Elizabethton, Tenn. — The Elizabethton River Riders lost a heartbreaker in sudden death on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Pulaski River Turtles at Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark. In a tightly contested seven-inning game that ended tied at 3-3, Pulaski pushed across the game-winning run under the Appalachian League’s unique tiebreaker rules. Elizabethton (15-18) has now dropped six straight, while Pulaski (18-14) climbs four games above .500.
The rundown
Pulaski opened the scoring in the third, when Tre Bryant made it home on a Brayden Ricketts RBI single. Elizabethton answered in the bottom half, as Terrance Bowen walked, advanced to third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cadyn Karl.
The River Turtles regained the lead in the fifth with a fielder’s choice RBI from Carter Kelley. They added another run in the sixth on Ricketts’ third hit of the day. Elizabethton, however, fought back in the bottom of the sixth with a rally ignited by back-to-back walks. RBI singles from Xavier Bradley and Joshua Evans tied the game at 3-3.
Neither team could break the tie in the seventh, sending the game into the Appalachian League’s sudden death tiebreaker format. Elizabethton, the home team, chose to play defense. Pulaski started the inning with the last out from the seventh on first base, Aden Malpass. Jonathan Holt moved Malpass to second with a sacrifice bunt, and Kennedy Drexler struck out for the second out. The River Riders then intentionally walked TJ Williams, bringing up Tre Bryant, who lined a single to center. Karl fired home, but Malpass slid in just ahead of the tag to give Pulaski the win.
Justyn Hart got the start on the mound for the River Riders and gave up just one run in three innings. Rowen Park, Brody Roe and Ryan Bailey combined to finish the game, giving up two runs in the final four frames. Offensively, Xavier Bradley and Joshua Evans each tallied an RBI single, while Ethan Ball and Jackson Berry both reached base twice and scored in the sixth-inning comeback.
Up next
Elizabethton will look to snap their six-game skid on Tuesday, July 15, when they host the Danville Otterbots for a two-game series at Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will stream live on AppyLeague.com.
