APPALACHIAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP: BriSox Blast Burlington For Second Straight Night

BURLINGTON, N.C. — Juan Silverio drove in seven runs and Garrett Johnson earned his first professional win on the mound as the Bristol White Sox cruised to a 10-4 Appalachian League victory over the Burlington Royals on Saturday night.

Silverio finished 3-for-5 and scored two runs to raise his batting average to .381 on the young season. His decisive blow was a grand slam in the seventh inning off Burlington reliever Pernell Halliman.

That was more than enough support for Johnson. The 6-foot-10 left-hander earned the start and allowed just one earned run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Two of the first three hitters reached base against Johnson, but he would shut down the Royals the rest of the way. He struck out seven, did not issue a walk and now has a 1.23 ERA in two appearances.
In Tuesday’s season-opener against Johnson City, Johnson struck out five in two shutout innings of relief. It’s a far cry from Johnson’s experience with the BriSox in 2007, when he went 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in 15 relief outings.

Murillo Gouvea tossed the final 3 2/3 innings in relief of Johnson to earn his first save. Bristol leadoff hitter Justin Greene also had another big performance, going 3-for-4 with four runs scored and a RBI.

Burlington (0-5) is the only winless team left in the Appy League and the Royals have been hurt by shabby defense. Burlington had three errors on Saturday -- two on throwing errors by shortstop Lifete Jose – and now have 12 miscues in five games.

Diego Cruz homered for the lowly Royals.

Johnson City 7, Kingsport 6
Joseph Hage scored on a ball hit back to the pitcher with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Johnson City Cardinals a victory over the Kingsport Mets.
Hage finished with two hits and led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single to left and eventually scored the game-winner.

Johnson City led 6-0 after three innings and then watched as Kingsport rallied to tie it. The K-Mets pushed across two runs in the top of the ninth to knot the score at six, before Johnson City responded by winning the game in dramatic fashion.
Leadoff hitter Ignacio Medrano went 4-for-5 with a run scored and four RBIs to lead Kingsport.

Princeton 7, Bluefield 2
Princeton pitchers Kevin Chavez and James Bagley combined on a six-hitter as the Devil Rays earned a victory over the Bluefield Orioles in a matchup between Appalachian League East Division rivals.
Chavez worked five shutout innings to earn the win, while Bagley worked the final four frames to pick up his first save. Eli Sonoqui hit his second home run of the season for Princeton.
Brian Conley had three hits for Bluefield.

Pulaski 10, Elizabethton 7
Mario Martinez went 3-for-5 and homered as the Pulaski Mariners knocked off the previously unbeaten Elizabethton Twins in front of 1,360 fans at Calfee Park.
Jacob Shaffer also had three hits for Pulaski, while Jonathan Waltenbury went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs for the Twins. The two teams combined for 27 hits.

Danville 5, Greeneville 4
Chris Shehan’s solo home run in the eighth inning and another strong effort by reliever Junior Rojas highlighted the Danville Braves’ Appalachian League road win over the Greeneville Astros.
Rojas (2-0, 1.59 ERA) picked up another win after tossing two shutout innings. He walked one and struck out two.
Shehan and Chais Fuller each had three hits for the Braves (4-1). Ricardo Bonfante had two hits for Greeneville.

Friday's Game
Seven different Bristol White Sox players had at least one hit and the bullpen shined as the BriSox claimed a 7-6 Appalachian League road win over the Burlington (N.C.) Royals on Friday night.
Bristol (2-2) received two hits apiece from Andrew Garcia, Jedon Matthews and Juan Silverio. Garcia hit a two-run home run in the first inning for Bristol, which built a 7-1 lead and held on for the victory.
Bristol starter Po-Yu Lin lasted just 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. However, relievers Shane Buriff, Brent DeFoor and Kevin Asselin picked up the slack.
The bullpen combined to allow just one earned run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. Buriff got the win, while Asselin worked a perfect ninth for his first save.
Burlington (0-4) was hurt by three errors. The Royals did receive three hits from leadoff hitter Angel Franco.