ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. — The Elizabethton River Riders earned their first win of the season with a decisive 16-3 win at the Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark. The River Riders never trailed in the series finale.
How It Happened
Elizabethton's offense came out strong against the Flyboys, scoring six runs in the first inning. Jackson Reardon had an RBI single to take the lid off the scoreboard, Hank Gomric followed that up with a single that drove in Reardon, and Austin Rose hit a single which allowed Gomric to score. Dillon Adkins got an RBI off a fielding error from Ruben Zuany, and Evan Damario hit an RBI ground ball to give Elizabethton a 5-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Jaden Hill was then pulled from the game after going through two thirds of an inning, and Atkins was able to score off a wild pitch to make the score 6-0 at the end of the first.
The Flyboys scored a couple of runs in the second inning, one off a sacrifice ground ball from Levi Pinder and another from an RBI Walk from Bryan Williams, which made the score 6-2 after two innings. The River Riders followed that up with four runs in the third inning. A two-run home run from Nick Riordan followed by a solo home run from Cole Pladson and a RBI single from Hunter Tarchalski made the score 10-2.
In the fifth inning, the Flyboys got a solo homer to left field from Owen ten Oever to make the score 10-3. Any hope of a Flyboys comeback after that was dashed by a six-run sixth inning from Elizabethton. Damario scored first off a wild pitch, Matt Evans earned an RBI single, Gomric got an RBI walk, Tarchalski got his second RBI of the day off a walk and Damario smashed a two-RBI double to make it 16-3 River Riders after the seventh inning.
No more runs were scored in the last two innings as Elizabethton salvaged Game 3 in their opening series against Greeneville.
Game Notes
- Colin Bolla earned the win, going five innings with five strikeouts.
- The three pitchers for Elizabethton in relief of Bolla did not allow a run.
- The River Riders outhit the Flyboys for the first time in the series, 15 to seven.
- Greeneville had three errors, Elizabethton had none.
Up Next
On Monday, the River Riders (1-2) will travel on the road for the first time in 2026. They will face the Johnson City Doughboys at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
