By Spencer Campbell
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Oftentimes in a prize fight the decisive blow comes early in the bout. It leaves the opposing fighter so crippled that no matter how persistent they might be with their jabs and haymakers, they can never fully recover.
Such was the case last night at Boyce Cox Field.
On the might of a four-run third inning, the Bristol White Sox out slugged the Greeneville Astros 8-4, extending the club’s current winning streak to seven games.
“We’ve got some guys that can play,” BriSox manager Bobby Thigpen said. “We’ve got some talent. I think they’re realizing they can play anybody in this league.”
The BriSox (23-17) came out of the evening as the winners, but the pitching staff that has served them so well the previous six games was far from untouchable.
All told, four BriSox pitchers combined to allow 12 hits, four runs and five walks. The Astros (20-26) left runners on base in every inning, including the ninth, when reliever Nathan Jones loaded the bases before striking out the tying run.
“We didn’t pitch as good as I would like, but we got the hits, we got the runs we needed to get ahead,” Thigpen said. “At least they got by without getting hurt too bad.”
Leading into the top of the third, the Astros were ahead 2-1, courtesy of a pair of solo home runs in the second and third innings. But in the bottom of the third, Bristol pulled off the quintessential two-out rally.
After the first two batters of the inning were quickly put out, Justin Greene tripled to the right centerfield gap. Jordan Kendall then drew a walk and stole second, which prompted a wild throw from Astros catcher Federico Hernandez. With the ball in centerfield, Greene was able to walk home, evening the game at two a piece.
From there, a conveyor belt of BriSox came to the plate and quickly rounded the bases. Kendall was doubled home by first baseman Jorge Castillo, who was singled home by Brandon Short. Catcher Orlando Santos finished off the rally by singling in Short.
By the end of the third the BriSox led by a 5-2 margin and would never relinquish the lead, notwithstanding the ninth inning drama.
Santos almost stole the show, however, when he finished the night a triple away from batting for the cycle. He also clubbed his first home run this season.
“I got a good swing,” Santos said. “Jerry Hairston’s helped me a lot. He told me to always be patient at the plate.”
Languishing in last place just a few weeks ago, the BriSox are now just 1.5 games behind the Appalachian League’s Western division leaders, the Elizabethton Twins. As fate would have it, the BriSox are due to face the Twins seven times over the next nine days – a stretch of the calendar that just might decided the Western division.
Not that Thigpen is planning any radical changes for the final stretch.
“We just need to play our game,” Thigpen said. “We need to throw strikes, get ahead of hitters, just do the things we’ve been doing.”
The BriSox begin a three game series at Elizabethton tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
scampbell@bristolnews.com (276) 645-2513
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