Heyman Homers Twice, Drive Power Past Tourists 10-2 in Series Opener

Heyman Homers Twice, Drive Power Past Tourists 10-2 in Series Opener

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Luke Heyman homered twice and drove in four runs, Yoeilin Cespedes added three hits and three RBIs, and the Greenville Drive used an early power surge to roll past the Asheville Tourists 10-2 on Tuesday night at Fluor Field at the West End.

Greenville (17-27) opened the six-game series with one of its most complete offensive performances of the season, collecting 12 hits, drawing seven walks and scoring in six of its eight offensive innings. The Drive hit four home runs, including three in the first three innings, to build a lead they never gave back against Asheville (9-36).

Cespedes put Greenville in front in the first inning with a two-run homer to left field, his 10th of the season. Enddy Azocar drew a one-out walk before Henry Godbout flied out, and Cespedes followed by driving a 1-0 pitch from Asheville starter Anthony Cruz over the wall to give the Drive a 2-0 lead.

Asheville answered in the second when Caden Powell homered to left-center off Tyler Uberstine, cutting the deficit to 2-1. But Greenville immediately got the run back in the bottom half, as Heyman led off the inning with a solo homer to left on an 0-2 pitch.

The Drive broke the game open in the third. Cespedes singled up the middle and moved to second on a passed ball before Gerardo Rodriguez singled through the left side to score him. Heyman followed with his second homer of the night, a two-run shot to left on a 2-2 pitch, extending Greenville’s lead to 6-1.

Asheville scored its second run in the fourth without an RBI. Alejandro Nunez singled, John Garcia followed with a single and both runners advanced on a double steal. A throwing error by Rodriguez allowed Nunez to score, but Dylan Brown limited the damage by striking out Freuddy Batista and getting Zach Daudet to fly out.

Greenville kept adding on from there. Godbout led off the fifth with a solo homer to left, his seventh of the season. Rodriguez doubled later in the inning, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Heyman’s sacrifice fly to make it 8-2.

The Drive added another run in the sixth when Freili Encarnacion was hit by a pitch, moved to third on Azocar’s forceout and scored on Godbout’s sacrifice fly. In the eighth, Azocar tripled to center and scored on Cespedes’ RBI single to left-center for Greenville’s final run.

Heyman finished 3-for-4 with two homers, four RBIs and two runs scored. Cespedes went 3-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs, while Rodriguez added two hits, a double, an RBI and two runs. Godbout drove in two runs, and Azocar reached twice, scored twice and recorded his first triple of the season.

The Greenville pitching staff matched the offense with a dominant night, combining for 17 strikeouts while holding Asheville to two runs, one earned, on seven hits.

Uberstine struck out four of the first five batters he faced, allowing only Powell’s solo homer in 1 1/3 innings. Danny Kirwin followed with two outs and one strikeout before Brown took over in the third.

Brown worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits and three walks while striking out nine. He stranded three runners in the third after walking the bases loaded, then settled in to keep Asheville off the board over his final three innings. Steven Brooks finished the game with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out three.

Asheville finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Powell led the Tourists with two hits, including his second home run of the season, while Nunez and Ethan Frey also recorded multi-hit games.

Cruz took the loss for Asheville after allowing six runs on five hits, three walks and three home runs over four innings. Eurys Martich allowed two runs in the fifth, while Jordan Carr and Francisco Frias covered the final 3 1/3 innings.

The Drive and Tourists continue their six-game series Wednesday at Fluor Field.