Johnson City, Tenn. — The Johnson City Doughboys started Thursday’s game off hot, but ultimately fell to the Kingsport Axmen, 8-5, after collecting only three hits over the final six innings.
The Doughboys set the tone early with three quick runs in the bottom of the first inning. Brennan Seigler started the early momentum with a single back up the middle, then Holden Pantier brought him home with a stand-up double.
Eli Thurmond continued the fast start after Jackson Geiger walked with a soft single to center field, scoring Pantier from second. Dallas Brooks then notched his second RBI of the season in his debut at first on a fielder’s choice.
The Axmen responded thanks to a Trey Jozwiakowski RBI single to left field, scoring Cash Williams.
After two scoreless full innings and stellar pitching performances on both sides, the Kingsport offense came alive starting in the sixth. Jozwiakowski got another RBI on a double to right, missing a home run by a couple of feet.
The Axmen were still looking for the big hit, and in the seventh, they found it. Easton Beach and Antonio Fawcett walked, with Carter Geffre up to bat. To this point in the season, Kingsport had not hit a home run.
Geffre changed that narrative with a bomb to left-center, a 403-foot shot. This changed the entire mood of the game and gave the Axmen a 5-4 lead.
However, the Kingsport duo of Jack Cecil and Aidan Zerr fooled the Doughboys’ batters, as they garnered five strikeouts on only two hits and one walk.
Kingsport loaded the bases in the eighth, and while Grant Cleavinger limited the damage, the Axmen extended the lead with a Garrett Luett sacrifice fly.
Then Jameson Napper drilled a triple to right in the ninth for the Axmen, furthering the damage and scoring two to make it 8-4. Gunner Skelton tried to start a rally with two outs in the ninth with another home run, his second of the season, but it was not enough.
Notables:
● Eli Thurmond had another multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with one RBI.
● Holden Pantier impressed the home fans in his season debut, going 1-for-4 with an RBI double and a run.
● Gunner Skelton hit another home run for his second in two games, drilling a ball 390 feet.
● Cade Julius logged a quality start, going four innings and giving up only one earned run on five hits.
Up Next:
The Doughboys take on the Axmen for the second game in a row on Friday at 7 p.m. Then there’s a two-game split series, home and away with Elizabethton, begins this weekend.
You can buy all tickets at https://www.appyleague.com/johnson-city/tickets to join the action at TVA Credit Union Ballpark!
