JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Johnson City Doughboys could not find late momentum against the Danville Otterbots, falling in game one of the series 8-6 in the matchup between two of the Appalachian League’s best.
But it was the Doughboys taking an early lead after two straight scoring innings to start. In the first, Eli Thurmond drew a walk with one out, and Blake Herrell drove him in with an RBI single back up the middle to open up the scoring.
In the bottom of the second, Brennon Seigler singled to start his night and Kenyon Hughes Jr. reached on the first defensive error for Danville. Thurmond showed up again with an RBI sacrifice fly, bringing up former Appalachian League Player of the Week Nate Eisfelder.
Eisfelder drilled yet another home run, 371 feet for his fifth in the past 11 games, also to put him a solo second in the league. Jackson Geiger doubled to back him up, but got stranded at second to make it 4-0 early.
Hiram Lewis made another start on the pitching end for Johnson City and went 3.2 innings with only one earned run, three strikeouts to maintain the lead for his side. But in the middle innings, it was Danville taking advantage.
The Otterbots logged four straight scoring innings between the fourth and seventh innings to take a lead of their own. In the fourth, Caleb Ricks drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded, but Danville stranded them that way.
In the fifth, Maximo Martinez drilled a solo homer 406 feet for his third of the summer, followed by RBI doubles for Brody Jindra and Jet Berry. This gave the Otterbots a slim lead 5-4, with Johnson City responding in the bottom.
The home team, in front of another impressive crowd, put up two in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead back. Herrell reached again on a walk, Patrick Walsh drew his third free pass, and Anthony Temesvary drove one in on an RBI.
Danville had four total errors with two in the frame after Seigler made contact to drive another run in to make it 5-4. However, right back in the sixth and seventh, the away team took another lead with four combined hits and three Johnson City errors.
The pitching duo for the Otterbots, Gavin McDonald and Jase Phillips, shut the door with two scoreless innings each, with three strikeouts and only one hit.
After the back-and-forth battle between both sides, the Doughboys could not find late offense to fall to 22-20 on the season and 1-3 on the week. With the Kingsport Axmen also losing, the team is still tied for first in the West, with the bottom of the pack creeping up.
Notables:
- Herrell had a multi-hit game with two singles and two walks, while Walsh backed him up with three more walks.
- Eisfelder hit another home run, a recurring theme recently, to give his hometown team a late advantage.
- But the Doughboys struck out 11 times in the box, and the pitching staff gave up 12 hits with seven walks as well.
Up Next:
Game two of the series is set for July 25th at 7:00 p.m. EST between both first-place teams. Join us at TVA Credit Union Ballpark for Fireworks Night postgame, while the team wears their special jerseys presented by the Niswonger Children’s Hospital.
You can get your tickets at https://www.appyleague.com/johnson-city/tickets to join the fun-filled Saturday night contest. Also, be sure to follow our Instagram, @jc_doughboys, to keep up with the team the rest of the season!
