Elizabethton dropped the series opener Tuesday to the Tri-State Coal Cats, 4-3.
Elizabethton (14-21) jumped out to an early lead against Tri-State (15-21) after the River Riders struck for three in the fourth. James Woody II (Grambling State) doubled to open the scoring, Nick Hockemeyer (Purdue Fort Wayne) tripled and Carlos Irizarry (Penn State Harrisburg) hit a sacrifice fly. Woody was Elizabethton’s top hitter, going 4-for-4 with the RBI and a run scored.
Tri-State cut into the deficit in the fifth inning when Michael Rodriguez (Bethune-Cookman) scored on a balk. Rodriguez finished with two hits and two runs scored.
The Coal Cats surged ahead in the seventh. Matt Ilgenfritz (Gardner-Webb) and CJ Richard (Ohio State) both scored on walks to tie the game. Ryan Limerick (California) grounded into a force out at second base to score Rodriguez as the the go-ahead run. Limerick finished with one hit and an RBI.
Zane Danielson (Purdue Fort Wayne) was tabbed with the loss and a blown save for the River Riders. He got two outs in relief, allowed one hit, two runs, walked two and struck out one. The River Riders also received 1 2/3 innings from Spencer Powell (University of Virginia at Wise) and one inning from Caden Carroll (Kennesaw State).
Nash Bingham (University of Virginia at Wise) started for Elizabethton. He allowed four hits, one run, three walks and struck out four over 4 2/3 innings.
Evan Holewinski (Kent State) picked up the win for Tri-State. He pitched three innings in relief, allowed four hits and struck out three. David Stich (Angelo State) took home the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Jack Brooker (Queens University of Charlotte) started for Tri-State and allowed seven hits, three runs, two walks and struck out two over five innings.
The River Riders will search for the series split Wednesday against the Coal Cats at Jack Cook Field in Huntington, W.Va. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
