RiverDogs blanked by Tourists, suffer third straight loss

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Ben Alsup threw a one-hit shutout and Jordan Ribera had a homer and six RBIs for the Asheville Tourists as they rolled to a 6-0 win over the Charleston RiverDogs in South Atlantic League baseball Wednesday night at McCormick Field.

The RiverDogs (61-57, 22-29 second half) suffered their third straight loss.

Rivera broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with a two-run single off Corey Black (1-1), giving Asheville (76-46, 29-23) the early lead. He struck again in the fifth by lifting one over the right field wall for a two-run homer, his ninth of the year.

Two innings later, the Tourists loaded the bases on a single and a pair of walks, bringing up Ribera again. The first baseman smacked a single into left for two more runs to make it 6-0.

While Ribera provided the offense, Alsup (12-5) shut down Charleston. The right-hander started by retiring the first 17 batters in order before issuing a walk in the sixth.

The RiverDogs didn’t get their first hit until the seventh inning, when Ben Gamel singled with one out. Alsup allowed one more baserunner, walking Ali Castillo in the ninth, but retired the next two batters to close out a spectacular pitching performance.