Miraculous: A Third Walkoff Win in Nine Games at HomeTrust Park

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — There are games you remember. Then there are games like Friday night.

Nehomar Ochoa Jr. singled up the middle in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the Bowling Green Hot Rods 10-9, capping one of the most improbable comebacks in recent HomeTrust Park memory. It was the third walkoff win in the last nine home games for the Tourists, and it came after a ninth inning that no one in the building will forget anytime soon.

But before any of that, this looked like a pitcher's duel.

Parker Smith was at his best, retiring the first ten batters of the game and finishing with six innings of two-run ball. On the other side, Jacob Kisting, the reigning South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week, was equally dominant, striking out a season-high twelve batters across 5.2 innings.

The game stayed scoreless until the fourth. Justin Thomas Jr. was on third when Kisting uncorked a wild pitch, and Thomas scored standing up. Bowling Green manager Rafael Valenzuela came out to argue interference at first base on the play and was ejected. Cesar Hernandez followed with an RBI double to make it 2-0 Asheville.

The Hot Rods answered in the fifth. Tony Santa Maria singled to left to get Bowling Green on the board, and with the bases loaded Smith walked Theo Gillen to tie the game at two. Kyle Walker responded immediately, rocketing an RBI single and trying to stretch it into a double. He was thrown out at second but the run scored. 3-2 Tourists. Alejandro Nunez added an insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth. 4-2.

Bryce Collins came on in the seventh and put traffic on the bases. Gillen cleared them all with a double to tie the game at four. Then came the bottom of the seventh.

Jack Moss led off with a walk. Up came Keduar Trujillo, who had played sparingly since joining Asheville. He flared a ball to right-center that cleared the wall by a matter of inches. Trujillo exploded around the bases for his first home run of the season. 6-4 Asheville. Hernandez added a solo shot in the eighth, his first home run since returning from the IL, to push it to 7-4.

Then came the ninth.

Colby Langford entered in a save situation and was cruising, striking out Gillen and Bodine to get Bowling Green to its final strike multiple times. Then Nathan Flewelling tripled, the second triple of the night at HomeTrust Park, following an earlier Narciso Polanco three-bagger, both an oddity at the ballpark. Aiden Smith followed with a two-run home run to right-center on a 1-2 count. 7-6. Still, Langford just needed one out.

He didn't get it. A Polanco double, back to back walks, and Marshall Toole roped a double deep down the right field line. The first two runners scored easily. The third came down to a play at the plate. 6-foot-5, 230-pound Ryan McCoy barreled into catcher Trujillo. McCoy's knee caught Trujillo square in the chin. The ball came loose. McCoy was safe. The bases-clearing double made it 9-7 Bowling Green. Trujillo, in visible pain, was helped off the field by the training staff. Asheville manager Nate Shaver came out to argue the safe call. He was tossed. Both managers were ejected by home plate umpire Brandon Smith. John Garcia came in to catch on what was supposed to be his day off.

Langford's final line was ugly. Two-thirds of an inning, five runs, four hits, and two walks. Francisco Frias struck out the only batter he faced to end the inning.

Down two runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Tourists faced Junior William for the second time this series. William had blown a save Tuesday in Asheville's 9-8 win and had walked four batters in the series without a single strikeout. A jarring reversal for a closer who had struck out 15 in his five previous appearances.

Garcia stepped in cold off the bench, having just finished helping Trujillo off the field, and drew a walk on a triple-digit fastball.

Then came Reylin Perez.

This had not been his season. He was hitting .098 on the year. He had been moved eight times across four levels of the Astros system. He was 1-for-18 this month including time in the Florida Complex League. He had just one home run in 259 minor league at bats. None of that mattered when William fired a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and Perez crushed it off the video board in left-center. His second career home run. The game was tied at nine. HomeTrust Park lost its mind.

Walker drew a four-pitch walk to follow. Thomas Jr. drilled one deep to right that kissed off the top of the wall and missed a home run by inches, pushing Walker to third and Thomas Jr. to second with nobody out.

Then Ochoa Jr. stepped. Up to that point he had a “Golden Sombrero,” 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He took a deep breath, singled up the middle, and it was all over.

Thomas Jr. finished 3-for-5 on the night. Nunez went 2-for-4 to record his ninth multi-hit game of June, creeping toward a .400 average on the month. And Perez, the most unlikely hero of the night, will remember that moment forever.

The second half is underway. Asheville is 1-0. Bowling Green is 0-1. The fans were treated to a fireworks show after the game, but the fireworks on the field were just as good.

Nolan Devos takes the ball for Asheville on Saturday against Bowling Green's Dominic Niman. Gates open at 4:30 for a jersey giveaway. The first 1,200 fans receive a Jade alternate jersey sponsored by Dave's Steel Company. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.