DANVILLE, Va. - The Danville Otterbots welcomed back the Kingsport Axmen for the final game of the series, and the Axmen stunned the Otterbots by scoring five unanswered runs in the late innings to win the ballgame, 6-5.
An Alex Conover base hit in the first inning gave the Otterbots (1-1) the early lead. That started the Otterbots' early push, and in the fourth inning, they put up four runs off pitcher J.T. Davis.
After Davis, however, the combination of Gavin Hasche, Aiden Millburn and Duke McCarron completely shut down the Otterbots offense by going a combined 5 1/3 innings, striking out nine batters and holding Danville scoreless.
Kingsport's Sebastian Pisacreta had the big hit for the Axmen (1-1) in the eighth inning as he delivered a single into left field to tie the game at five apiece.
At the ninth inning, Kingsport's Devan Zirwas lined a ball into the left field. Conover took a risk and tried to dive for the ball but paid the ultimate price as the ball got by him. Pisacreta scored from first, and the Axmen took the lead.
The Otterbots went down in order in the bottom of the frame to finish the game. Pitcher McCarron got the win, and Mason Hatcher got the loss for the Otterbots. Kingsport struck out 14 Otterbots on the evening.
The Axmen will travel back to Tennessee and welcome Tri-State for a three-game series at home. The Otterbots will be on the road for a three-game series at Greeneville.
