PULASKI, Va. — The Bristol State Liners and Pulaski River Turtles split their two-game weekend series at Calfee Park, with both contests showcasing strong pitching and timely hitting.
Game 1 — Bristol 5, Pulaski 2
Bristol picked up its third straight win with a four-run rally in the ninth inning to take the opener on Saturday.
State Liners starting pitcher Beau Revord not only delivered on the mound but also at the plate, driving in the game’s first run with a single in the fourth inning.
Pulaski responded in the bottom half, with a pair of runs on a Carter Kelley RBI single and Ty Wisdom’s sixth double of the season, to take a 2-1 lead.
The score remained unchanged until the ninth, when Bristol capitalized on a late offensive surge. A bases-loaded walk to Brooks Wright tied the game, followed by Jaxon Walker’s RBI single — his first hit of the game — to give Bristol the lead. Drew Culbertson reached on a fielder’s choice and an error, scoring another run, and Joe Dusell added a sacrifice groundout for the final tally.
Revord allowed two runs on one hit across 3 2/3 innings. Porter Gobble followed with 2 1/3 scoreless frames, striking out two. David Hamilton earned the win with two clean innings in relief, and Charlie Atkinson recorded his league-leading seventh save of the season.
Pulaski’s Zach Kwasny pitched four strong innings, allowing one run. Reliever Zachary Moss struck out five in three shutout innings. Ryder Wagenknecht gave up one run in relief before Skylar Jones was charged with the loss and a blown save, surrendering three runs while recording just one out. Carlos Rosas closed out the inning for the River Turtles.
Game 2 — Pulaski 2, Bristol 1
The River Turtles bounced back Sunday, edging Bristol in another tightly contested, seven-inning game.
Jean-Carlos Garcia-Chicano gave the State Liners a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI groundout, but Pulaski responded in the bottom half with an RBI double from Lukas Buckner to even the score.
Ty Wisdom gave Pulaski the lead in the sixth with his second RBI double of the series.
Cooper Poe made his first start of the year for Bristol, giving up one run on two hits over three innings. Joe Dusell struck out four in two innings, and Adam Buczkowski (1-2) took the loss after allowing a run on two hits in the sixth.
Pulaski used four pitchers in the win. Daniel Hutchenson started and allowed one run over three innings with four strikeouts. Max Waldschmidt pitched a scoreless inning, Wanel Rubio earned the win with two strong innings and Justin Trucks closed the door with his first save of the season, striking out two in the seventh.
Pulaski will host Burlington on Tuesday and Wednesday, while Bristol travels to take on the Tri-State Coal Cats in a two-game road series.
