by Chris Shehan. Culver was wheeled off the field the following inning, reportedly suffering from a separated shoulder. Alan DeRatt came on to relieve the starter Frazier and worked a perfect top of the fifth inning. He came out in the sixth and allowed a leadoff single before a sacrifice bunt put a runner on second with one away. DeRatt then walked back-to-back batters to load the bases for the dangerous Rodriguez, who made the Tourists pay with a grand slam homerun to straightaway right field. The blast gave Rome a commanding 9-4 advantage. It was Rodriguez's seventh long ball of the season, good for second in the South Atlantic League. The Tourists got a couple back on Kiel Roling's second two-run homerun of the game in the bottom of the eighth, making it 9-6 Rome. Another towering opposite-field blast, Roling's second homerun gave him five RBI for the game, the most for any Tourist this year. Asheville would threaten again in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Craig Kimbrel. A leadoff single by Ryan Peisel and a throwing error by Kimbrel put a runner on second with no outs for Tyler Massey, who drew a walk. Thomas Field grounded out, advancing the runners to second and third. Scott Robinson grounded out to first base, plating Peisel to make it 9-7 Rome, before Delta Cleary struck out to end the threat and the game. The Tourists (13-17) will take on the Braves (16-15) in game two of this four-game series tomorrow at 11:05 am for Education Day at McCormick Field. LHP Christian Friedrich (3-1, 0.93) will face off against Rome RHP Jacob Thompson (1-2, 3.82). Tickets for Tuesday's game and all Tourists home games are available by contacting the Tourists box office at (828) 258-0428. You can also listen to all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Asheville Tourists April Recap2:02 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - Asheville Tourists had two of the hotter hitters in all of Minor League Baseball in the month of April, as James Cesario and Jordan Pacheco tore the cover off the ball. Though the team finished the month 10-11, they did have some major bright spots, and Christian Friedrich showed why he is such a highly ranked prospect. As the calendar changes to May, watch out for Asheville.
Cesario and Pacheco were the talk of the minors all month, as they both batted over .400. Pacheco smacked a team-high four home runs, and led the team in runs batted in (20). Cesario finished second behind Scott Robinson for the team lead in runs, and his eight doubles were tops.
Robinson batted a very high .353, and swiped a team-high ten bases. He was a terror on the basepaths, and he turned his 30 hits in to 21 runs scored. He needs to cut down on his strikeouts, but it was definitely a month to remember for him. Thomas Field batted close to .300, scored ten times, and drove in seven. Top starter Christian Friedrich started four games for the Tourists, and posted an incredible 1.17 earned run average. The left-hander struck out 35 batters in only 23.0 innings of work, and held the opposition to a .188 batting average. He is clearly one of the top starting pitching prospects in the organization. A handful of other prospects made starts for the Tourists in April, with Dan Houston (4.09), and Ethan Hollingsworth (4.40) pitching very well. Robinson Fabian and Parker Fraizer also had their moments, but they were hit hard at times as well. Adam Jorgenson had a great month, and was, at times, very hard to hit. Batters only hit .150 against him, and he struck out better than a batter per inning. He also nailed down two saves in three opportunities. Top Prospect Watch: David Christensen is starting to heat up, and has batted .333 over his past ten games. The slugging outfielder has picked up four multi-hit games in that span, and has driven in ten runs. If he catches fire, the South Atlantic League is in big trouble. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Asheville Tourists Win Over Riverdogs8:57 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Tourists hosted the first place Charleston Riverdogs Tuesday night for the first of a four-game series at McCormick Field. Robinson Fabian started the game for Asheville and had his best outing of the year, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk through 6.2 innings of work. Fabian also struck out seven batters on the night while going deeper into the game than any Tourists starter this season. David Phelps opposed Fabian and pitched well, receiving little help from his defense as the Tourists would score three unearned runs off the right-hander. Asheville led for most of the contest before things got wild in the later stages. Jimmy Cesario remained red hot when he smacked a solo homerun in his first at bat of the game. It was the first homerun of the year for the South Atlantic League's leading hitter. Cesario would pick up a base hit later in the contest, extending his hitting streak to six games, all of them multi-hit efforts. The Tourists carried the 1-0 lead into the top of the fourth, when David Adams hit a two-out single and first baseman Brian Baisley crushed a two-run homerun over the wall in left field. Fabian would close out the inning without further incident with the Tourists trailing 2-1. Asheville wasted little time in reclaiming the lead when Kiel Roling led off the bottom of the fourth by reaching on an error by shortstop Carmen Angelini. After a Cesario single and an Erik Wetzel sacrifice bunt, Tyler Massey drove in a run with a groundout and Ryan Peisel hit an RBI single to put the Tourists back in front, 3-2. Asheville would add another run in their next turn at bat on a sacrifice fly by Delta Cleary, making the score 4-2. Robinson Fabian came out to work the top of the seventh inning an struck out the first two batters he faced. After getting ahead of Angelini with an 0-2 count, Angelini battled back to draw a walk. Fabian then threw a wild pitch, advancing the runner to second and Ray Kruml drove an RBI double into left-center field, drawing the Riverdogs to within 4-3. Kurt Yacko came on to relieve Fabian and struck out Adams to retire the side. The Tourists picked up another run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Delta Cleary, his second run driven in on the night. Yacko worked 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three batters. Asheville took a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning when Adam Jorgenson came on for the save opportunity. Catcher Mitch Abeita greeted Jorgenson with a solo homerun that was crushed over the wall in left, cutting the Asheville lead to 5-4. After retiring the next two batters, Jorgenson got Kruml to hit a routine ground ball to second base. Erik Wetzel fielded it cleanly but held onto it a beat too long, allowing the speedy Kruml to beat the throw to first. Jorgenson then walked David Adams and threw two wild pitches, advancing the runners to second and third. Brian Baisley brought them both around to score with a two-run double drilled down the left field line, putting the Riverdogs on top, 6-5. Asheville headed to the bottom of the ninth down a run and facing Charleston closer Pat Venditte, a switch pitcher with stellar numbers thus far this season. Venditte began pitching lefty to Tyler Massey and got him to line out to center field. Verditte then switch sides and went after Ryan Peisel as a righty, inducing a ground ball out. Carlos Martinez smoked a line drive just off the glove of shortstop Angelini for a base hit. Scott Robinson pulled a single through the hole and into left field, putting runners on first and second for Cleary. With Cleary at the plate, Martinez and Robinson attempted a double steal. The catcher, Abeita made a wild throw to second base that went all the way into center field, allowing Martinez to score. Kruml picked up the ball in center and made an aggressive throw to third base in an attempt to cut down Robinson, but instead the throw sailed over Mike Lyon's head and into the stands, allowing Robinson to trot home and into his teammates' arms with the game-winning run The Tourists (8-11) will tangle with the Riverdogs (11-8) again Wednesday morning at 11:05 for Education Day at McCormick Field. Asheville will send RHP Parker Frazier (0-2, 6.06) to the mound in Wednesday morning's contest to oppose Charleston RHP Brett Marshall (0-2, 6.32). Tickets for Wednesday's game and all Tourists home games are available by contacting the Tourists box office at (828) 258-0428. You can also listen to all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Monday, April 27, 2009 Tourists Return Home for Big Win Against Greenville8:24 AM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists returned to the friendly confines of McCormick Field Saturday night to host the Greenville Drive for a short two-game series. After dropping three out of four in Greensboro by way of extra innings, the Asheville squad was ready to return home. They did so in style, taking game one from the Drive by a score of 6-2, thanks to ample offense and a new face out of the bullpen.
Dan Houston started the game for Asheville looking for his first victory of the season. The righty pitched well, allowing just one unearned run on two hits and a walk through four innings of work. Houston struck out three Drive batters, but did not go long enough to qualify for the win. Asheville opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, with some help from the normally stingy Greenville defense. The Drive came in to the series having committed just nine errors on the season, the fewest in the South Atlantic League, but that changed early Saturday night. Ryan Peisel led off the bottom of the second with a ground ball to shortstop. Oscar Tejeda came up with it cleanly, but threw high to first base, allowing Peisel to reach. David Christensen then ripped a base hit through the hole between third and short, and the runners advanced to second and third on a balk by Stolmy Pimentel. After Tyler Massey struck out, Thomas Field hit a ground ball toward third base that was booted by Michael Almanzar, plating Peisel for the first run of the game. Carlos Martinez brought Christensen home with a sacrifice fly to give the Tourists a 2-0 lead. The Drive got one back in the top of the fourth, scoring an unearned run when Jordan Pacheco threw high to first base on a grounder, allowing Anthony Rizzo to get to second base. Rizzo would come in on an RBI groundout by Almanzar to cut the Tourists lead to 2-1. Asheville pulled away in the bottom of the fourth with three more big runs. Tyler Massey drove in Peisel with a groundout, his second run of the night, and Thomas Field singled in Christensen - also his second run of the contest. Scott Robinson added an RBI double off the wall in left field, bringing Carlos Martinez home and increasing the Asheville lead to 5-1. David Christensen would bring in another run with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, recording his third hit of the night and making the lead 6-1. Alan DeRatt came on to relieve starter Dan Houston in the fifth inning, and DeRatt allowed a run on three hits over 2.1 innings of work. Michael Marbry, the newest addition to the Asheville bullpen would close things out for the Tourists. Marbry didn't arrive at the ballpark until just before game time, but with the Tourists' bullpen overworked, he saw action right away. Marbry was sharp, earning the victory by working 2.2 innings of shutout ball. He allowed just two hits and struck out two more to earn his first win of the year. The Tourists (7-10) will close out this two-game series with the Drive (10-7) Sunday afternoon at 2:05 at McCormick Field with RHP Ethan Hollingsworth (0-1, 3.27) looking for his first win of the year against Greenville RHP Bryan Price (1-0, 1.13). Sunday afternoon is the first Lance Family Sunday of the season at McCormick Field, featuring postgame autographs and kids run the bases. Tickets for tomorrow's game and all Tourists home games are available by contacting the Tourists box office at (828) 258-0428. You can also listen to all 140 Asheville Tourists games live on 100.7 WRES FM or streaming online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Asheville Tourists Route Grasshoppers9:10 PM
GREENSBORO, NC - Asheville (6-8) placed six runs in the first inning on Wednesday and held on for a 9-6 win over Greensboro (7-7). The Tourists mounted 13 hits including homeruns from Tyler Massey and Jordan Pacheco in the victory. Robison Fabian (1-0) picked up the win in his third start of the season allowing just two hits on the day.
There was no sluggish morning for the Asheville offense in a 10:45 AM start time at New Bridge Bank Ballpark. Greensboro starting pitcher Brad Hand (0-2) walked Scott Robinson and Erik Wetzel to begin the ballgame. Jimmy Cesario, with one of his four hits on the day, then singled to leftfield driving in Robinson. Jordan Pacheco was hit by a pitch to load the bases and David Christensen delivered a bases -clearing triple to give the Tourists a 4-0 lead. Asheville would plate two more on a solo homerun from Tyler Massey and a sacrifice fly from Scott Robinson. Asheville sent 11 batters to the plate with four hits and six runs in the first inning. Greensboro countered in the bottom of the first with two runs off Robinson Fabian. After consecutive walks to begin the inning Ben Lasater hit his eighth double of the season to score one. Kyle Skipworth added a sacrifice fly making it a 6-2 game after just one inning. The Tourists would come right back and chase Brad Hand from the game. Jordan Pacheco smacked his third homer of the season in the second inning and Asheville put up two more in the third. James Sims led off with an infield single and would move around to third on a stolen base and error. Sims would score on a wild pitch. Erik Wetzel followed up with a walk and stolen base and was brought home on the third single of the game by Jimy Cesario. Wetzel walked twice and scored twice and has now walked six times in his three games since joining Asheville on Monday. Robinson Fabian earned the win tossing 5 1/3 innings. Fabian left in the sixth and was relieved by Tyler Trice with two runners on. Fabian walked four and struck out one but allowed just two hits. Kyle Skipworth singled off Trice and a run scored on a throwing error from Massey in left field. A groundball out from Justin Jacobs pulled Greensboro to within 9-6. Isaiah Fronberger pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Adam Jorgensen earned his fist save of the season with two strikeouts in the ninth. Game three of the series will be on Thursday at 7:05. Parker Frazier (0-2, 5.56) will take the ball looking for his first win of the season. RHP Kyle Kaminska (1-1, 7.20) will be on the mound for Greensboro. The two teams have split the first six of twelve games in the season series. Thursday's game can be heard on 100.7 FM WRES Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Friday, April 17, 2009 Asheville Tourists Open Season12:20 PM ASHEVILLE, NC - The Tourists welcomed the Greensboro Grasshoppers to open McCormick Field for the 2009 season and came up just inches shy of a thrilling victory. Asheville starter Dan Houston struggled, but kept his team in the game, allowing four runs on five hits over three innings, while striking out two. Greensboro starter Jose Rosario was in top form, however, holding the Tourists to three runs on six hits over five innings of work. In the end, UNC - Asheville product Kevin Mattison, patrolling center field for the Grasshoppers, had to make a leaping catch up against the center field wall to rob Bo Bowman of a walkoff homerun.The Grasshoppers wasted little time, plating two runs in their first turn at bat. Kevin Mattison led the game off with a walk and promptly stole second base. He came in to score on a double by third baseman Paul Gran, giving Greensboro the early lead. Gran would come around to score on a groundout by Ben Lasater, making the score 2-0 Grasshoppers. Greensboro would increase their lead to 4-0 in the top of the third inning. Mattison got things going again, this time with a leadoff single. After a single by Gran, Mattison would come in to score on a groundout by Ben Lasater, making the score 3-0 Greensboro. Kyle Skipworth then plated Gran with a base hit of his own, pushing the lead to four. The Tourists got one back in a wild bottom of the third inning. After Carlos Martinez struck out to begin the inning, Scott Robinson reached on a bunt single down the third base line. Maikol Gonzalez was hit by pitch, and Jordan Pacheco followed with a walk to load the bases. Jimmy Cesario hit a sharp ground ball toward shortstop which deflected off the foot of the baserunner Gonzalez. Gonzalez was ruled out on the play, and Cesario was awarded first base, so the bases remained loaded with two outs. Tyler Massey stepped in and hit a grounder up the middle that was fielded nicely by Greensboro shortstop Joel Staples. Staples elected to go to second on the play, but Cesario beat the ball to the bag, allowing Robinson to score and cut the lead to 4-1. The score held there until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Scott Robinson led off with a double and came around to score his second run of the contest. Tyler Massey drove in his second Tourists run, plating Jimmy Cesario on a single to center field, drawing Asheville to within 4-3. The Grasshoppers came right back against relief pitcher Isaiah Froneberger. The lefty did not have his best command, and some sloppy defense behind him didn't help the Tourists. Greensboro was able to push across three runs, while collecting just one walk and two hits, thanks to two costly errors by the Asheville defense. Throwing errors by David Christensen and Jimmy Cesario helped the Grasshoppers build a 7-3 lead. Scott Robinson was able to get on base and score his third run of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, cutting the lead to 7-4 Greensboro. It stayed that while until the bottom of the ninth inning. Scott Robinson stayed hot, roping a double down the right field line to lead things off. Robinson advanced to second on a wild pitch before Maikol Gonzalez struck out. Jordan Pacheco worked an 0-2 count to get a pitch he liked, then stroked a single into center field, scoring Robinson for his fourth run of the night. With Pacheco and Jimmy Cesario on base, Tyler Massey struck out for the second out of the inning, before Bo Bowman drove one all the way to the wall in center field for a loud final out of the game. The Tourists will play the second and third of a four-game series in a doubleheader Wednesday, beginning at 5:35 pm. Tourists RHP Ethan Hollingsworth (0-0, 0.00) will face off against Greensboro RHP Johnny Dorn (0-0, 9.00) in game one. Game two will feature a matchup between Asheville RHP Jonnathan Aristil (0-1, 5.40) and Grasshoppers RHP Stuart Alexander (1-0, 3.00). Tickets for all 2009 Tourists home games are on sale now. For more information about season tickets, mini-plans and all premium seating at McCormick Field, contact the Tourists front office at (828) 258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Thursday, April 9, 2009 Capital Bank Brings Mega Money Mondays to Asheville Tourists’ Fans1:37 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - Starting Monday, April 13, Capital Bank will hand out cash to fans during Mega Money Mondays at every Asheville Tourists Monday night home game this season, The first 750 adults through the gate receive an envelope containing between $1 and $100 in cash. There are also prizes in some of the envelopes, including Tourists tickets.
On top of that, should the Asheville starting pitcher throw a perfect game on a Monday home game, every fan in attendance at the contest will divide $1,000,000, courtesy of Capital Bank. “This is our opportunity to bring even more excitement to an already fun night out at McCormick Field,” said Al Davis, senior vice president and western region executive. “We know every bit of extra cash helps and we’re proud to support the fans and the Tourists team with the much anticipated Mega Money Mondays.” Fans are also encouraged to stop by one of Capital Bank’s four Asheville-area locations to sign up to win the Family VIP Experience which includes four VIP tickets to each Monday home game, along with food and drinks in the clubhouse luxury box, the opportunity to throw out the first pitch, a souvenir photo with Teddy Tourist, VIP parking pass and a Tourists gift bag. A winner will be chosen each Friday before the next Monday game. Capital Bank’s Mega Mondays are April 13 (opening night), April 20, May 11, May 18, June 15, July 6 and July 27. “It's understandable why few promotions have generated more anticipation and created more positive response from the Tourists' fans since the team announced Capital Bank’s promotion in March,” said Chris Smith, the Tourists assistant general manager and community liaison. “Capital Bank has been a great sponsor for the last few years of the Tourists and this time they have gone above and beyond in generating enthusiasm at the ballpark.” Capital Bank Asheville locations are 1310 Hendersonville Road., 918 Merrimon Avenue, 462 New Leicester Highway and 11 North Market Street. Labels: asheville, banks, baseball, sports, tourists Monday, March 30, 2009 Asheville Tourists Begin 2009 Season12:58 PM
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists will be kicking off their season on April 7th at "Fan Fest" with an exhibition game against Blue Ridge Community College. The festivities will begin at 4:00 p.m. at McCormick Field and it marks the first chance to see the team in action, get autographs and take advantage of ticket and merchandise specials.
Season ticket holders and sponsors are invited to take part in an exclusive Tourists meet-and-greet cocktail hour catered by Zaxby's. The festivities will end with an exhibition game beginning at 7:05 p.m. and it will double as a fund raiser for Blue Ridge Community College athletics. Fan Fest and the exhibition game are free to everyone and fans are encouraged to make a donation to the BRCC athletic association. Any donation of $5 or more will be rewarded with two Tourists general admission tickets to a future game at McCormick Field. "Fan Fest is something that we always look forward to," Director of Broadcasting Jay Burnham stated. "The team comes into town and the fans can take advantage of ticket discounts and giveaways." Some of the Fan Fest festivities include: inflatable concourse games, $1 popcorn, soda and hotdogs along with a chance to win various prizes throughout the game. Ted E. Tourist will be out to celebrate the event and tickets for any box or general admission seat for future games can be purchased for $5. Some restrictions do apply. Fan Fest will begin at 4:00 p.m. with the exhibition game taking place at 7:05 p.m. The team is scheduled to take batting practice on the revamped field from 4:15-5:00 p.m. with autographs to follow. The season ticket holder meet-and-greet cocktail hour will be held in the clubhouse from 5:30-6:30 p.m. "This is an event that is dedicated to our fans," Assistant General Manager Jodee Ciszewski. "It commemorates our season beginning and offers a chance to come out and get a feel for baseball and family fun." The Tourists players are sent to Asheville by their Major League affiliate the Colorado Rockies. It is uncertain which players will be suiting up for the team until Spring Training ends and the players actually arrive in Asheville. The Tourists regular season home schedule begins at 7:05 on Monday, April 13th. The team opens up on the road in Kannapolis on April 9th. Each game this season can be heard on 100.7 FM WRES or online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Monday, March 23, 2009 UNCA Bulldogs Take Series Finale 9-4 at VMI6:00 AM
LEXINGTON, Va.—Beau Zinman hit a two-run home run and Ryan Dull picked up his first victory of the season as UNC Asheville defeated VMI, 9-4, Sunday afternoon in the final game of a three game series.
Dull earned his first collegiate victory throwing six innings, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out five Keydets. Grier Harrington pitched the final three innings allowing one run on four hits for his first career save. The victory snaps a nine-game losing streak for the Bulldogs who move to 4-17 overall and 2-6 in Big South play. VMI suffers its first conference loss falling to 10-11 overall and 4-1 in the conference. Both teams scored single runs in the second inning. Walks to Derrick Hopkins and Mike Vaughn got the Asheville half of the inning started. Jonny Eaker singled home Hopkins to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the series. VMI tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Sam Roberts doubled to lead off and scored on a RBI single by Jacob Morley. The Keydets took the lead in the fourth inning on a triple by Alex Haitsuka that scored Justin Topping from first base. The Bulldogs took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the fifth. Eaker reached on a throwing error to begin the rally. Danny Baatz singled through the left side to put runners at first and second with one out. Kevin Weidenbacher, who had two hits in the game, doubled home both runners to put Asheville up 3-2. After a ground out, Zinman connected on his third home run of the year to make the score 5-2. In the sixth, Austin Graham led off with a double and scored an unearned run on a VMI throwing error that allowed Eaker to reach base. Asheville plated three more unearned runs in the seventh. Weidenbacher reached on an error to start the inning and moved to second base. After a sacrifice bunt moved him to third base, Zinman laid down a squeeze bunt to score Weidenbacher. Reed Kreiser was hit by a pitch and Graham picked up his second hit of the game. Vaughn came through with a two-RBI double to move the score to 9-3. VMI scored the final run of the game on a bases loaded walk to Toppings that pushed across A.J. Yoder. Harrington then struck out Haitsuka to end the inning. Jeremy Brown took the loss for the Keydets dropping to 1-4. He went five innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits. Asheville returns to action on Tuesday as it travels to East Tennessee State for a 7 p.m. game. Labels: baseball, Bulldogs, sports, UNCA
Asheville Baseball Program for Disabled Children6:00 AM ASHEVILLE, NC - Asheville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts presents the “Ted E. Tourists” adapted baseball program for boys and girls ages 6-18, in partnership with the Asheville Tourists. The program is for youth with or without a disability that limits their ability to play at the Little League level. This is a non-competitive baseball program that modifies the rules to make the game accessible and fun for all players while teaching basic baseball skills. Meet at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, on Martin Luther King Drive, every Saturday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., April 18-June 6. Cost is $25 for Asheville residents or $30 for non-residents and includes instruction, uniform, and trophy. Parents and guardians are welcome to participate.Registration will be held at the West Asheville Recreation Center, 970 Haywood Rd. on Saturday, March 28 and April 4, from 1-4 pm, and on Friday, April 3, from 6-8 pm. The program is also seeking coaches, volunteers, and sponsors to assist in creating an accessible opportunity for youth to enjoy the game of baseball. For more information, registration, and eligibility requirements, contact Randy Shaw at 828- 251-4031 Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, tourists Monday, March 16, 2009 Coastal Carolina Holds Off UNC Asheville 9-49:05 AM
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - #12 Coastal Carolina got four hits and three RBIs from David Anderson as the Chanticleers held off UNC Asheville 9-4 in Big South Conference baseball action Sunday evening at McCormick Field. The teams were scheduled to play a double-header on Sunday but rain in the morning in the Asheville area forced the teams to play just one game. The series will try and conclude on Monday with a double-header scheduled to start at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs (3-12, 1-3-0 BSC) battled Coastal Carolina (15-1, 1-0 BSC) on the day as they rallied from a 5-0 deficit to cut the lead to 5-4 with three runs in the sixth inning but the Chanticleer bullpen kept Asheville at bay the rest of the way. The Bulldogs were led at the plate by left-fielder Beau Zinman who went 3-for-4 with one run scored and a double. Carolina starter Cody Wheeler (3-0) picked up the win with five innings pitched. He scattered five hits, allowed one run, struck out four with no walks. T.J. Swank finished the game for the Chants and earned his first save with two scoreless innings of work. The Chanticleers struck for two runs in the first on a ground-out from Chance Gilmore and run-scoring single from Anderson. The visitors pushed across two runs in the fourth as a sacrifice fly from Daniel Bowman and run-scoring double from Taylor Motter to increase the lead to 4-0. Anderson singled in Gilmore in the fifth to pad the margin to 5-0. The Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Freshman Jordan Lurie's infield single plated Danny Baatz to narrow the lead to 5-1. Asheville made the game close with three unearned runs in the sixth. Reed Kreiser led off with a double and then went to third on Zinman's double to right field. CCU reliever Tom Winegardner got the next two outs and almost escaped from the jam but a throwing error by Motter at shortstop scored two runs to cut the lead to 5-3. A pinch-hit single from Derrick Hopkins got the Dogs even closer at 5-4. Gilmore got a run back in the seventh with a sacrifice fly to get the lead to 6-4. The Chanticleers sealed the victory in the ninth with three insurance runs. Anderson's infield single padded the lead to 7-4. Adam Rice then delivered a two-run double to increase the lead to 9-4. Labels: asheville, baseball, Bulldogs, sports, UNCA Wednesday, March 11, 2009 UNCA Baseball Falls to No. 20 East Carolina, 4-27:41 AM
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Jared Avchen's two-out two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning gave No. 20 East Carolina a 4-2 win over UNC Asheville Tuesday afternoon at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the win ECU improves to 9-2, while UNC Asheville drops to 3-10. With the score tied at two in the eighth, the Pirates put together three consecutive hits which was capped off by Avchen's double down the left field line that plated Drew Schieber and Dustin Harrington for a 4-2 advantage. Schieber laced a two-out single to left, which was followed by Harrington's second hit of the game, a single to center setting up Avchen's at-bat. Brad Mincey picked his third win in relief working two innings of shutout ball with two strikeouts. Starter Mike Anderson went six innings allowing two runs on five hits and fanned a career-high six batters. Seth Simmons closed the game by notching his second save of the season and fourth of his career setting the Bulldogs down in order and recording two strikeouts. Ryan Dull (0-3) suffered the loss for UNC Asheville allowing two runs on four hits with a walk and strikeout in two innings of relief. Michael Bogaert went three innings, gave up one run on three hits with a pair of punch outs in the start. Bridging the gap between Bogaert and Dull was Grier Harrington, who surrendered one run on three hits with two strikeouts. Beau Zinman gave the Bulldogs and early 1-0 lead in the second when he took a 2-0 offering from Anderson out to left field for his first home run of the season. The Bulldogs extended its to 2-0 when Kevin Weidenbacher drove in Cody Buch with an RBI single up the middle in the fourth frame. Buch reached base when he stroked a two-out double down the left field line. ECU finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on Brandon Henderson's sac fly to center that pulled the Pirates within one, 2-1. Stephen Batts, who extended his hit streak to 13 games, led off the inning with a double to left-center then swiped his seventh base of the season when he took third. The Pirates knotted the game at two on Ryan Wood's sac fly in the seventh. Harrington led off the frame with a single up the middle then moved to second on Avchen's sac bunt. Devin Harris recorded his second base knock of the game pushing Harrington over to third, putting runners at the corner before Trent Whitehead loaded the bases on a free pass. Both teams will be back in action tomorrow to conclude the two-game series with a first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m Labels: asheville, baseball, Bulldogs, sports, UNCA Thursday, March 5, 2009 Asheville Tourists Announce Single Game Ticket Sales6:00 AM
Asheville, NC - With Spring Training in full swing, the Asheville Tourists are thinking baseball more than ever right now and that means tickets, tickets and tickets! Single-game tickets will be open to the public on March 21st, just 23 days before the home opener at McCormick field. Tickets to any or all of the 2009 home schedule, except July 4th and 5th, will be available at 10:00 a.m. through the box office or by calling the Tourists front office. Tickets to three of the five fireworks shows presented by Asheville Savings Bank will be available, with July 4th and 5th tickets open for purchase on May 4th. Some of the bigger nights this season will include:
The Asheville Tourists are the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Tickets are available by contacting the front office at (828) 258-0428 or on the website, www.theashevilletourists.com. Labels: asheville, baseball, tourists Friday, February 27, 2009 Big Inning Lifts UNC Asheville over Central Michigan 12-411:55 PM
ASHEVILLE, N.C.—UNC Asheville had six straight two-out hits in a seven run third inning to record a 12-4 victory over Central Michigan Friday afternoon at Greenwood Field.
The Bulldogs scored 11 unanswered runs after falling behind 1-0 to record their first win of 2009 and improve to 1-5. Central Michigan falls to 2-3. Billy Anderson led off the game with a solo home run to right-field to give the Chippewas a 1-0 lead. It was the first home run of the season for Central Michigan. Asheville tied the game with an unearned run in the second inning. Beau Zinman led off with a single and then moved to third base on a two-out hit by Austin Graham. Graham stole base. The throw to second got away and Zinman was able to score from third. Kevin Weidenbacher had a one out double in the third. Justin Schumer had a two out walk to put runners at first and second. Zinman singled to third base. Tom Howard made a diving stop to momentarily save a run. Mike Vaughn singled to score Weidenbacher and Schumer making the score 3-1. Cody Buch, Graham, both had RBI singles in front of a two-RBI triple by Danny Baatz. Catlin Carter singled to score Baatz and give Asheville an 8-1 lead. That was enough for starter Michael Bogaert (1-1) who threw six innings giving up one run on three hits. Bogaert struck out a season-high eight Chippewas. Steve Teno (0-2) lasted three inning giving up eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits. All eight Asheville runs were scored with two outs. The Bulldogs added three more in the sixth. Carter who went 3-for-5 in the game, doubled to lead off the inning. He moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Reed Kreiser single. Schumer followed with a double placing runner at second and third. Vaughn singled home Kreiser. Schumer came around to score on a throwing error to make the score 11-1. CMU got back on the board in the seventh. Back-to-back pinch hits by Nate Theunissen and a Tyler Kipke produced a run. In the bottom of the inning, Kreiser hit a sacrifice fly to score Carter who had single and moved to third on a base hit by Weidenbacher. In the eighth, CMU finished the scoring as Matt Faiman led off with a single. A wild pitch moved him to second base where he would score on a single by Reid Rooney. Rooney moved up to second on an error and moved to third on a ground out. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Harvey Martin allowed Rooney to score and bring the final to 12-4. Carter and Weidenbacher each had three hits for Asheville. Kreiser, Zinman, Vaughn, Buch, and Graham all had two hits as the Bulldogs pounded out a season-high 18 hits in the game. 10 of the Bulldogs 12 runs were scored with two outs. The two teams are scheduled to play a double-header at Greenwood Field on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. The first game will be broadcast on uncabulldogs.com Labels: asheville, baseball, Bulldogs, sports, UNCA
UNCA Bulldogs Host First Baseball Game of Season Today6:00 AM
ASHEVILLE, N.C.—The UNC Asheville baseball team will play at home for the first time this season as it opens a four-game series with Central Michigan at Greenwood Field. First pitch for Friday’s opener will be at 2 p.m. The game can be heard live on uncabulldogs.com.
The Bulldogs are happy to be playing at home after dropping their first five games on the road. Sophomore Catlin Carter was named to the Courtyard by Marriott Classic All-Tournament team as he hit .400 (6-for-15) last weekend against Virginia Tech, George Mason, and Wofford. Carter will bring a four-game hit streak into this weekend’s action. Senior Reed Kreiser hit the Bulldogs’ first home run of the season on Tuesday at Furman. Kreiser is leading the team with four RBI and a slugging percentage of 526. He has now hit a home run on Feb. 24 each of the last two seasons. Junior Justin Schumer is the third Bulldog hitting .300 or better. He is 6-for-20 on the season with a double and a RBI. Both Kreiser and Schumer have a hit in all five games this season. The Chippewas are 2-2 after splitting four games in Ft. Myers, Fla. The weekend was highlighted by a 16-9 victory over Wichita State. Senior left-hander Dan Taylor was named the Mid-America Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance against the Shockers. Freshman Rhett Goodmiller went 6-for-10 on the weekend with a double and drove in four runs. Red-shirt freshman Scott Phillion went 4-for-8 as CMU hit .320 as a team last weekend. CMU is averaging 11.25 runs per game over its first four games. The Bulldogs and Chippewas meet for the first time this weekend. Central Michigan went 29-27-1 last season and finished with a 13-13 record in the MAC. The Chippewas have finished either first or second in the Western Division of the MAC four out of the last five seasons. Scheduled starters for Friday’s opener have Michael Bogaert (0-1) pitching for UNC Asheville against Steve Teno (0-1) for CMU. The teams will play a double-header on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Ryan Dull (0-1) is scheduled to pitch against Devan Kline (0-0). In the second game on Saturday, Taylor Wohlwend (0-2) will face Dan Taylor (1-0). Only the first game on Saturday will be broadcast on uncabulldogs.com. Sunday’s pitching match-up has Schumer (0-1) throwing for Asheville against Rick Dodridge (0-1) for CMU. The series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will also be available on uncabulldogs.com.Labels: asheville, baseball, sports, UNCA Monday, February 9, 2009 Asheville Tourists Announce 2009 Broadcast Team2:20 PMASHEVILLE, NC - The Asheville Tourists have announced their radio Broadcast team for the 2009 season. Director of Broadcasting and play-by-play man Jay Burnham will return for his second season with Asheville and will be accompanied by Ben Levine from the Orioles organization. Burnham enters his seventh season in professional broadcasting and fourth within the South Atlantic League. Burnham began his career with the Hagerstown Suns and is a graduate of Elon University. The 27 year-old has spent time across the globe from Hawaii to Japan and now considers Asheville home. The Shelburne Falls, MA native guided the Tourists first full season on the airwaves with WRES FM 100.7, The Urban Sounds of Asheville. "It is truly an honor to be part of this team and this city" Burnham said from his perch at McCormick Field. "The 2008 season was truly one for the record books here in Asheville and I can't wait to see what the Rockies and (Joe) Mikulik have in store for this year." Joining Burnham and replacing last year's assistant broadcaster Eric Little will be Ben Levine from the University of Maryland. Little has sought out to find a director position within the industry thus opening the opportunity for Levine. "This is an outstanding opportunity for me to begin my career," Levine said through a phone interview. "My passion has always been sports and to be able to work in the city of Asheville just adds to my excitement for the 2009 season." Levine joins the Tourists after an internship with the Double-A Bowie Baysox in the Baltimore organization. The New Jersey native will provide color commentary during Asheville home games while also conduct several innings of play-by-play. Levine will assist in media relations and lend a hand in the Tourists web blog and daily comic strip as well. The crew will once again air on WRES FM 100.7 and online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Express Employment Professionals will be back as the title sponsor of the Tourists Radio Network. The team will start the 2009 season on the road in Kannapolis against the Intimidators before the home opener on April 13th against the Greensboro Grasshoppers. For more information about season tickets, mini-plans and all premium seating at McCormick Field, contact the Tourists front office at (828) 258-0428. Labels: asheville, baseball, tourists Previous Posts
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