BRISTOL, Va. – Smiles were in short supply Sunday night at DeVault Stadium.
And by the end of the game, expressions of any kind had disappeared from the stands.
After an hour rain delay in the eighth inning, the Bristol White Sox finished off a miserable 14-3 loss to the Elizabethton Twins in front of less than 20 fans, their sixth consecutive loss to the Twins and fourth straight overall.
The Twins scored in each of the second through seventh innings to continue their mastery of the BriSox (11-15).
Despite the disheartening night to cap a tough weekend, BriSox manager Ryan Newman said even the worst times in the rookie-level Appalachian League can help his players’ development.
“These slumps are the biggest teaching moments,” he said.
Newman had plenty of time to cool off from any frustration he might have been feeling early on in Sunday’s contest as he was ejected in the first inning after arguing a call at first base and spent most of the rest of the night watching the game from the press box with his wife and young son.
“I’m not concerned,” Newman said. “Rookie ball clubs are going to go through phases like this. They’re getting to a point now where they’ve never come to a ballpark every day having to perform and their bodies are taking a beating right now and they’re a little run down.”
“If we win that’s great. We’re here to develop. We’re not here to win 50 games in the Appalachian League.”
The lone recent bright spot in the Bristol lineup continued to be new arrival Robert Cummings, who went 3-for-4 Sunday and drove in and scored a run.
Cummings, who joined Bristol from Great Falls on July 15, has hit safely in all five games as a member of the BriSox and is hitting .600 in his brief Appy League stint.
“We knew how he could swing the bat,” Newman said. “He’s only going to help our ballclub.”
Despite Cummings’ latest strong performance, the BriSox were unable to score more than three runs for the 11th straight game, a run in which they have won only three times.
Poor fielding hurt Bristol in the third when back-to-back errors form the left side of the BriSox infield put two on for Elizabethton second baseman Jamaal Hawkins.
Hawkins hit an RBI single and Twins star center fielder Oswaldo Arcia followed with a two-run triple and the rout was on.
Arcia torched the BriSox with a double, triple and three RBIs. On the night, Bristol committed five errors.
Even the scoreboard lost faith in the BriSox in the fourth when Daniel Ortiz led off the inning with a double. The electronic marker credited the Twins with another run with Ortiz still standing on second.
Of course, the scoreboard turned out to be correct when the next two Elizabethton batter hit sacrifice flies to bring home Ortiz.
The BriSox have now lost seven of eight and are tied for last place in the West Division with the Kingsport Mets.
They’ll finish out their four-game set with the Twins tonight at 7 before they hit the road for a series at Greeneville.
But as long as the players continue to work hard, Newman said improvements will come.
“The effort is there,” he said.
nhubbard@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Hubbard_BHCSprt | (276) 645-2543
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