JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. —

The Johnson City Doughboys took an early lead, but after the Kingsport Axmen’s offense put up four straight scoring innings, the home side fell, 10-5, at home for the second straight time Thursday.

From the jump, the Axmen showed a glimpse of their offense’s full potential. Trey Jozwiakowski lined a triple to center field, then was driven in by Dylan Passo on an RBI groundout.

Tristan Bristow got the start for Johnson City and pitched well, starting with four innings of one-run baseball. The Campbell commit also struck out the side in the third, to add to a total of six strikeouts in his first start of the year.

The Doughboys found some momentum at the plate with two straight innings of two runs scored in the third and fourth. Walter Urbon led things off with a walk and a stolen base, Kenyon Hughes Jr. singled, and then a Kingsport error brought Urbon home.

In the third, Zach Porter drew an RBI walk with the bases fully loaded, but the Doughboys left them stranded to end the inning. In the fourth, Jackson Geiger added more RBIs to his total on the season, now second in the entire league, to make the score 4-1.

But the fifth was when the Axmen poured it on in the scoring department. Colin Sullivan got hit by a pitch, Easton Beach and Dylan Passo both recorded hits and then a Johnson City wild pitch and error tied it up at four.

The scoring didn’t stop there, as Kingsport added six more runs in the next three innings. This was highlighted by a two-run shot to right by Carter Geffre for his second of the season.

Between the fifth and the eighth, the Axmen recorded nine runs on only five hits, four hit by pitches, with two walks and four Doughboy errors. Johnson City could only find one run and one hit in the comeback attempt in those same innings.

Kingsport’s pitchers Brody Carr and Landon Waugh shut the door in the final two frames, recording five strikeouts total and moving the season series to 3-0 the Axmen’s way.

Johnson City now sits at fourth in the Appy League West, one game behind a tie at second between Kingsport and the Elizabethton River Riders.

Notables:

● Hughes Jr. reached base three times with a single and two walks and also added two stolen bases.

● Gunner Skelton had a multi-hit game with a double and a single, adding an RBI to his impressive summer.

● Daniel Quintero looked great in only his second appearance of the season, going one inning and striking out two batters.

● The Doughboys struck out 12 times and left 11 men on base to miss out on multiple high-level scoring chances, which was the main story in this one.

Up Next:

The Doughboys will continue the series against the Axmen on Friday with first pitch set for 7 p.m. After that, be sure to come to TVA Credit Union Ballpark for the Fourth of July spectacular on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Get your tickets at https://www.appyleague.com/johnson-city/tickets and keep up with all of the action on our Instagram, @jc_doughboys. We can’t wait to see you at the ballpark on Saturday for an incredible Independence Day showdown!