BY JOSH FLOYD
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
BRISTOL, Va. – With the football season on the horizon, Elizabethton put on its proverbial helmets Thursday at DeVault Stadium – promptly turning a crucial Bristol “turnover” into immediate dividends.
After the Sox couldn’t push home a single run following three straight third-inning hits, the Twins – in a five-minute span – struck for all four of their runs in the fourth, keeping pace with East Division leader Danville for the Appalachian League’s best record by posting a gritty 4-2 victory.
With Robert Vaughn, Misael Tavarez and Jose Fulgencio providing consecutive singles in the third to load the bases for Bristol, Elizabethton southpaw Martire Garcia got a key grounder returned to him
from Sox second baseman Dan Wagner. Garcia then threw to catcher Tobias Streich, who ultimately started a 1-2-3 twin-killing.
“We hit into quite a few double plays tonight, and those are rally killers,” said Bristol manager Ryan Newman, whose squad recorded 11 hits but also slapped into three double plays. “We got guys on base, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get them across.”
Garcia, who ultimately worked six frames for the win, then fanned Kyle Davis to exit the third unscathed.
The Twins (34-16) then put together three straight fourth-inning hits off the bats of Michael Gonzales, Steven Liddle and Anderson Hidalgo to go ahead 1-0. A subsequent sac fly from Derek McCallum doubled Elizabethton’s cushion, while a two-run blast from Herbert Lara down the right-field line doubled the advantage yet again.
“All the momentum switches to the other club, and it’s happened to us a million times this year – along with the opposing clubs as well,” Elizabethton manager Ray Smith said. “We got the comebacker there … but if the ball went a foot this way or a foot that way, all of a sudden, they could have beaten us 10-2. Who knows? That’s the way Mr. [Abner] Doubleday designed it, I guess.”
Trayce Thompson, meanwhile, collected both RBIs for Bristol, as his ninth-inning sac fly drew Bristol (18-30) within 4-2 following leadoff singles from Brady Shoemaker (3-for-4) and Leighton Pangilinan.
Vaughn (3-for-4) followed with yet another single, bringing the winning run to the plate with just one out.
However, Twins’ reliever Tony Davis settled down to notch his fifth save, recording groundouts against Tavarez and Fulgencio – who combined with Vaughn to go a productive 6-of-12 at the lower end of the BriSox lineup.
“[Elizabethton] competes to win this thing every year, and we played right there with them,” Newman concluded. “We battled hard against a really good team.”
SOX NOTES: Bristol center fielder Ryan Lee was promoted to Class A Kannapolis following Wednesday’s 9-4 loss at Johnson City. Lee batted .292 with 10 RBIs for the BriSox while appearing in 44 games. … RHP Charles Delk (2-6, 5.80 ERA) will get the nod for Bristol in game two of the three-game series. … The Mayberry Deputy, a fan favorite, is a guest at tonight’s contest.
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