River Riders take Game 2 from State Liners to close strong homestand
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. - The River Riders took care of business on Sunday against the State Liners with a 6-3 victory, climbing back into a tie for first place in the Appalachian League West with Bristol. The runs were plentiful in the first inning, as both squads put up a two
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. - The River Riders took care of business on Sunday against the State Liners with a 6-3 victory, climbing back into a tie for first place in the Appalachian League West with Bristol.
The runs were plentiful in the first inning, as both squads put up a two spot in the frame. For Bristol, one run came home in the frame when a throw into the infield on a fly out got away from the River Riders’ defense, allowing Derek Cease to score. Then, a balk by starting pitcher Turner Swistak scored Joe Kinneberg. In the bottom of the inning, Knox Preston singled to bring home his Saint Louis teammate Hayden Moore, and he was followed by an RBI single by Kerry Herndon-Brown that scored Brendan Jones, tying the game at two.
In the second, Elizabethton took the lead and never looked back as a double from Moore allowed Keaton Cottam to score, making it a 3-2 game. The River Riders got two more in the third, one on an RBI groundout from Peyton Basler and one on a single from Cottam, giving E-Town a three-run lead after three.
The River Riders tacked on one more run on a double from DJ Dillehay in the fourth to score Herndon-Brown. Bristol then got one in the fifth, thanks to an RBI groundout by Kinneberg. The score stayed at 6-3, and Elizabethton split the two-game set with the State Liners.
After a league-wide off day Monday, the River Riders will be back in action Tuesday night against the Johnson City Doughboys at TVA Credit Union Ballpark.