JOHNSON CITY, Tenn- A seven-run sixth for Elizabethton was too much for the Doughboys in a 10-8 loss on Thursday night.
The game started quickly for the Doughboys, with a run being scored before the third hitter came to the plate, with Kyler Proctor tripling for the third time this season.
Braden Spano would continue the offense for the Doughboys, singling in a run to make it 2-0. Austin Lemon would close things out with an RBI of his own, rounding out a three-run first.
Elizabethton would strike back immediately, getting a run in the second, but Doughboys’ starter Weston Rouse would settle in a big way, letting just two runners reach in the next three innings following the run.
The Doughboys would add on a run in the fifth, with Rouse leaving the game with a four-run lead after striking out seven and allowing just one run.
The sixth is where things would go south for the Doughboys. Elizabethton would send 11 to the plate, scoring seven of them, including a three-run homer, giving the River Riders an 8-4 lead.
Elizabethton would keep adding on, scoring another in the seventh to extend the Johnson City deficit to five at 9-4.
The Doughboys battled back in the bottom of the seventh, stringing together a few walks, hits, and an error to put three back on the board and shorten the deficit back to two.
It was like a broken record in the eighth, as Elizabethton would find a way to add one back, bringing the total to 10 runs and a three-run lead.
The Doughboys would battle in the ninth, with Joey LaMattina doubling to lead off the inning and Carson Kerce driving him in to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs.
Elizabethton would be able to end any Doughboy hopes with a strikeout to end the ballgame.
The loss takes Johnson City to 10-9 on the season, and down to third place in the Appalachian League West.
The Doughboys will look to split the series tomorrow night at home against Elizabethton, with first pitch at 7:00 p.m.
