Cardinals and Mets Split Double-Header

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.- On Tuesday the Johnson City Cardinals and the Bristol Pirates embarked on their third double-header of the season against each other. The Cardinals rode into the game on a five-game winning streak as they tried extending that to a season-high seven games on Tuesday. 

In game one the Cardinals got off to a rocky start, Allen Cordoba tripled and Matt Fiedler drove him in with an RBI single making it 1-0 in the first inning. After that, the Mets took off scoring 9 unanswered runs with the big blow coming in the third inning with Kingsport scoring seven runs. Reed Gamache and Walter Rasquin started the third inning for the Mets with back-to-back doubles which kicked off the enormous inning from the Kingsport offense. The Cardinals fired back immediately with a pair of their own runs in the bottom of the third to make in 9-3. In the fifth the Cardinals officially made it a ballgame once again as they tallied a four spot, J.R. Davis kicked off this inning with a solo home run as Cordoba, Fiedler, and Josh Lopez all tallied hits in the inning to make it a 9-7 contest. Two runs would shrink the Mets lead even more in the sixth when the Cardinals continued their improbable comeback as Matt Fiedler struck again with a sacrifice fly that scored J.R. Davis making it 9-8. In the bottom of the seventh, the Cardinals made the comeback complete by not only tying the game but also winning it with a pair of runs. Allen Cordoba walked it off for Johnson City with the bases loaded a three-two count, two men retired, Cordoba delivered with an RBI walk-off single to centerfield lifting the Cardinals to a 10-9 game one victory.

In game two the Cardinals would jump out to an early 1-0 advantage in the third inning as Allen Cordoba once again came around to score on a Hunter Newman RBI single to centerfield. However, for the rest of the game, the Mets offense would take-off as they outscored the Cardinals 15-1 in the final four innings of the contest. For the Mets Reed Gamache, Cecilio Aybar, and Jeremy Wolf all hit home runs for Kingsport in the final four innings. This time, the Cardinals were unable to come back from a 15-2 deficit as they dropped game number two splitting the double-header on the day.

With the series victory, the Cardinals advance to 35-24 on the season while the Mets are now 20-39. The Cardinals also remain on top of the Appalachian League West division as they have a two-game lead over the second place Elizabethton Twins. On Wednesday the Cardinals take on the Pirates as they kick-off a three-game homestand, game one is scheduled for 7 PM.