DANVILLE, Va. — The Johnson City Doughboys battled back to pick up a gritty win in sudden death over the Danville Otterbots on Sunday.
Both teams came out swinging in the opening inning. Johnson City scored two runs within its first three batters. Caleb Gipson led off with a double before Braxton Baird brought him right in with a single as the very next batter. A throwing error on Baird’s hit allowed him to reach third base, where Derrick Mitchell brough him in on a RBI groundout to the pitcher.
The Otterbots answered in the bottom of the same inning. After Elgin Bennett walked, Bruce Wyche singled right behind him to put runners on first and second base. Garrett Shull then stepped up and hit a ground ball into right field, allowing Bennett to score from second and cut the Doughboys' lead in half.
The Otterbots tied it up in the fourth. Charlie Carter crushed a double into right field before Aimon Chandler roped a line drive into right-center field and brought in Carter on the play.
In the fifth inning, Jaxon Goldberg worked a walk to put a lead runner on for the Otterbots. Shull then picked up his second RBI of the game with a double into right field as Goldberg came flying home from first. Khaleel Pratt then made it back-to-back RBI hits as he singled to score Shull and put Danville ahead by two.
In the top of the seventh, Johnson City trailed by two runs down to its final three outs. Gipson was hit by a pitch, Baird walked, and Mitchell then singled to load the bases for Trey Majette, who lifted a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Gipson to cross home. Jackson Jones walked as the next batter to load the bases back up, and Ryan Jones worked one as well to bring in Baird and tie the game at four apiece. A wild pitch by Otterbots pitcher Tyler Smith saw Mitchell take off for home and slide in safe to give Johnson City the lead back at 5-4.
The Otterbots wouldn’t go down without a fight. Goldberg lined a hit into right field as the leadoff batter. Bennett made it two in a row with a ground ball into right that moved Goldberg to third after he stole second. Wyche then lifted a sacrifice fly out into left that allowed Goldberg to come home and tie the game at five. Johnson City then got its three outs needed and sent the game to sudden death.
Lleyton Daily was the runner on first base as the last recorded out going into sudden death. Camden Kaufman worked a walk to put runners on first and second before Dane Morrow sent a ground ball into right to wave Daily home and walk off the game in sudden death.
The Doughboys will have Monday off before traveling to Pioneer Park for a game against the Greeneville Flyboys on Tuesday. First pitch is at 7 p.m.
