The Asheville Tourists took the field for their final game of 2015 last night, hopeful to to come from behind in the South Atlantic League Championship. They fell four games to one to the league champions, the Hickory Crawdads.
At the halfway point through the regular season after winning only 32 games, few thought that the tourists would find a place in the playoffs at all. But the tenacious team reversed their record for the second half of the season and wound up clinching the Southern Division pennant.
After a well earned break, the Tourists return to McCormick field again April 14, 2016 against the Rome Braves after starting the season on the road.
Full press release from Asheville Tourists Baseball:
The Asheville Tourists became the 13th team in the South Atlantic League that finished the 2015 season with a feeling of disappointment. On Thursday night at McCormick Field the Tourists season, along with the South Atlantic League season as a whole, came to an end. The last game: a 5-1 victory for the South Atlantic League Champions, the Hickory Crawdads.
The Tourists finished the regular season with a 72-67 overall record. First year manager Warren Schaeffer helped orchestrate the biggest second-half turnaround in the league. Asheville went 40-29 after the All-Star Break. The strong second half allowed the Tourists to edge out the Greenville Drive for the second playoff spot from the Southern division. Asheville downed the Savannah Sand Gnats two games to one in round one of the playoffs. In doing so, the Tourists claimed their third Southern division pennant in the last four seasons.
The South Atlantic League finals were a struggle for the Tourists. Having to face the Northern division winners, the Hickory Crawdads, was a tough task. Asheville managed to score a total of four runs in three games against a brilliant Crawdads pitching staff. Hickory had enough offense in all three games to finish out the series with a three-game sweep.
In addition to the team accomplishment of representing the Southern division in the finals and recording the best turnaround from the two season halves, Asheville also had several individual accomplishments.
Shane Hoelscher won the SAL batting title with a .328 season batting average. He was named a post-season All-Star at third base. Omar Carrizales was named as a post-season All-Star in the outfield. The Maracay, Venezuela native finished the year with a .286 batting average and seven Home Runs. Dom Nunez ended up leading the Tourists in Home Runs with 13.
On the pitching side, Josh Michalec highlighted Asheville’s bullpen by winning the SAL Relief Pitcher of the Year award. Michalec saved 30 games during the regular season to lead the league. He is only the third Tourists pitcher with at least 30 saves in the Colorado Rockies affiliation era. Starting pitcher Sam Howard finished with a team-high 11 wins and a league-high 122 strikeouts.
Twice during the regular season, the Tourists took a no-hitter into the ninth inning but were unable to complete the feat. On May 1 vs. Lexington, Asheville came within one out of a combined no-hitter while on August 20 at Rome;Helmis Rodriguez came within two outs of finishing off a no-hitter.
The South Atlantic Pitcher of the Week was award to a pair of Tourists pitchers during the season; Carlos Polanco(twice) and Zach Jemiola. Carrizales, Forrest Wall, and Roberto Ramos all won the South Atlantic League Player of the Week this year as well.
With the season now over, all of the players and coaches will now venture into their off-season routines and look to improve individually for next year. One thing is for sure, this Tourists team left a lasting impression on the fans, the league, and the city of Asheville. Congratulations to our 2015 South Atlantic League Runner-Up Asheville Tourists!
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