Chase Blackwood's solo shot in the seventh inning propelled the Bristol White Sox to a 1-0 victory over Burlington Thursday night at Burlington Athletic Stadium.

Avinazar (4-2) worked seven innings and allowed only five hits. The righty lowered his earned run average, which was sixth in the Appalachian League coming into the game, to 2.25 and struck out four. But Blackwood's homer with one down in the seventh inning overshadowed his good work.

Bristol (20-30) starter Robert Young was just a little bit better than Avinazar and the Royals (23-27). The southpaw worked seven shutout innings and only surrendered two base hits. Burlington only got two base runners to second base against Young.

Burlington's best chance came in the ninth inning against Bristol closer Kevin Moran. Adrian Martinez reached on an infield single that was bobbled by White Sox shortstop Drew Lee. Luis Piterson bunted him to second base. After a long battle, pinch hitter Yunior Figueroa struck out but reached first after a wild pitch past Blackwood. With men at the corners, Ryan Stovall grounded into a game-ending double play to clinch Moran's eighth save.

The Royals also had a pair of attempted base stealers thrown out trying to get to third base. Bristol's pitching staff only faced three more than the minimum.

The White Sox improve to 3-1 against the Royals, who dropped a game in the chase for second place in the Eastern Division. Fourth-place Burlington now sits three games behind Danville for the division's final playoff spot with 18 games remaining.

Game two of this three-game series comes up Friday at 7 p.m., with Jonathan Dooley slated to toe the rubber for Burlington. Tickets are still available for "Ladies Night" at Burlington Athletic Stadium, so call the Royals at (336) 222-0223. If you cannot make it to the game, catch all of the play-by-play coverage right here on burlingtonroyals.com beginning at 6:45 p.m.