PULASKI, Va. -- Despite being outhit during Sunday’s series finale, Tri-State continued to do damage on the basepaths as 10 walks and six hits led the Coal Cats to a 12-5 victory over the Pulaski River Turtles.
After putting runners on base in the first inning with a Logan Poteet single and Chace Chaplin walk, the Coal Cats delivered with runners on base in the following inning. Once again getting two on base after a walk and fielding error, Isaac Turner brought both runners home with a single to center field that gave the Cats a 2-0 lead.
The Tri-State bats remained hot in the third inning, the first of two very productive frames for the visiting offense. Bringing eight batters to the plate, Tri-State took advantage of free bases as five of its six baserunners were either walked or hit batsmen. After a wild pitch brought the first run home, Gavin Johnson added on with a three-run home run to right field. With his first home run of the year, Johnson propelled Tri-State to a 6-0 lead.
However, Pulaski answered back by equalling Tri-State’s offensive performance in the bottom frame. Pulaski swatted five hits in the home half, scoring three of its four runs on three consecutive hits. In the fifth, Pulaski cut the Tri-State lead to 6-5 with a solo shot by Noah Rabin.
Just as the River Turtles did to break open the scoring of Game 1, the Coal Cats made two-out magic by scoring all six of its sixth-inning runs with an out to spare. Once again, the Cats did most of its damage with free bases as three walks loaded the bases before a hit-by-pitch made it a 7-5 game. From there, the Cats scored five runs in three consecutive plate appearances with a Jack Smith walk, Jeff Martz double and Gavin Johnson single. By batting around in the sixth, five of the seven Coal Cats baserunners reached on either a walk or hit-by-pitch.
With a 12-5 cushion, right-hander Joe Gomez sealed the victory with two shutout innings of relief. A sixth-inning two-out single was the only baserunner Gomez allowed, striking out three batters in the inning and following up with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh.
In the third and sixth innings alone, the Coal Cats drew seven walks and three hit batsmen while scoring 10 of its 12 runs in those two frames to earn the victory. Exiting Pulaski with a series split, the Cats return home with an overall record of 14-21, while the River Turtles fall back to .500 at 17-17.
Tri-State enters its two-game series against the Elizabethton River Riders with momentum, having won four of its last five games and two just three games removed from completing a two-game sweep of Elizabethton. Game 1 from Jack Cook Field begins Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., as Tri-State seeks to keep that momentum in its two-game home stint.
