KINGSPORT, Tenn. - The Axmen stayed hot at the dish and plated 11 runs as they shut out the River Riders 11-0. That win marked the 100th victory for the Axmen in team history while also moving Kingsport to a 4-3 record on the young campaign.
The game started as a pitching duel between Kingsport's Jacob Gholston and Elizabethton's Jo Jo Franco. Both made it through three innings of work, but Franco let up the night's first run off a sacrifice fly from Kam Durnin.
A 1-0 Kingsport quickly inflated with a two-run homer out in left-center from PJ Jones, which was the first hit of the season for him. Another run was tacked on in the fourth off a bases-loaded walk.
The pitching down the stretch for the Axmen was incredible, with Jackson Downing pitching three innings, followed by two innings from Cooper Jones.
Kingsport continued the onslaught in the eighth when a leadoff solo home run from Durnin sparked a five-run inning.
The 11-0 lead was big enough for Kaleb Townsend to come and close the game out. Townsend retired the side in order to end the game, keeping Kingsport's double-digit run and double-digit hit streak alive.
Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. Kingsport now leads the league in runs, home runs, RBIs, walks, and batting average as they rapidly separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
