Wild finish lifts Asheville over Rome on Opening Day

ROME, Ga. - The Asheville Tourists kicked off the 2026 season on the road against the Rome Emperors on Thursday night at AdventHealth Stadium.

Both teams displayed tremendous pitching until the latter stage, but the Tourists (1-0) had the upper hand in their 4-3 victory over the Emperors (0-1).

Asheville starter Cole Hertzler struck out four during his first four innings on the hill. He faced two batters in the fifth, adding one more whiff and a groundout to his card, before being pulled out of the game.

Eurys Martich polished off the frame, but it was Andrew Taylor (W, 1-0) to come out of the bullpen to start the sixth and pitch the next three innings.

Damage came late, as one crack of the bat in the eighth inning put the Tourists in trouble. Trailing 1-0 with two runners on base and two outs, John Gil deposited a ball over the left field wall to score all three runs of the night for Rome.

The Tourists showed resilience and rallied on offense with their final chance. Scoring the tying runs, Alejandro Nunez roped a two-RBI double to left field off Logan Samuels (L, 0-1). After a pitching change, Jason Schiavone delivered the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly.

Finishing the ninth, Colby Langford (S, 1) shut the door and sealed Asheville’s first win of the year.

Asheville and Rome will battle again tomorrow at 6:45 p.m. ET in Game 2 of the series.