Drive Stunned in 9th Inning Collapse, Lose 7-4 to Tourists

The Greenville Drive dropped the lead in the ninth, ending up on the losing side of a 7-4 comeback win for the Asheville Tourists. The Tourists improves to 20-52, while the Drive drops to 30-40.

Antonio Anderson broke through in the fourth with an RBI single, scoring the first run of the game. A sacrifice fly by Hudson White quickly grew the lead to two.

The Tourists answered in the fifth on a Zach Daudet single to cut the deficit to one, but the Drive responded in the sixth with back-to-back home runs from Ronny Hernandez and Anderson to push the lead to 4-1.

Kyson Witherspoon took the start in Game 5 and delivered six dominant innings. He allowed just one run and one walk while striking out five, bringing his team-leading total to 61 punchouts.

Calvin Bickerstaff took over on the mound. After a quiet seventh, he surrendered a home run to Caden Powell in the eighth, cutting Greenville's advantage to two and bringing Steven Brooks for the ninth.

Brooks found himself in a two-out, bases-loaded jam. A hit-by-pitch forced in a run to make it 4-3, and Asheville took full advantage, stealing the lead on a two-run double to deep right by Justin Thomas Jr. An RBI single from Powell capped off the scoring, sealing a 7-4 comeback victory for the Tourists.

Brooks' outing in the ninth resulted in him taking the loss, with Francisco Frias earning the win for Asheville with no runs and two strikeouts in his three innings on the mound.

Greenville ended with seven hits on the night. Hernandez went 1-for-2 tonight; his homer, two walks, and two runs scored. Anderson’s standout series continues tonight with another 2-for-3 performance at the plate, batting in two runners and collecting two hits, a run, and a walk. The Drive finished 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.

Asheville hit double digits with 10 hits in a 3-for-8 night with runners in scoring position and left four on base. The top of the lineup led the charge for the Tourists. Powell had a notable 3-for-4 showing with his homer, two RBIs, and one run. Thomas Jr., along with three RBIs, brought across one run in a 2-for-5 demonstration.

The Greenville Drive reaches the final stretch with game five tomorrow on Meme Retirement Night against the Asheville Tourists with first pitch at 6:45 PM. Fans can enjoy Saturdays on the District pregame, presented by Publix.