Courtesy Hagerstown Suns
HAGERSTOWN, MD – The Hagerstown Suns (2-3, 87-53) closed their 2014 season by falling to the Asheville Tourists (3-2, 89-49) by a final of 4-1 in game five of the best-of-five South Atlantic League Championship Series on Saturday night. It is the second year in a row the Suns have lost in the South Atlantic League Championship Series.
The Tourists wasted no time going ahead on Saturday, as they took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Third baseman Ryan McMahon drew a two-out walk, and he advanced to second on a throwing error by RHP Nick Pivetta (0-2). McMahon scored from second on a line drive single to right by 1B Correlle Prime.
The Asheville lead grew to two in the third. With one out DH Raimel Tapia sent a ball out of the park over the center field wall for his first homerun of the postseason, making it 2-0 Tourists. The lead doubled in the fourth thanks to a two-out, two-run double by 2B Zach Osborne, which brought Prime home from second and catcher Jose Briceno home from first. That made it 4-0 Asheville after three and a half innings.
The lead remained at 4-0 until the eighth, when Hagerstown picked up its only run. Center fielder Rafael Bautista reached first on a fielding error by McMahon. Second baseman Wilmer Difo then singled to right, pushing Bautista to third. Bautista scored from third on a groundout to short by LF Narciso Mesa, setting the final score at 4-1.
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