ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – For most in attendance, it was just a meaningless at-bat in the final inning of a lopsided game.
For Marcus Spencer of the Bristol White Sox, it meant much more.
Spencer collected a hit in the ninth inning of his debut, one of the few highlights for the BriSox in a 9-1 Appalachian League setback to the Elizabethton Twins on Saturday night at Joe O’Brien Field.
Spencer fractured the pinkie finger on his right hand, forcing him to be inactive for Bristol’s first 18 games.
It also delayed his first season of affiliated professional baseball. He played for the Windy City Thunderbolts of the independent Frontier League last season after a standout career at Alabama A&M.
Finally healed and looking to prove his worth, Spencer was overjoyed to take the field.
“It felt great,” Spencer said. “I was real nervous. There were a lot of mixed feelings of coming back off my injury. I was just excited to play more than anything. I worked hard to get back.”
Spencer made his debut in the bottom of the eighth inning, taking over in center field as a defensive replacement.
With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, he ripped a single to center on a 1-0 pitch from Elizabethton reliever David Gutierrez.
“It was a lot of emotion and a lot of things were running through my head,” Spencer said. “I just wanted to do well.”
Little else went well for the BriSox.
Left-handed pitcher Robert Young (0-1, 4.80 ERA) was tagged with the loss after yielding five runs on eight hits in four innings. Relievers Austin Evans and Robert Marshall were also touched for runs.
The defense committed three errors.
Meanwhile, the hitters struck out 11 times against three Elizabethton pitchers.
Even Bristol’s most consistent player – steady second baseman Drew Lee – wasn’t immune from an off night. He went 0-for-4 and struck out three times.
Bristol (10-9) is just 1-3 against Elizabethton (12-7) this season.
The Twins pounded out 11 hits in handing the BriSox their most lopsided loss of the season. Elizabethton raced out to a 5-0 lead after four innings and eight of the team’s nine starters reached base at
least once.
NOTES: Jordan Keegan scored Bristol’s lone run, touching the plate in the sixth inning on a RBI double by Michael Schwartz. ... Bristol relief pitcher Kevin Rath had a nice bounce-back performance. After suffering the loss on Thursday against Kingsport, the lefty worked a scoreless ninth and notched two strikeouts. … Winning pitcher Manuel Soliman (2-2, 4.43 ERA) struck out nine over 5 1/3 innings. … Gutierrez worked the final 3 1/3 innings for his second save. … Bristol plays at Elizabethton again tonight at 7 p.m.
thayes@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Hayes_BHCSports | (276) 645-2570
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement