DANVILLE, Va. — The Johnson City Doughboys dominated from the jump against the Danville Otterbots and claimed an 11-6 win in the second game of the series Saturday night.
In the first, Braxton Van Cleave started things off with his second double of the season to score Holden Pantier following his walk. On the mound for the Doughboys, Eli Bridenthal pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Then, the Doughboys' offense padded its lead with three multi-run innings in a row. This included a four-run third led off by a triple from Walter Urbon. Gunner Skelton, in his first game back from the MLB Draft combine, then brought him in with a single. Then, four total walks and five wild pitches from the Otterbots let Johnson City stroll on the bases and extended the lead to 5-0.
Danville responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a four-hit inning to cut into the lead. Maximo Martinez had a single, Davis Perkins had a double and Jordan Jacob brought them both home with a two-run knock to center.
But the Doughboys struck back with a three-run fourth and a two-run fifth, where eight different hitters came up to the plate. This was highlighted by a Van Cleave three-run shot that sailed 403 feet over the right field fence.
Van Cleave drove in two more runs on a two-run single in the fifth, tallying six total RBI on his night and Johnson City led, 10-3, after five total innings.
Eli Miller took the mound and went two innings with one earned run and one hit to his name in the middle stretch. Danville’s bats tried to respond with three combined runs in the seventh and eighth, but the hole was too big to crawl out of.
Johnson City scored one more in the bottom of the seventh, when Jackson Geiger notched his first RBI of the night with a single.
Relief pitcher Lincoln Causero went 1-2-3 in the ninth to end the lopsided game. With the win, the Doughboys moved to 10-9 on the season.
Notables:
● Van Cleave had his best game of the young summer, going 3-for-5 with a home run, a double and six total RBI.
● Skelton returned to the lineup after being in Phoenix for the Draft Combine, finishing with three hits and three runs scored.
● Eli Bridenthal had a true quality start, going four innings with only two earned runs, six walks and eight strikeouts.
● Nate Eisfelder recorded the third multi-hit game for a Doughboys, tallying another double and two walks for the night.
