JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The Johnson City Doughboys bounced back at home against the Bluefield Ridge Runners in a low-scoring affair with plenty of drama, 2-1, after the pitching staff shut down the electric visiting offense Thursday night.
Jayce Rollins, with his family in the crowd for his start, dealt six innings with no earned runs and 12 total strikeouts. The Florida Southern Moc could not be denied on the mound, leaving six runners behind him on the bases as well.
The Doughboys' offense struck first in the bottom of the second when Ronny Matti, the Johnson City native, drilled an RBI double to left in his first start. This stood as the only RBI hit for the Doughboys in the entire game, and one of two hits throughout the night.
Johnson City extended the lead in the third after a key defensive error from the Ridge Runners. Jackson Geiger walked, then Jack Jones sent a ball to shallow right to drive him in. This made the score 2-0. The pitching staff then backed them up in the later innings with four straight scoreless innings to end the game.
The only RBI hit for Bluefield was from Travis Peitz to drive in Matthew Robaugh after he reached on an error, making it unearned for Rollins.
The Doughboys pitching staff trio of Justin Smarr, Daniel Quintero and Garrett Mackowiak all had stellar outings to shut down the high-powered Ridge Runner offense. Smarr walked three batters to load the bases behind him but recorded a huge strikeout and groundout to end the inning.
Quintero gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but got three straight outs on balls put in play after that. Then, Mackowiak gained the save after he walked two batters and saw his defense behind him turn a game-ending double play.
The Doughboys are now 22-19 on the season during a critical playoff push. After the Kingsport Axmen lost their series finale against the Pulaski River Turtles, the team now sits tied for first place in the Appalachian League West.
Up Next:
Johnson City welcomes the Danville Otterbots for a three-game series at home from July 24th to July 26th. The first game of the series is at 7 p.m. for Wrestling Night at the ballpark.
You can get your tickets at https://www.appyleague.com/johnson-city/tickets to reserve your spot and see the action. Also, be sure to follow our Instagram, @jc_doughboys, to see our interview series with the players of the game after every home win!
