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STAR CORRESPONDENT

On Wednesday night, the Elizabethton River Riders collected 12 walks to go along with nine hits, culminating in a 12-3 victory over Pulaski at Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark.

Nick Hockemeyer went 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored to lead the Riders’ (12-18) hit parade. Hockemeyer, a left-handed hitter, stroked all three of his hits to left field, stating that was his approach for the night.

“It was my intention to go opposite field,” Hockemeyer said. “I wanted to just hit the ball where it was pitched. I think we played a complete game tonight and everyone contributed.”

The River Turtles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third with Alec DeMartino bringing home Noah Toole, who had walked. The Riders answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame, with Hockemeyer singling with one out and Jaxon Diamond drawing a free pass.

Adam Magpoc singled to bring home Hockemeyer, and Leandro Perez walked to load the bases. Right fielder Brady Picarelli then delivered a double to left field to bring home two more runs, giving Betsy a 3-1 lead.

In the top of the fourth inning, River Riders starter Nash Bingham’s control issues surfaced when he plunked Jonathan Holt to open the stanza and walked Alex Altman. With one out, he was called for a balk, allowing Holt to score from third base, and an RBI single from Kevin Jones plated Altman to make it a 3-2 contest.

Bingham pitched three innings, giving up three runs—all earned—on one hit with five walks and two strikeouts in a no-decision showing. The Riders plated three runs in the fifth when Turtles starter Nate Gray hit Carlos Irizarry with a pitch and walked Carlos Perez and Picarelli to load the bases.

Colin Sloan worked a walk to plate a run, and Kade Huff slammed a sacrifice fly to deep center field for a 5-3 Riders lead. Two outs later, Jaxon Diamond drew an RBI walk off Turtles reliever Caleb Gallant for a 6-3 Elizabethton advantage.

“We took advantage of some walks, and we got some timely hitting early to give ourselves a lead,” River Riders manager Jeremy Owens said. “We saw our at-bats improve, and we didn’t chase bad pitches. We took advantage of their pitchers nibbling a bit too much, and we took advantage of that situation.”

In the seventh inning, Sloan bashed a home run over the left-field fence—his first of the season—to lead off the frame. The Riders collected three more hits and four walks to make it a 12-3 contest. Hockemeyer had an RBI hit in the inning, as did Diamond, and Perez and Huff each drew RBI walks with the bases loaded.

Pulaski 3, River Riders 12

Pulaski 001 200 000 – 3 7 0

River Riders 003 030 60x – 12 9 0

W – Powell (3-1) L – Gallant (0-1)

HR – Sloan (1)