BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — The Johnson City Doughboys boasted five straight scoring innings, including a 13-run fifth, to snatch Game 3 of the series against the Bluefield Ridge Runners in a 22-4 mercy-rule victory Thursday.
Johnson City got on the offensive from the very start, tallying four runs in the top of the first with the bases loaded numerous times. Patrick Walsh drew an RBI walk, then a double play and a Brennon Seigler RBI single made it 3-0.
A perfectly executed double steal from Seigler and Anthony Temesvary extended the score to 4-0.
Then, Nate Eisfelder recorded another RBI knock on a single, Blake Herrell had one of his own and Seigler logged another RBI on a sacrifice fly.
With a good first start of the summer on the pitching side from Ryan Selvaggi, who went three innings with five strikeouts and only one walk, the Doughboys took full control. While Bluefield put up three in the bottom of the third after a Cy Chrisman double, it was still 7-4 after four innings.
However, Johnson City would come alive even more in the top of the fifth with 13 runs, six hits and 16 different at-bats leading to the mercy rule at play. This impressive frame was highlighted by Herrell, who had a two-run single, and Gabe Tanous, who had an RBI double.
Eli Thurmond also hit his first homer of the summer in the inning.
The bullpen duo of Daniel Parris and Eli Miller for the Doughboys kept Bluefield at one run, striking out four batters total to only four hits and three walks. Johnson City added two more runs with the bats in the seventh, when Thurmond drove in a run with a triple and then scored an error.
In the bottom of the seventh, Miller shut the door with an incredible double play turned behind him by Herrell at third. This put the Doughboys in the mercy rule category and back in the win column after losing by the mercy rule themselves just the night prior.
Johnson City moved to 18-17 and second place in the Appalachian League West.
Notables:
● Thurmond drilled his first home run of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with three total runs, four RBI and one triple.
● Eisfelder and Herrell both had multi-hit games, combining for six total RBI and four total runs scored.
● The Doughboys drew 18 total walks to only six strikeouts, with every single player in the lineup recording a free pass.
● On the other end, the Johnson City pitching staff only permitted four free passes with nine total strikeouts, including five from Selvaggi in his season debut.
Up Next:
The Doughboys will go to Elizabethton on Friday to take on the River Riders for Game 1 of a two-game split-series. Then, the team will return home for a Yadier Molina Bobblehead Giveaway night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark on Saturday.
You can listen live to the first game at https://www.appyleague.com/johnson-city/audio. Also, be sure to follow our Instagram, @jc_doughboys, to stay in the loop all summer long and keep up with the team.
