JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Doughboy shortstop Gabe Tanous stepped into the batter’s box with already two hits on the day, with a chance to walk it off as his teammate crept just 90 feet away on third.

Tanous then drilled a clutch walk-off knock to left to give the Doughboys the first walk-off of their season, then was greeted by his entire dugout on the home field.

The Johnson City Doughboys won an incredible series against the Burlington Sock Puppets in walk-off fashion, taking game three 8-7 on Sunday in a Father’s Day matinee.

After a scoreless top of the first, where Doughboys starter Jax Bishop struck out two in a jam, Johnson City struck first once again with the bats. Braxton Van Cleave started the festivities with a single, then after a walk from Holden Pantier, Brennan Seigler drove in a run with his fifth RBI on the season.

Jackson Geiger and Zach Porter both walked as well, bringing in Pantier with the bases loaded, making it 2-0 early. While Johnson City stranded them with the bases juiced, it was another great start for the offense at home.

But the Sock Puppets were never going down without a fight, as the Johnson City faithful had seen in prior games of the series. Burlington drew five walks in the second to score two, then LJ Edwards drilled the first RBI hit of the afternoon for his side, making it 4-2.

In the fourth, it was the Doughboy’s turn to respond. Jack Jones notched his first hit of the contest, then Tanous laid down a bunt for his first as well, putting runners at first and second.

After Kenyon Hughes Jr drew his second walk of the game, Walter Urbon drove in one with an RBI sacrifice fly to right field. Braxton Van Cleave recorded his second hit, then Holden Pantier drove one in of his own with another sac fly.

The three-run fourth gave Johnson City a one-run lead going into the clutch moments of the contest. Relief pitcher Eli Miller held the Sock Puppets scoreless through the next two innings, recording one strikeout with his defense greeting him with a double play in the fifth.

However, the Sock Puppets took the lead in the top of the sixth with a three-run showcase. Again, Burlington drew a handful of walks with four, then Vincent De-Carlo notched his first hit of the contest. This made it a 7-5 game with the Doughboys hoping to come back once again.

That they did, scoring three runs in the final two innings of play. In the bottom of the sixth, Braxton Van Cleave logged his first RBI of the summer after Hughes Jr. was hit by a pitch and then reached third.

Grant Cleavinger kept Burlington scoreless in the top of the final innings, fanning two batters with some trouble on the bases. The Nebraska Cornhusker reliever kept his team within striking distance, down to their final three outs.

Jackson Geiger led things off in the seventh with a leadoff solo-shot, putting his team down one with a 399-foot bomb to right. Zach Porter then singled directly after for his first hit of the matinee, Eli Thurmond came in as a pinch runner and advanced to third quickly.

Tanous walked it off, reaching for a low fastball and putting it in play to left down the line. The Doughboys won the back-and-forth critical series early in the summer, and moved to a perfect .500 once again at 7-7.

Notables:

• Gabe Tanous had an incredible game with the walk-off, finishing 3-for-4, with the lone RBI being the most important.
• Braxton Van Cleave also had a three-hit game, recording a 3-for-4 game with an RBI of his own and a run.
• Eight different Johnson City batters reached base, with seven different hitters logging an RBI in the team win.
• Eli Miller and Grant Cleavinger kept the team in striking distance, going a combined three innings with three strikeouts and no hits or runs allowed.

Up Next:

After a league-wide off day on Monday, the Doughboys return to TVA Credit Union Ballpark for a three-game set against the Pulaski River Turtles from June 23-25. In the opening series of the summer, Johnson City went 2-1 against them.

Get your tickets today at https://www.appyleague.com/johnson-city/tickets and join us for a Dollar Day, an All-You-Can-Eat Wednesday, and a Thursday at the ballpark!

Keep up with all the Doughboys action on our Instagram, @jc_doughboys, including our new series, rally a troop with the player of the game after every home win.