The Kingsport Axmen came back late to defeat the Johnson City Doughboys by a final score of 3-2.
The game was scoreless through the first four innings.
Johnson City (0-7) took a 2-0 lead after scoring two runs in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half of the inning, Kingsport (7-0) cut the lead in half on a Houston Koon RBI groundout that scored home Jake Perry, who had tripled to lead off the inning.
No runs were scored in the sixth and seventh innings and Johnson City went down in order in the top of the eighth inning. In the bottom half of the eighth, Logan Poteet led off with a seven-pitch walk and Cole Hales followed it up with a four-pitch walk. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Ian Riley laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Casillas, who pinch ran for Poteet, to third and Hales to second.
Mayes White struck out after Riley’s sacrifice bunt, and this brought up Nate Anderson to bat with runners on second and third with two outs. Anderson entered the at-bat with two doubles on the night and was down in the count 1-2. He proceeded to foul off the next three pitches he saw and on the next pitch, Anderson doubled on a pop up into left field, which scored home both Casillas and Hales. The Axmen took a 3-2 lead and then the next batter Henry Hunter struck out to finish the inning.
In the top of the ninth inning, Kingsport RHP Isaac Gonzales retired the side on a strikeout, groundout and pop out. Gonzales (1-0) recorded his first win of the season.
Both Jake Perry and Nate Anderson enter tomorrow’s series finale game against Johnson City on six-game hit streaks. The unbeaten Axmen have allowed just five runs in their opponents’ last 41 offensive innings.
