Cardinals Drop Game One to Pirates

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.- On Wednesday the Cardinals opened up a three-game series at home against the Bristol Pirates. The Cardinals looked to continue their winning streak against the Pirates as they won six straight games against Bristol coming into Tuesday's contest. 

The Pirates offense came into the game as the worst in all of the Appalachian League but on Tuesday they hit the ball extremely well against the Cardinals ace Ian Oxnevad. In 5.2 innings pitched Oxnevad surrendered ten hits but limited the damage as he only allowed two runs in his performance as it ended in a no-decision with the Cardinals tying up the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Bristol jumped out to a three-run advantage Johnson City fired back as Bryce Denton tied up the game with a three-run blast in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Immediately following that the Pirates scored a trio of runs in the seventh aided by three errors committed by the Johnson City defense in the inning. With a 6-3 disadvantage going into the bottom of the ninth the Cardinals pushed across a pair thanks to Caleb Lopes and Matt Fiedler who both brought in runs off the Pirates closer Jordan Jess. Despite the late push by the Cardinals offense, they dropped game one 6-5.

With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 35-25 on the season while the Pirates advance to 24-36. Despite the loss, Johnson City remains two games on top of Elizabethton as they also dropped their contest at home against the Burlington Royals. Tomorrow the Cardinals the Pirates will play game number two from TVA Credit Union Ballpark with the first pitch scheduled for 7 PM.