JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The Bristol State Liners jumped out to an early lead Wednesday night but couldn’t hold on, falling 10-7 to the Elizabethton River Riders in a high-scoring battle.
Bristol struck first with three runs in the opening inning: Chris Patterson and Collin Dobson each singled, Patrick Gillen knocked them both in, and Jaxon Walker later drew a bases-loaded walk. A third-inning single by Brady Gray made it 4-0.
Elizabethton roared back in the fifth, scoring five runs behind a two-run triple, a sacrifice fly and a two-run homer to seize a 5–4 lead. The River Riders kept adding on, helped by Bristol errors. Back-to-back RBI doubles in the sixth and seventh innings stretched the lead to 10-4.
Bristol tried to rally late. Joe DuSell’s two-run double in the seventh cut the deficit, and Walker launched a solo homer in the ninth to bring it to 10-7, but the comeback ran out of steam.
The State Liners return to the field at 7 p.m. Thursday at Elizabethton, aiming to bounce back and tighten things up on defense after a game that saw several costly errors.
