Catching Up With The Tourists

It has been a while since I have had a chance to blog about the Asheville Tourists so I have some serious catching up to do. The Tourists stand at 18-13 but a recent winning streak of 11 out of 12 games has brought the Tourists to within 1 1/2 games of the first place Savannah Sand Gnats in the South Atlantic league's Southern Division. They defeated the Augusta Green Jackets last night 9-3 with a 7 run top of thee first inning and staff ace David Butler on the mound, all the Tourists had to do was hang on. Butler only allowed one hit in six innings, striking out 5 but also walking 5. He can really light up the radar gun, topping out at a reported 100 MPH, but he is alos battling a few control issues at times. He has a 3-1 record, 1.76 ERA, with 41 innings pitched, 38 K's, and 22 bases on balls. Even with all of the walks, Butler is sporting a 0.98 WHIP. Offensively the Tourists are being led by Catcher Tom Murphy. He is leading the Tourists in all of the Triple Crown categories with a .415 Batting Average, 7 Homeruns, and 23 Runs Batted In. Shortstop Rosell Herrera is not far behind with a .362 Batting Average, 6 Homeruns, and 20 Runs Batted In. The Tourists return home for another Thirsty Thursday on May 9th to take on the Kannapolis Intimidators. I was able to attend the rained out first Thirsty Thursday of the season and hopefully I can make tomorrow's game.