BY IVAN SANDERS

STAR STAFF

ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com

The Elizabethton Twins started their road trip with high expectations but after losing their series to Greeneville two games to one and splitting their first two with the Bluefield Blue Jays, the Twins are 2-3 and looking to get back to the friendly confines of Northeast Community Credit Union Ball Park.

The homestand will be short-lived as the E-Twins play the Princeton Devil Rays for a three-game series Tuesday through Thursday before hitting the road once again for a six-game trip with visits to Bristol and Burlington.

One thing that the E-Twins can take a sigh of relief about is that their lead has actually increased to two and a half games over Johnson City who hasn’t faired much better in their last few games.

Following is a recap of the two games played against Bluefield over the weekend.

Game 1

Elizabethton…10

Bluefield……….  7

The E-Twins rode a 12-hit attack that featured three home runs in the game by Willie Joe Garry Jr. (three-run in second), Kidany Salva (solo in fourth), and Seth Gray (two-run in sixth.)

For Gray, it was his fifth round-tripper of the season.

Second baseman Charles Mack had a great night at the plate going 3-for-5 with Garry Jr. and Max Smith adding a pair of base knocks apiece.

Prelander Berroa (2-1) picked up the win from the mound for Elizabethton tossing five innings of baseball and allowing four runs on six hits. Berroa struck out four Blue Jay batters and walked four.

Dylan Thomas pitched 1.1 innings to notch his fourth save of the season allowing only one hit and striking out three batters.

Game 2

Bluefield……….7

Elizabethton…4

Bluefield evened the series at one game each by taking a 7-4 win over the visiting E-Twins.

After a previous game that saw Elizabethton rap out 12 hits, the E-Twin bats were kept in check collecting only six hits in Sunday’s game.

Willie Joe Garry Jr., Max Smith, Seth Gray, Parker Phillips, Charles Mack, and Ruben Santana accounted for the hit output with one each.

Smith and Gray connected on solo home runs in the contest with Gray hitting his second homer in back-to-back nights.

Ryley Widell can’t seem to buy a win as the lefty absorbed his fifth loss without a victory on the season.

Widell went 5.2 innings and gave up five runs on four hits. He did strike out seven Blue Jay batters and walked only one.

Frandy Torres finished out the game from the hill allowing two runs and striking out five.