Game changer… Greeneville takes advantage of six-run fifth to sink Elizabethton, 6-2
Published 6:00 am Monday, July 22, 2019
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR STAFF
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
In the game of baseball, a final score is often misleading as more often than not a team will take advantage of a big inning and fend off any comeback attempts.
Such was the case in Greeneville Thursday evening as the Elizabethton Twins were hoping to continue to stretch out their slim lead in the Appy West but couldn’t recoup after the Reds flipped the scoreboard six times in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 6-2 win.
The game was shaping up to be a defensive battle through four innings of play as neither team could make any leeway in getting runs on the board.
All that changed in the Reds portion of the fifth inning as a bases-loaded walk brought in Greeneville’s Mike Spooner to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.
Tyler Callihan followed up with a single that plated both Ivan Johnson and Danny Lantigua to quickly push the advantage to 3-0 Greeneville.
The Reds weren’t done there, however, as a Carlos Reina double chased Garrett Wolforth to the plate for a 4-0 lead.
Callihan and Reina crossed the dish on a single off the bat of Ranser Amador to give the home team a comfortable 6-0 lead heading into the sixth inning.
The E-Twins were unable to make any noise until the top of the seventh inning when they would trim the lead to four, 6-2.
Kidany Salva and Ruben Santana came in on a single from Charles Mack to centerfield but unfortunately, that would be all the damage the Elizabethton team could muster.
The E-Twin bats once again took the night off as Elizabethton collected only four hits on the night off of four Reds pitchers.
Andriu Marin took the loss on the hill tossing 4.1 innings of baseball giving up five hits and five runs while recording eight strikeouts.
Ryan Shreve came in relief and gave up one run and four hits in 1.2 innings of work while Steven Cruz finished off the evening covering the final two innings of work striking out four Red batters and not yielding a hit.
With the loss, the E-Twins (17-12) maintained a 1.5 game lead over Johnson City and a three-game edge over the Kingsport Mets.
Greeneville with the win pulled a game closer and stand five games out of first.
The E-Twins wrapped up their three-game series with the Reds Friday night and will be on the road to Bluefield for a series with the Blue Jays beginning Saturday night.
Elizabethton returns to Northeast Community Credit Union Ball Park Tuesday through Thursday for a three-game home series with the Princeton Rays before hitting the road again next Friday.