Burgers Start Series With 3 Wins Against Tourists

After splitting with the Wilmington Blue Rocks this past week at Fifth Third Park, Hub City made another short road trip up to Asheville to take on the Tourists in the newly-renovated and renamed HomeTrust Park (formerly known as McCormick Field). The Tourists entered the week struggling as the last place team in the South Atlantic League South Division, not even having hit the double digit win mark on the season while Hub City (16-16) sat in 4th place behind the Rome Emperors.

One thing that did not change with the renovations to HomeTrust Park are its trademark shallow dimensions. The ballpark was built into a hillside in a residential area just outside of downtown Asheville and is older than Spartanburg’s historic Duncan Park, having opened in 1924.

The stadium, which once also housed a quarter mile stock car racing track that was used by the NASCAR cup series for a race back in 1958, is only 373 feet to center field, 326 to left, and 297 to right and features a right field fence that is taller than Fenway Park’s infamous Green Monster at 36 feet in height.

With such shallow dimensions, HomeTrust park has a reputation for being a hitters’ paradise. Which for a Spartanburgers’ offense that has been up and down lately was a welcome confidence booster.

The series began on Tuesday night, and it did not take long for the offense to start piling on runs. In the top of the 2nd, Gleider Figuereo started the scoring with a leadoff solo homer to right field. With one out, Luke Hanson collected the first of a team-high 5 RBIs on the night with a three run blast. The line kept on moving with one out as Rafe Perich would cap the 6-spot with a 2 run shot.

Asheville countered in the bottom half of the frame with a one out two-run homer of their own, but heading to the 2nd, the Burgers stayed in the “slam zone” (up by at least a grand slam).

Speaking of grand slams, the next big blow  came on one from Malcolm Moore in the top of the third. That came after Yeison Morrobel led off with a single, advanced on an errant pickoff throw, and came home to score on an error charged to the 2nd baseman that allowed Carter Garate to reach. All of that made for an 11-2 edge for Hub City.

Once again, the Tourists answered in the ensuing half inning, plating 2 on a double that followed a leadoff walk and another 2 bagger. But, Hub City got them back in the 4th on a 2 RBI double of their own — this one from Hanson with 2 out. That would be all the offense for the Burgers the rest of the way, but Asheville made it interesting, rallying back from  what would be a 13-5 deficit through 6 innings.

Hub City starter Aidan Curry tossed 4 complete, surrendering 4 earned runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. He gave way to Luke Savage, who in spite of some struggles with command of late, gave up just one run on 2 hits, more impressively walking just one while striking out 2, which earned him the win in relief. After Kai Wynyard struck out 2 in a scoreless inning and third, and Cole Roland — a newcomer who was recently purchased from the Indy Leagues’ Hagerstown Flying Boxcars — hung a goose egg with a K and a hit in his minor league debut, things went south on Mailon Felix.

Felix went just a third of an inning after coming on to start the 9th, gave up 5 runs on 4 hits, walking one with no strikeouts. He was replaced by Cole Stasio, who made it a 6 spot for Asheville by giving up a solo blast before getting the last two outs to help the Burgers hang on for a 13-11 victory.

Of note, the four home runs in the contest tied a franchise single-game high and the three long balls in the 2nd inning marked the first such instance in club history.

It was a short turnaround for game 2, with first pitch coming at 11:05 AM. The Tourists drew the first blood, cashing in a leadoff double off Enrique Segura and a wild pitch with an RBI sac fly in the bottom of the first.

Hub City responded in the top of the 2nd with 2 out and men on the corners when Chandler Pollard lifted a fly ball to the left center gap. The Center fielder dove for it and missed, tangling legs with the converging left fielder for what would lead to a three run inside the park homer — the second in the Spartanburgers’ history (the first was hit by Rafe Perich last season, oddly enough also in Asheville).

Neither team would touch the plate again until the top of the 7th when Quincy Scott lifted a leadoff solo shot over the tall fence in right. The deluge of home runs for tge BUrger bats through the first 2 games of the series continued with two more solo blasts in the 8th — one from Antonis Macias and the other from Morrobel, giving Hub City a 6-1 lead they took into the ninth inning.

But once again, Asheville was able to mount a last-inning push. After 4 and a third of 2-hit, one run ball with 2 walks and three strikeouts from Segura, Anthony Susac closed the 5th and tossed a complete 6th. He earned the win in the end, having goose egged the Tourists with no walks, a K, and just one hit. Joey Danielson held the lead through another inning and two thirds despite three walks and a hit. But, Jesús Gamez had some trouble in the ninth.

He gave up a leadoff single and a 1 out walk. A double steal and an errant throw from Ben Hartl scored the lead runner from third, and the next two batters were walked to load the bases. A wild pitch brought in a 2nd run in the frame and advanced all hands 90 feet, setting up an RBI groundout that cut the Burgers’ lead to 2, but Gamez got the next man swinging to end the game and earn a save in what was originally not a save situation.

After building a big lead in the first 2 games of the series and having to stave off late comeback attempts, it was Hub City that would have to rally from behind in the third game.

Asheville right hander Cole Hertzler kept the Burgers hitless with a perfect game through the first three innings. On the other hand, Hub City starter J’Briell Easley gave up four earned runs over those same three frames — all coming on two homers from Tourists catcher Jason Schiavone.

The Spartanburgers finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the 4th on a sacrifice fly from Paxton Kling with one out, scoring Maxton Martin that followed back to back singles to start the frame from Martin and Rafe Perich. That would be the first of 18 unanswered runs for Hub City.

After Malcolm Moore doubled in a 2nd run with two out in the fifth, the Burgers took the lead in the top of the 6th on a three run homer from Luke Hanson. That would be the first of two long balls— the latter of which was a grand slam in the top of the 9th, that played into Hanson’s record 9 RBIs on a 3-6 night at the dish.

Ultimately, Hub City put Beer City away in the 7th, when they sent 13 to the dish, hanging an 8-spot on just as many hits in the frame to take a commanding 13-4 lead. Brock Porter hung a goose egg with 4 strikeouts, a walk, and 1 hit over 4 innings in relief, earning him the win while Cole Roland and Kai Wynyard tossed a scoreless frame each in an 18-4 win to secure at least a split in the series.

The Burgers will go for another 4 game win streak and a series win on Friday night at 6:35 PM as Joe Adametz (2-2, 4.50 ERA) faces off against right hander Parker Smith (1-2, 8.44).