The Asheboro ZooKeepers brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth on Friday night against the High Point-Thomasville HiToms at McCrary Park but the Zooks ultimately fell 5-1. 

Asheboro loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth before Dallas Callahan struck out in a marathon 10-pitch at-bat with two outs to end the game. The Zooks also had the bases loaded in the seventh but failed to score. 

Zooks starter Ethan Snyder hurled two scoreless innings to start the game before the HiToms put up two runs in both the third and fourth innings to go ahead 4-0. Snyder went five innings and threw 10 strikeouts, the most in a game for any ZooKeepers pitcher this season.

Jared Beebe drove in Asheboro’s lone run of the night in the bottom of the sixth. The HiToms added their insurance run in the top of the eighth. 

The Zooks return to McCrary Park on Saturday for a game against the Holly Springs Salamanders. It will be Asheboro’s Christmas in July game and will also be a sponsor night for the North Carolina Zoo and North Carolina Tourism. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Written by Jacob Kisamore