JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The Johnson City Doughboys won Game 2 against the Pulaski River Turtles, 5-5, in sudden death on Wednesday night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. After going up early, then losing the lead, clutch performances showed up at the end for the Doughboys.
Doughboys relief pitcher Tristan Bristow stepped onto the mound in the ninth, looking to keep his team within striking distance down one. Little did he know he would pitch in a sudden-death tiebreaker opportunity after his side knotted it up.
After hitting the first batter he faced and runners now on first and second, Bristow dug down deep for two strikeouts in a row and a groundout. His team sprinted out to him on the mound to greet him after the big win to tie the series.
"At the end of the day, it's one pitch at a time,” Bristow said postgame. “I tried to keep it simple, breathe between pitches, and then execute. Keep it going and keep it consistent.”
Johnson City, after dropping Game 1 of the series, struck first this time with two runs in the second and fourth innings, respectively.
Brennon Seigler started things off with a lead-off walk, Geiger got hit by a pitch and Jack Jones recorded a walk of his own to load the bases early. Walter Urbon continued his quick start to the summer with a two-run single.
Then in the fourth, Jones got plunked this time, and Urbon recorded another hit, this time a double to advance the runners. After a wild pitch and a run scored, and an RBI fielder’s choice by Noah Cox, the Doughboys were up 4-0.
On the mound Colin Carney had an incredible start in his third of the season, logging five scoreless innings with only four hits and two strikeouts. Felix Ong backed him up out of the bullpen with two scoreless innings of his own, fanning four batters to put Johnson City in the driver’s seat.
But the River Turtles were never going down without a fight, recording a five-run inning in the top of the eighth. Five combined walks, one hit-by-pitch and a two-run knock from Easton Masse put Pulaski up this time.
After the Doughboys went scoreless in the bottom half, Bristow kept it within striking distance with a no-hit relief outing. This brought Braxton Van Cleave up to the plate in his most important plate appearance of the summer thus far.
Van Cleave lasered a 397-foot solo shot to right to even things up.
Bristow then shut the door in extra innings, striking out two batters to bounce back in front of a rowdy TVA Credit Union Ballpark crowd and secure the sudden death victory.
Notables:
● Carney, Ong and Bristow all had impressive nights on the mound, recording eight strikeouts between the three of them.
● Urbon and Van Cleave both had multi-hit games, respectively, bringing in three of the five Johnson City runs.
● While the Doughboys left 10 on base, they went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Up Next:
Johnson City will go for the series win in the third game of the series Thursday night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. for a Thirsty Thursday presented by Coors Light.
You can get your tickets at https://www.appyleague.com/johnson-city/tickets. Keep up with all the Doughboys action on our Instagram, @jc_doughboys, including our new series, Rally a Troop, with the player of the game after every home win.
