KINGSPORT, Tenn. — After five games on the road, Kingsport returned to Ballad Health Field for a thriller against Elizabethton, losing 3-3 in walk-off fashion. A Matt Evans single sealed the deal, clinching the River Riders the tiebreaker.
With the default runner on first, Seth Farni struck out the first batter in the lone sudden-death inning. After the first out was recorded, the Kingsport coaching staff went to the untouchable Michael Savarese to shut down the bottom of Elizabethton’s order.
However, it’s no mistake that the River Riders have one of the best offenses in the league. The first batter Savarese faced was Jackson Reardon.
Reardon singled off Savarese to put runners on first and second. With only one away, the pressure was really on the pitcher.
That culminated in the next at bat, when Evans stepped up to the dish. On the second pitch, Evans floated a flyball into right center.
It was down for a single, but Elizabethton wanted to win the game. Rightfielder Jacob Parr hesitated on his approach after fielding the ball, not realizing that the winning run was advancing around third. The throw to the plate was late as Mikey Vanderheyden crossed home plate.
It was a heartbreaker for Kingsport, not only because it was in sudden death, but because the Axmen had worked so hard to even get in that position.
The River Riders originally held a 3-0 lead after the third inning. Elizabethton looked sharp early on, but the first crack in the armor appeared when Parr sent his first long ball of the season over the left field wall.
Then, for the Axmen, it was the fifth inning where they had a golden opportunity to tie the game. With two in scoring position, Cash Williams grounded the ball to third base.
Carter Johnstone fielded the ball cleanly off the bounce, but his momentum carried him away on the throw to first. The ball landed on the turf and dribbled a few feet out in front of Reardon.
One run had already scored on the infield single, but after seeing the ball live on the loose, Kyuss Gargett raced for home plate.
Reardon collected the ball easily and tossed it to home, where Gargett was not on schedule, getting tagged out.
The tying run came in the seventh when Trey Jozwiakowski scored on a throwing error by Vanderheyden after stealing second base.
Even though the Axmen survived and advanced through the game, the offense still only recorded five hits.
Kingsport now falls back into last place after finally crawling out of the bottom-most spot in the West Division.
