JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The Johnson City Doughboys played in front of a packed TVA Credit Union Ballpark crowd but couldn’t sustain a rhythm on the offensive side, falling against the Elizabethton River Riders, 11-1.
After a scoreless first two innings, the Doughboys opened up the scoring in the third with an RBI double by Michael Holt. This was the fourth of his young season, scoring Gunner Skelton after a double of his own in his Johnson City debut.
Local East Tennessee State pitcher Cooper Jones started the night and impressed in front of familiar fans. He went four scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and striking out six.
Then the Elizabethton offense exploded for a five-run fifth inning. Matt Evans started the scoring with the second double of his season, scoring Houston Hebert and Noah Haught.
A perfectly executed double-steal attempt scored another run for the River Riders, then a pair of singles from Cole Pladson and Hank Gomric extended the lead to 5-1. The Doughboys could only find two hits the rest of the night, due to Elizabethton's pitching.
The trio of Greg Mimick, Connor Fuhrer and Matthew Porchas struck out nine Doughboy batters, including four each for Mimick and Fuhrer in five innings.
A three-run seventh and two-run ninth made the gap too big for Johnson City to mount a comeback. Austin Rose mashed a homer 398 feet to left field for the first of his season in the seventh to make it 8-1.
With the bases loaded, Matt Evans drove in two with his third double of the season, making the score 11-1. The Doughboys had no answer in the bottom half of the final inning, falling for the second game in a row.
Notables
- Jackson Geiger continued his fast start to the season, notching another double in the eighth on a 1-for-4 line.
- Cooper Jones went four innings and struck out six, only giving up one hit in the same town as his college, ETSU.
- Dylan Christensen came into a tough situation with the bases loaded and got out of it by striking out two in his third season appearance.
Up Next
The Doughboys will head to Elizabethton to take on the River Riders once again Tuesday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m. EST. Then, a much-needed league-wide off day Wednesday for both teams.
