ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. — The Elizabethton River Riders fell behind early and couldn’t recover on Tuesday night, dropping the first of a two-game series to the Danville Otterbots, 4-1, at Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark. Elizabethton (15-19) managed just four hits and struck out 16 times in the loss, while Danville (13-19) relied on dominant pitching all night to secure the victory.
The rundown
The River Riders struck first in the bottom of the second. After Jackson Berry was hit by a pitch and stole second, he advanced to third on a groundout and came home on a slow roller to second by Lenox Lively, giving Elizabethton a 1-0 lead.
Danville responded quickly. The Otterbots evened the score in the third when Charlie Carter doubled and came around to score on a sharp RBI single by Seth Smith. In the fourth, they took the lead for good. After two walks and a wild pitch, Antonio Cordeiro and Carter delivered back-to-back RBI singles to make it 3-1.
Elizabethton had its best chance to respond in the fifth when Tu'alau Wolfgramm doubled and advanced to third on a stolen base with no outs. But a strikeout, popup and another strikeout stranded him 90 feet away.
Danville added insurance in the seventh on a triple by Carter, his third hit of the night, followed by a sacrifice fly from Mason Pangborn to extend the lead to 4-1. The River Riders managed just one baserunner over the final four innings.
Starter Henry Slaby allowed three over four innings of work. The bullpen trio of Demarques Thompson, Zach Johnson and Andrew DuMont combined to allow just one earned run over the final five frames, but the offense couldn’t get going. Wolfgramm led Elizabethton with two hits and a stolen base.
Up next
The River Riders will look to even the series on Wednesday against Danville. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark, with live coverage available on AppyLeague.com.
