ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. — The Greeneville Flyboys opened another season with an Opening Night victory, defeating the Elizabethton River Riders, 13-5, on Thursday at North East Community Credit Union Ballpark.
Right-hander Braxton Lewis got the Opening Night nod and pitched three innings and struck out six batters. He allowed two runs on one hit in his outing.
In the first, Lewis walked in a run to give Elizabethton an early 1-0 lead. He responded with a 1-2-3 second inning before allowing a solo home run to Hunter Tarchalski in the third.
The Flyboys took the lead in the top of the fifth inning after Connor Fuhrer drew a walk and eventually scored during a sequence that included a balk, giving Greeneville a 3-2 advantage.
Trey Tarkington entered in relief of Lewis and worked two innings, allowing just two hits. One of those led to a fielder’s choice that brought home a run and tied the game at 3-3.
Elizabethton reclaimed the lead at 4-3 heading into the seventh after catcher Nelson Gragles Vasquez was unable to track down a wild pitch thrown by Christian Mendez, allowing Bo Strickland to score from second base after reaching on a walk and stealing second.
Greeneville responded immediately in the top of the seventh. Bryan Williams Jr. launched the first of his two home runs on the night to put the Flyboys back in front, 5-4. Later in the inning, Owen ten Oever crushed a 330-foot solo home run following a lineout by third baseman Nolan Behm to extend Greeneville’s lead to 6-4.
The Flyboys continued to add on in the eighth inning. Second baseman Gabe Gray ripped an RBI triple that cleared the bases. Moments later, left fielder Matthew Kerrigan singled to score Gray and extend the lead to 8-4.
In the bottom of the eighth, Bennet Percival surrendered an RBI single to right fielder Hank Gomric as Elizabethton cut the deficit to 8-5.
Greeneville answered in the top of the ninth and blew the game wide open. The Flyboys strung together a single, an RBI double by Kerrigan and a three-run home run from Williams — his second of the night — to stretch the lead to 13-5.
The Flyboys outhit the River Riders, 13-4, on the night.
Next Up
Greeneville (1-0) will remain in Elizabethton for the next two games of the opening series, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. each night.
Following an off-day Sunday, the Flyboys will travel to face the Danville Otterbots before returning home June 11 for their home opener against the Pulaski River Turtles.
Fans can purchase tickets at flyboysbaseball.com or by calling the Flyboys ticket office at 423-609-7400. In the event of inclement weather, follow @gflyboys on Facebook, Instagram and X for updates.
