BURLINGTON, NC – The Greeneville Flyboys split the series with the Burlington Sock Puppets on Friday with a 12-6 victory.
The two games in the series took a combined 6 hours and 36 minutes to play and had a combined 49 runs on 51 hits, but in the end, it was a wash for Burlington (25-15) and Greeneville (18-21) in the series and the standings. The Sock Puppets came into and left the series with a two-game lead over the Danville Otterbots in the Eastern Division, now with eight games remaining in the season. The Johnson City Doughboys clinched the Western division following a loss by the Elizabethton River Riders tonight.
The Flyboys got off to a hot start by scoring the game’s first four runs. Gavyn Boyle hit a three-run home run in the first inning to get the scoring started. Boyle has now homered in four straight games and six of his last nine. His eight home runs are tied for the second most in the league.
Tyler Cerny added a run in the second inning with an RBI single. The base hit extended his on-base streak to 23 games, which is every game he has played in this year. After the Sock Puppets got a third-inning run, Cerny did more damage with a two-run home run in the fourth inning. It was his fifth long ball of the season, giving Greeneville a seven-run advantage.
Burlington tried to make things interesting in the seventh inning as the Sock Puppets cut the lead to four runs, but Greeneville immediately pushed its lead back to seven on a Kaden Martin three-run home run. Martin is nine for his first 20 at the plate (.450) with three home runs in his first five games.
Jayden Martin (2-1) allowed two runs over three innings in relief and got the win for Greeneville. Aiden Denlinger pitched the final two innings and allowed one run. Ben Sieracki (1-1) started for Burlington and gave up four runs, taking the loss.
Greeneville will start a series in Pulaski tomorrow at 7 p.m. against the River Turtles. A link to listen to the game can be found on the Flyboys website.
