The River Riders dropped their series opener against the Bristol State Liners, 13-5, falling to 0-3 on the season.
Elizabethton starter Manning West (Walters State Community College) pitched four innings with eight strikeouts and three walks. Third baseman Adam Magpoc (Boston College) finished with a triple, while second baseman Austin Hartsell (Boston College) finished with two walks and a run scored.
Elizabethton fell behind in the fourth inning against Bristol (3-0) after Gabe Young (Jacksonville State), Lee Ellis (South Carolina) and Esteban Garcia all singled to make it a 4-0 game. Alex Cromwell (Towson) also picked up an RBI later in the inning.
Bristol added two more runs in the fifth inning from a single by Tyler Zedalis (South Carolina) and an RBI groundout by Hayden Blair (Walters State Community College).
In three innings for West on the mound, he struck out six and didn’t allow a hit, only walking two batters.
The River Riders came to life in the fifth, scoring three runs on two hits. Magpoc tripled to score two and Carlos Irizarry (Penn State Harrisburg) singled. They were held hitless up until that inning.
Bristol stretched the lead to its largest of the night at nine runs after another five spot in the sixth. Cromwell hit a two-run home run, Dylan Schaefer (UNC Wilmington) doubled and Zedalis hit a home run. Schaefer made it 10 in the ninth with a home run to left center.
The River Riders got two of the runs back in the ninth inning off of a home run from Tanner Waldrop (Auburn).
Brady Robertson (Tennessee) got the win for Bristol. He pitched two innings in relief, struck out two and did not allow a hit. West was tabbed with the loss for the River Riders, pitching four innings, allowing four hits, five runs and three walks with eight strikeouts.
After West, the River Riders also got one inning from Dane Bjorn (Tennessee), one inning from Evan Saulys (Siena) and three innings from Elijah Karney (New Orleans).
Matthew Lynch (Towson) started for Bristol, pitching four innings with six strikeouts. He did not allow a hit. The State Liners also got two-thirds of an inning from Brooks Lang (Towson), one and one-third innings from Ryan Vermillion (Jacksonville State), two-thirds of an inning from Ryan DiMaggio (Boston College) and the final out of the game from Zach Neville (Allegany College of Maryland).
At the plate for the River Riders, Magpoc went 1-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and a walk. Waldrop went 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk and Irizarry finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
For Bristol, Zedalis went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Schaefer also went 2-for-3, scored four runs and finished with two RBI. Ellis also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Elizabethton finished the night with four hits and no errors. Bristol finished with 11 hits and only one error.
The River Riders and State Liners will meet again for game two on Saturday at Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark. The first pitch is set for 7 p.m. E.T.
