KINGSPORT, Tenn. – It was threes all around for the Bristol State Liners as they scored three runs every three innings to beat the Axmen, 9-3, on Thursday night in Kingsport.
Kingsport (21-22) continued a trend of scoring first as two of Kingsport’s All-Stars, Mike Mancini and Deniel Ortiz worked together to give Kingsport the early 2-0 lead. Mancini doubled with one out before Ortiz launched his league-leading tenth homer of the year 394 feet into the Kingsport night sky.
Bristol’s first three runs came in the third inning after a Kingsport fielding error plated two and a wild pitch gave Bristol (18-24) the lead, 3-2.
The theme of the night was triples. Thomas Gould had the biggest hit of the night for Bristol, a two-run triple in the sixth inning. The at-bat before, Keanu Jacobs-Guishard had an RBI single making it 4-3. The Gould triple made it 6-3.
Mancini and Ortiz worked together to give Kingsport their third run as well. Mancini tripled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Two batters later, Ortiz picked up his third RBI of the night with a single to score Mancini.
Bristol picked up three more runs in the top of the ninth, two of which came on Jordan Austin’s first homer of the year. A wild pitch brought home Bristol’s final run to make it 9-3.
Kingsport starter Eli Edds was hit with his third loss of the year, while Carson Magill picked up his first win of the year. Shane O’Neill picked up his league-leading sixth save of the year for the State Liners.
Up next, Kingsport welcomes the Bluefield Ridge Runners to town on Friday for the final home series of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
