JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – After winning just one of its last seven games in regulation time, Burlington finally flexed the offensive muscle we had grown accustomed to in the first week of the league year, beating Johnson City, 14-5, on Saturday night.
Sockville threw the first punch. Designated hitter Brandon Novy blasted a 1-0 changeup over the left center field fence in the second inning. The home run gave Novy his fifth of the summer, tied atop the Appy League with Johnson City’s Gunner Skelton.
Burlington plated two more in the second. Shortstop Jack Beck scored on a wild pitch after reaching on a walk for the second run. To cap off the inning, left fielder Cuyler Baxter bounced out to score right fielder Devin Mitchell.
Cade Pilgrim had the nod for the Sock Puppets. The lefty worked through three innings, allowing four hits, two runs, one earned run, walked two and registered two punchouts. The southpaw who played at Gaston JC last season did throw 76 pitches tonight, the second-most of any Sock Puppet in a single game this season.
The fireworks continued in the fourth inning. First baseman Deacon Pomeroy launched a two-run big fly to left field to extend the Burlington lead to six runs. It was the Oklahoma State product’s third bomb of the summer, and placed him atop the RBI leaderboard in the Appy League with 15.
Center fielder Bruce Wyche continued the extra base party with an RBI triple in the sixth, good for his second game in a row with an extra-base hit. Catcher Mason Pickering knocked in the tenth run of the game with an RBI single just two pitches later.
In the seventh, second baseman Braden Maranto cranked a homer to left center to add insult to injury. The 11-run lead for Burlington was the largest positive margin against an opponent since a game against Greenville on July 27, 2025.
Tate Jones was credited with the win. Jones tossed three scoreless frames, tallying just one strikeout, and inducing weak contact in eight of 10 official at-bats. The righty pushed his ERA down to 2.45, the lowest mark of any Burlington pitcher with four appearances.
Lleyton Daily and Bubba Sims also came in relief. Daily went two hitless innings against his former squad, allowed two runs and recorded a strikeout in his Burlington debut. Sims worked the ninth inning, gave up a run on two hits and ended the game with a curveball for a called third strike.
Maranto, Novy and Mitchell all tallied three hits for Burlington. The top six men in the Burlington order all scored twice. Maranto, Pomeroy, Novy, Mitchell and Wyche all knocked in two runs in the win.
The rubber match between the Sock Puppets and Doughboys is set for tomorrow at 2.
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