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By: Andrew Smith

GREENEVILLE–The Greeneville Flyboys (13-13) defeated the Elizabethton River Riders (11-15) on Thursday night by a final score of 6-4. Designated hitter Myles Smith went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run.

The loss knocked Elizabethton down to fourth place in the Appalachian League West, as the Johnson City Doughboys won against the Burlington Sock Puppets to give them sole possession of third. It also marked the first time this year that the River Riders fell to four games below .500.

E-Town got on the board first in the top of the second inning. Designated hitter Issac Williams led off the frame with a single, before finding his way to third on a wild pitch and an error. He scored on an error by Greeneville. Then, second baseman Ty Peters tripled home the man who reached on the error, catcher Reagan Guthrie, to bring home run number two. Peters scored one batter later when left fielder Zach Freeman grounded out to second. It was 3-0 River Riders after one and a half.

The Flyboys responded in their half of the second. Left fielder Beau Ankeney hit a single with two outs to keep the inning alive. After a walk by center fielder Shemar Dalton, catcher Cameron LaLiberte cleared the bases with a double. The River Riders held on to a 3-2 lead after two full innings.

Elizabethton got one of those runs back in the top of the third. Third baseman Harrison Rodgers singled with one out before coming around to score on a single by Williams after making it to third on an error on a pickoff attempt. E-Town now led 4-2.

Greeneville began their comeback effort in the bottom of the fourth. After a flyout to start the inning, right fielder Jack O’Reilly walked and Ankeney singled to put runners on the corners. Then, Dalton hit a ground ball that stayed in the infield, but an error by the River Riders’ defense allowed O’Reilly to score, making it 4-3.

The Flyboys got one more in the bottom of the fifth. Shortstop Dub Gleed led off the frame by getting hit by a pitch. He eventually scored on a wild pitch by reliever Cole Rodriguez, tying the game at 4-4.

The middle-inning comeback would be completed in the sixth. With one out, Dalton earned a base on balls. After a pop out, Smith would hit a two-run home run to right field that was just out of the reach of right fielder Avery Owusu-Asiedu, giving the Flyboys their first lead of the night at 6-4.

The River Riders had nothing going in the last third of the game, as there was only one hit in the last three frames, a seventh-inning single by Owusu-Asiedu. The two squads will play again on Friday night. First pitch from Pioneer Park is set for 7 p.m.

 

Final                    R    H    E    LOB

River Riders       4     6     4      8

Flyboys                6     5      3      6

 

W: Roan Tarbert (1-0)

L: Ben Riley Flowers (1-1)

S: Caleb Jones (2)