JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Kingsport and Bristol were locked into a doubleheader Saturday, with Game 1 being a continuation of a contest that was suspended on June 27, and Game 2 a standard nightcap of a doubleheader. Kingsport won the first contest, 16-14, and the second game, 4-0.
Game 1 resumed in the bottom of the fifth inning tied at 12-12, with Bristol placing Cooper Poe on the mound.
Phoenix McFarland hit a leadoff single that turned into another base as right fielder Olin Ward had a tough time fielding it. Mason Swinney then hit a triple to score McFarland.
Then in the top of the sixth, Patrick Gillen hit a leadoff double that was paid off just a few batters later by Ward, who hit a single to tie the game at 13 all.
However, Kingsport answered with two runs of its own after Ward once again had trouble in right field, this time dropping a routine fly ball. The drop scored Landis Davila and PJ Jones in the bases-loaded scenario.
Bristol wouldn’t answer, and yet again the Axmen added another run, this time off an RBI single from Kam Durnin, who was not originally in the lineup for this game back in June.
Bristol added one more run to threaten the Axmen, however Jackson Downing slammed the door shut on the State Liners in Game 1.
Game 2 was a completely different story. The first run of the game came on a throwing error by Bristol starter Beau Revord on a pickoff attempt at second base. Colin Larson scampered home on the ball that rolled into the outfield.
After that lucky break, no team could get any offense strung together, and just as the contest was heating up, the Axmen got another break given to them.
Davila and Jones attempted a double steal from second and first, and Gabe Juarez had a good pop behind the dish. However, the throw was too high for third baseman Elijah Alexander. The loose ball rolled all the way into the Bristol bullpen. Both runners scored to make it a 3-0 game.
While all these breaks were happening for the Axmen, Chris Cespedes was locking down the State Liners' bats. Cespedes tossed five shutout innings, only allowing three hits while also striking out six batters.
Kingsport added a run in the seventh on a Durnin RBI double off of Charlie Atkinson, who coming into the game had not allowed a single earned run in any of his 16 innings pitched.
Kaleb Townsend then shut down the State Liners' bats in the seventh to secure the doubleheader win.
Cespedes earned the first win of his season, and Townsend his third save.
With a Greeneville loss in its second game of its own doubleheader, the Axmen have secured home-field advantage against the Flyboys with a trip to the title game on the line.
