KINGSPORT, Tenn. - The Elizabethton River Riders dropped the series opener against the Kingsport Axmen, 4-3, on Tuesday night despite a 2-for-4 night from Tennessee infielder Austen Jaslove.
It was a pitcher’s duel in the early going as the first four innings were scoreless between the River Riders and the Axmen. However, the River Riders struck for the game’s first run in the fifth, when a Keaton Cottam groundout allowed Skylar King to score.
The Axmen responded quickly, as they put up a three-spot in the bottom of the fifth, all on a Cole Swift double with the bases loaded. Kingsport brought that lead into the sixth.
In the sixth, Corbin Shaw hit a sacrifice fly to right to allow Ryan Miller to score and give the Axmen an insurance run. That run would prove to be valuable as Elizabethton scored two in the top of the seventh. Hayden Moore singled home Kade Huff and an Ethan Sitzman groundout scored Cottam, cutting the deficit to one. Unfortunately for E-Town, that is as close as the score would get.
The two squads will battle again Wednesday night from Hunter Wright Stadium, with first pitch set for 7 p.m.
