E-TWINS COMEBACK FALLS SHORT IN 9-5 LOSS TO JOHNSON CITY

Elizabethton, Tennessee - While the Elizabethton Twins struck for five runs in the final three innings, a five-run fifth for the Johnson City Cardinals proved to be the difference in Monday night's ballgame, as the Twins fell to the Cardinals 9-5
Ryley Widell was solid through his first three innings, allowing just one run on one hit. He gave up another run and a pair of hits in the fourth inning before Johnson City broke out in the fifth.
The Cardinals struck for five runs, four coming off Widell and one off Erik Cha, who gave up a grand slam, to Malcolm Nunez on his first pitch of the game.
Cha kept Johnson City off the board in his final three innings of work, doing his best to keep Elizabethton in the game.
Cardinal starter Julio Puello was perfect through his first six innings, but the E-Twins finally got to him in the seventh, as Ruben Santana ripped a single to right field to lead off the inning. Anthony Prato was then hit by a pitch and Albee Weiss connected for a three-run home run.
The home run was Weiss' ninth of the season and brought him to 25 runs batted in, both stats putting him at the top of the Appalachian League leaderboard.
The Cardinals added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth off Osiris German and the Twins countered with two in the bottom of the inning on a double from Seth Gray, a triple form Weiss and a Charles Mack groundout. The late effort was not enough, as the Twins could not add any more and fell 9-5.
Elizabethton will look to win the series while Johnson City looks to tie in the fourth and final game of the four-game series with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.
For tickets and more information, visit elizabethtontwins.com.