BRISTOL, Va. - Early, but not often, runs weren’t enough for the Doughboys in an 8-5 loss to Bristol on Monday.
The game started fast, and well, for the Doughboys as Ashton King drove in McKay Barney on just the third hitter of the game. The first inning wouldn’t end there for the Doughboys as Roberto Peña would homer in the opposite direction, his fifth of the season, extending the Doughboys' lead to three.
Johnson City starter Landon Crumbley was smooth sailing to start, putting the State Liners down in order.
The game would slowly shift for Bristol beginning in the second inning. The State Liners got on the board with a two-run homer into right, shortening the Doughboys' lead to just one.
Where the Doughboys just didn’t quite have it, Bristol found ways to score runs, tying up the game in the third at three. The game would go quiet for an inning until Bristol would take its first lead of the game in the fifth inning.
The game turned into a game of answers, and Johnson City answered in the sixth with a pair of runs, both ultimately scoring on passed balls.
Those runs wouldn’t affect Bristol, as the State Liners would turn around and plate two of their own to put the game back in their favor, and they wouldn’t lose it.
The State Liners would add on two more in the seventh, and the Doughboys wouldn’t have an answer. The bats would go quiet, with the Doughboys going down without much of a fight to finish the game.
The loss was the first in over a week for the Doughboys, moving Johnson City to 15-18. The Doughboys look to salvage a split against Bristol tomorrow.
