July 24
Kingsport 8 – Greeneville 8 (Flyboys win the tiebreaker)
Greeneville hosted Kingsport at Eastman Credit Union Field Friday night for the second game of their series, and nine innings wasn’t enough to decide a winner. The Flyboys eventually earned the victory after holding the Axmen scoreless in the extra frame, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Greeneville jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the first inning before adding two more in the third to take a 4-0 advantage.
Both teams scored once in the fourth, giving the Flyboys a 5-1 lead.
Flyboys starter Jayden Hill turned in a strong outing, allowing just one run on four hits over five innings while striking out five and walking three.
Kingsport made things interesting in the sixth, scoring three runs—only one of them earned—off reliever Hudson Johnson to cut the deficit to 5-4.
Greeneville answered in the bottom of the inning when Matthew Kerrigan scored on an Olin Ward infield single, extending the lead to 6-4.
The Axmen responded with a run in the seventh to pull within one, but the Flyboys added two insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning to build an 8-5 advantage, leaving them just six outs away from the win.
Kingsport, however, had one more rally left. Looking to snap a five-game losing streak, the Axmen used a two-out rally in the top of the ninth to score three runs and tie the game at 8-8.
The fans who remained were rewarded with extra baseball after Greeneville stranded the potential winning run at second base in the bottom of the ninth.
Under Appalachian League extra-inning rules, Greeneville elected to take the field first in the 10th and held Kingsport scoreless, securing the win and improve to 19-22 on the season.
Matt Cash paced the Greeneville offense with two singles and a double, while Olin Ward collected three singles and drove in three runs.
The Flyboys and Axmen will play game two of their three-game series Saturday night at Eastman Credit Union Field. Greeneville enters the finale trailing Kingsport by 2½ games in the playoff race. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the first 500 fans through the gates will receive a Jack Wilson bobblehead.
Elizabethton 14 – Bluefield 7
Danville 8 – Johnson City 6
Pulaski 11 – Burlington 6 (Sock Puppets are eliminated from the Play-offs)
July 25
Kingsport @ Greeneville 7:00 pm
Elizabethton @ Bluefield 6:30 pm
Danville @ Johnson City 7:00 pm
Pulaski @ Burlington 7:00 pm
July 26
Greeneville @ Kingsport 2:00 pm
Elizabethton @ Bluefield 5:30 pm
Danville @ Johnson City 2:00 pm
Pulaski @ Burlington 5:30 pm
