JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - A raucous crowd of over 4,000 piled into TVA Credit Union Ballpark on Tuesday to witness as the Doughboys fell, 5-3, to Bristol in the season opener.
The game started off quickly when Tyler Zedalis tripled in the top half of the first inning, driving in the opening run of the game for Bristol.
The Doughboys countered immediately, as 2023 returner Christian Toledo drove in a pair on a triple of his own, giving Johnson City a 2-1 lead.
The lead stuck for a while. Jace Hyde settled in for the Doughboys, throwing three solid innings. The right-hander only allowed a pair of baserunners after the run in the first.
The Doughboys' offense didn’t do much to support Hyde and the pitching staff, having runners touch third four times over the next four innings, yet it couldn't score a single one.
It was a pair of ETSU Bucs that led the charge for Johnson City, with Landon Crumbley coming in relief of Hyde. Crumbley could do nothing but get batters out, not having a runner touch third until a single in his fourth inning of work that ultimately ended his day.
Bristol would strike with two outs in the seventh, scoring a trio of runs and taking a two-run lead into the stretch.
The deficit ignited the Doughboys offense, as Johnson City would left 13 runners on base, including bases loaded in the sixth and seventh innings.
The lack of offensive prowess for the Doughboys proved to be the deciding factor in the game, as Bristol scored one more in the ninth inning.
Johnson City didn’t go down without a fight, putting up a run in the ninth inning before falling to the State Liners.
This was the first Opening Day loss since 2022 for Johnson City, as well as the first time the team is below .500 since July 27, 2022.
The series will conclude tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at TVA Credit Union Ballpark.
