Johnson City, Tenn.- The Johnson City Doughboys started strong but faltered in the second half of the game as the Elizabethton River Riders continued their win streak with an 11-8 victory.
The Doughboys had the momentum going for them as Reid Brosnan had a strong start on the mound. He retired the first set of River Rider batters in the first. Elizabethton starter Justyn Hart followed it up, striking out two of his first three batters faced.
Johnson City struck first in the second inning, Camden Kaufman reached on a walk and scored shortly after, as Logan Dunn reached on an error and another throwing error by the Elizabethton infield saw Kaufman cross home.
The Doughboys added on with a Logan Fyffe RBI single to center, scoring Dunn, followed by an RBI double to center by right fielder Nate Conner. Giving Johnson City a 3-0 lead early on.
Brosnan would go on a heater for the next four innings, retiring 12 straight batters from the second to the fifth inning. In the fourth, he sat down three consecutive batters on strikeouts, ending his start with six strikeouts over five scoreless innings.
In an hour long action packed sixth inning, the River Riders batted through their entire lineup before the Doughboys could record their first out. Jordan Crosland got it started with a two-RBI single into right, scoring Brady Thompson and Joshua Evans.
With the bases loaded, Donte Lewis was hit by a pitch, scoring Crosland before Tu’alau Wolfgramm beat out a throw to first, bringing home both Drew Dickerson and Hudson Brown.
Lenox Lively followed it up with a two-RBI double into left, bringing home Wolfgramm and Lewis. But the scoring still wasn’t done as Evans beat out a throw to first as Lively made it an 8-3 game in favor of Elizabethton by the time the damage was done.
While things seemed like they were turning for the worst, the Doughboys wouldn’t go down without a fight. In the bottom of the sixth, designated hitter Brandon Chang crushed a two-run homer over the left field wall.
Back-to-back singles from Trey Majette and Kaufman saw Dunn come to the plate with an opportunity to score again. He did just that with some help, as the River Riders infield committed another error that resulted in Majette and Kaufman both scoring.
Down just one run, Dane Morrow plated Dunn with an RBI single and tying the ballgame at eight apiece.
Just like that, Johnson City was back in the game going into the eighth, but Elizabethton couldn’t let that stand. The River Riders loaded the bases with singles by Lively, Thompson and a walk from Jackson Berry. Two more walks by the Doughboys gave up two free runs and handed Elizabethton a 10-8 lead.
As the Doughboys struggled to find the bases in the bottom of the inning, Wolfgramm padded the River Riders' lead with a monster solo home run.
Johnson City couldn’t answer in the bottom, as Elizabethton closer Ryan Bailey got the job done and fended off the Doughboys to extend their win streak to four, final score 11-8.
The Doughboys will be right back at TVA Credit Union tomorrow for a seven-inning game against the River Riders. First pitch set for 5:00 p.m.
