River Riders rally past Liners 10-7, climb back to .500
Published 1:08 pm Thursday, July 3, 2025
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By Ron Marvel
Star Correspondent
Simply put, the River Riders look like a team that is figuring it out. They are communicating and getting to know one another more, and it’s showing up in the standings. After a 2-9 start to the season, they have put together another win streak and have climbed back to even for the 2025 season and stand at 12-12.
The first half of this game, though, looked more like the May version of the River Riders as Bristol infield hits and quiet bats put them in a 4-0 hole going to the top of the fifth. Through those first four innings, the Riders could muster just one hit off the bat of Jackson Berry — a slow roller to short that Berry was able to beat out. Riders starter Matthew Porchas seemed to have control issues early, walking five Liners runners and often falling behind early in the count. Bristol would load the bases in the bottom of the third, but Ryan Bailey would work out of the one-out jam, getting two strikeouts.
The tide would turn in the fifth as Lennox Lively started the inning by reaching on an error; Jackson Berry hit a blistering ground ball through for a single. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Josh Owens hit a ball to the corner in left for a triple to make the score 4-2. The former Providence Academy standout then scored off a Xavier Bradley sac fly, making it a one-run game. But the Riders weren’t done. Joshua Evans reached on an infield base hit to second, and Jordan Crosland gave the Riders a 5-4 lead off a bomb to deep left-center.
After holding the Liners scoreless in their half of the fifth, the Riders picked up a couple of insurance runs off a couple of throwing errors and a line drive to center from Bradley. The River Riders put the game out of reach in the seventh; Hudson Brown knocked home Jordan Crosland, who reached earlier off a walk, and then Berry scorched a liner to right for a double to plate two more runs and give the Riders a 10-4 lead. The Liners got a run back in their share of the seventh, and Jaxon Waller hit a homer off a deep fly ball to make the score a little more respectable.
Bailey picked up the win for the Riders, going 2.2 innings in relief and recording four strikeouts. Charles Spoonhour threw a scoreless inning in the eighth. Berry went 3-for-5 at the plate, picking up two RBIs, while Owens went 2-for-4 with a couple of RBIs. The River Riders will play host to Bristol tonight before hitting the road to Pulaski on the Fourth of July.
