Big first inning pushes Pulaski to sweep over Greeneville
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – A four-run first inning for Pulaski was enough as the River Turtles held off a late charge by the Greeneville Flyboys to earn the two-game sweep with an 8-4 win on Thursday night. The River Turtles (23-24) opened the scoring in the top of the first, as
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – A four-run first inning for Pulaski was enough as the River Turtles held off a late charge by the Greeneville Flyboys to earn the two-game sweep with an 8-4 win on Thursday night.
The River Turtles (23-24) opened the scoring in the top of the first, as a T.J. Fondtain (San Diego State) RBI-single scored Rodney Green Jr. (Cal) to give Pulaski a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, a two-RBI single by Owen Deshazo (Boston College) brought home Konner Kinkade (Orange Coast College) and Fondtain to push the lead to 3-0. Connor Fuhrman (South Carolina) drew a bases-loaded walk to score Christian Smith (Vanderbilt) and swell the Turtle advantage to 4-0.
In the bottom of the second, the Flyboys (24-24) got a run back as a Cameron LaLiberte (Arizona) sac fly scored Ian Daugherty (Oklahoma State) to cut the Pulaski lead to 4-1.
For the third time this season, Smith hit a home run for Pulaski against the Flyboys, a solo shot in the top of the third to extend the River Turtle lead to 5-1. A Fuhrman RBI-single later in the frame scored Deshazo to make it a 6-1 ballgame.
The River Turtles banged their second home run of the game in the top of the fifth, a two-run blast by Green Jr. to push Pulaski ahead 8-1.
Jack O’Reilly (Villanova) got the Flyboys back on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to score David Bishop (TCU) and cut the lead down to 8-2.
Greeneville made things slightly more interesting in the bottom of the ninth, with an RBI-groundout by Dub Gleed (UC Irvine) scoring Maddox Mihalakis (Arizona) and an RBI-single by LaLiberte scoring O’Reilly, but a strikeout by Matthew Siverling (Virginia Tech) ended the contest and gave Pulaski the 8-4 win.
Aaron Park (NJIT) (1-0) earned the win, going two innings and striking out a pair of batters. Kobe Head (Texas Southern) started the game, going four innings, giving up one run off one hit, walking a batter and striking out five. Cy Fontenot (New Orleans) went two innings out of the pen, giving up one run off two hits, walking one and striking out another. Siverling closed out the game in the ninth, allowing two runs off two hits, walking a batter and striking out one.
Roan Tarbert (East Georgia State) (1-2) went just 2/3 of an inning, giving up four runs off two hits, walking four and striking out one. Tyler Blankenship (Yuba College) went 4 1/3 innings, giving up four runs off four hits, walking one and striking out three. Ryan Schiefer (Grand Canyon) went the final four innings of the game for Greeneville, giving up three hits, walking two and striking out five.
Up next, the Flyboys will open a three-game set at Kingsport, with the first two games being played at Hunter Wright Stadium. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. Fans unable to make the trip to Kingsport can tune into a free audio broadcast beginning at 6:45 p.m. at appyleague.com.