Johnson City, Tenn. – Despite Shemar Dalton (NC A&T) finishing a home run short of the cycle, the Johnson City Doughboys scored seven unanswered runs to hand the Greeneville Flyboys their third straight loss, taking the contest on Friday by a score of 10-5.
After reaching on an infield single and then stealing second, Brock Daniels (Missouri) scored on an RBI double by Jack O’Reilly (Villanova) in the top of the first to give Greeneville (5-10) a 1-0 lead. O’Reilly came home to score in the next at-bat, as Aidan Cannaday (Catawba Valley CC) drove him in with an RBI single to swell the Flyboy advantage to 2-0.
Johnson City (5-10) instantly took the lead back in the bottom of the first, with Isaiah Frost (Missouri) coming home to score after reaching on a leadoff triple and scoring on a Jayden Melendez (FIU) ground out. Logan Hugo (Eastern Michigan) recorded the second Johnson City triple of the frame, scoring two and giving the Doughboys a 3-2 lead.
Dalton reached on a leadoff triple in the top of the second, coming around to score after a ground out by fellow Aggie Canyon Brown (NC A&T), tying the contest at three runs apiece.
In the top of the fourth, Dalton came through again for Greeneville, scoring David Bishop (TCU) on an RBI double. Canyon Brown brought Dalton home later in the inning as Greeneville retook a 5-3 lead.
The fourth inning continued to be a problem for the Flyboys, with Johnson City scoring four runs in the fourth frame. Caleb Marmo (Walters State CC) opened the scoring with an RBI single, while Frost brought home another run with an RBI single of his own to tie the game. An infield single by Melendez scored two and the Doughboys took at 7-5 lead after the bottom of the fourth.
Ethan Payne (Tennessee) earned his first hit in the Appy League with authority, crushing a ball 422 feet over the right field fence for a two-run homerun to swell the Doughboy bulge to 9-4.
The scoring ended for Johnson City in the bottom of the sixth, with Melendez bringing home Marmo with an RBI single to right, giving the Doughboys a 10-5 advantage.
Greeneville had back-to-back opportunities in the top of the seventh and eighth innings to bring home a run with runners at second and third with two outs in the frames, but the Flyboys failed to score. Greeneville went just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position, including an abysmal 0-for-11 to close out the game.
Melendez went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead Johnson City, while Hugo went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Dalton went 3-for-3 with a double, a triple, a single, and a walk, along with two runs scored and an RBI to pace the Flyboys.
Kyle Bender (Washington) (1-0) earns the win, walking one batter in an inning of work. Jacob Bockenstadt (SIU-Edwardsville) started the game for the Doughboys, giving up five runs off eight hits and striking out two in four innings of work. Justin Guiliano (Canisius) went two innings for Johnson City, giving up one hit while walking a batter and striking out three. Brogan Beckner (Dobyns-Bennett HS) struck out two and walked one in an inning of work. Michael Esposito (South Carolina) closed out the game for the Doughboys, walking a batter in the ninth inning.
Ryan Schiefer (Grand Canyon) (1-1) was handed the loss, allowing seven runs off five hits while striking out two and walking three in 3 2/3 innings of work. Caleb Jones (Winthrop) went 2 1/3 innings out of the pen, allowing three runs off six hits, striking out two. Sam Roberts (Chandler-Gilbert CC) went 2/3 of an inning, walking two and striking out a pair. Shane Tucker (LIU) closed out the game for Greeneville, going 1 1/3 innings while walking one and striking out a batter with the bases loaded.
The Flyboys return to Johnson City on Saturday for the second game of their three-game set with the Doughboys. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Fans can listen live to the game on the Flyboys Broadcasting Network at flyboysbaseball.com with a pregame show set to begin at 6:45 p.m.
