BURLINGTON, N.C. – The Johnson City Doughboys survived late against the Burlington Sock Puppets in game three of the road series, taking home a 10-8 win after some nervous moments.
To start, both teams were locked in a pitching battle, with Johnson City starter Tristan Bristow recording four innings of two-run baseball with eight strikeouts. On the other end, Burlington starter Christian Aiello struck out eight of his own with only one earned run.
The Doughboys got on the scoreboard first when Zach Porter lined a single to left field, bringing in Gabe Tanous after he led off the inning with a knock of his own. The Sock Puppets responded with two runs of their own on another Brandon Novy homer, now extending his lead in the Appalachian League with eight.
After a scoreless fifth, with great pitching from Garrett Mackowiak in his summer debut, the bats came to life for Johnson City in the sixth. Tanous doubled on a ground ball to show off his speed, then Porter drove him in once again to knot things up at two.
Anthony Temesvary joined the party with a two-run knock of his own to center field, giving the Doughboys the lead back 4-2. The Sock Puppets put up one in the bottom of the frame on a bases-loaded groundout, but the Johnson City offense was humming.
This narrative showed up in the top of the eighth, when the Doughboys put up six runs on five hits in 10 at-bats. Temesvary recorded a multi-hit game with another single, Patrick Walsh was hit by a pitch, then the duo of Noah Cox and Walter Urbon loaded the bases and drove in one.
Tanous reached base once again with an RBI walk, then another clutch hit for Nate Eisfelder in the mid-summer brought in two more. By the end of the inning, it was 10-3 Doughboys, who looked primed to avoid a sweep.
Josiah Harrison joined the group of pitchers making their debuts and logged 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out two. But after Johnson City went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, the Sock Puppets would not go down without a fight in the final inning.
Burlington boasted a five-run bottom of the ninth to climb back, with Jadyn Nunez doubling and Braden Maranto homering to make it interesting at first. After that, Justin Munoz and Sal Mineo walked, followed by a two-run double for Devin Mitchell.
Justin Smarr strutted to the mound to save the day, recording the final two outs with a strikeout. The usual switch-hander gave up one run, but locked the door when the moment came.
The Doughboys moved closer to .500 and avoided the sweep against a surging Sock Puppet team in a tense win under the lights of Sockville.
Notables:
Tanous had an incredible night, going 3-for-4 with a double, three runs, and an RBI.
Urbon and Temesvary also had three-hit games, bringing the total to six batters for Johnson City with multiple hits in the contest.
Bristow had a quality start, going four innings with eight strikeouts in his second of the season.
The pitching was flawless until things got dicey in the ninth, allowing no walks and recording 11 strikeouts in the first eight innings.
Up Next:
The Doughboys will welcome the Elizabethton River Riders to TVA Credit Union Ballpark on Friday, July 10th, at 7:00 p.m. for Wrestling Night. Make sure to get your tickets at https://www.appyleague.com/johnson-city/tickets and don’t miss the action!
Also, be sure to follow our Instagram, @jc_doughboys, to see all of the team’s content throughout the summer season!
