BriSox fall to Johnson City, 5-4

BY JIM CNOCKAERT
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Va. – Ryan Newman is as competitive as anyone in the Appalachian League, which is why he occasionally has to remind himself about his priorities as the Bristol White Sox manager.

“We all have competitive juices flowing,” Newman said after Thursday night’s 5-4 loss to the Johnson City Cardinals at DeVault Stadium. “What really I enjoy is seeing these guys make adjustments and have success. That’s what this is all about. That’s why we’re here.

“But, of course, we all want to win the ball game, too.”

Wins have been in short supply for the BriSox during the first two weeks of the Appy League season – they’ve won just twice in 10 outings – so Newman has needed an abundance of patience with his young players.

He reminds them constantly to be patient with themselves and not get too anxious, and he tells them that he sees progress with each game. If that progress continues, he assures them, the wins will come.

“We’re giving ourselves chances to win,” he said. “They play hard for me every night. We get that tying run on base or to the plate, so we are giving ourselves the chances. That’s all I can ask of them.

“At this level, it’s all about development. We all want to win the ball game. We’re all competitive. We all want to win. But when they’re in these situations, they learn from it, and they’re getting better. They take it to the next day.”

Bristol missed a glorious chance to get back into the win column in the eighth inning. After they’d rallied from a two-run deficit to tie the game at 4-all on a single by Ryan Lee, a double by pinch-hitter Kyle Davis and a single by Dan Wagner, the BriSox loaded the bases on consecutive walks with one out. But a strikeout and a groundout ended the threat.

The BriSox scrapped for their other two runs in the third inning, when they took a 2-1 lead. A single, a walk, a groundout, a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice accounted for the scoring.

One bright spot for Bristol was a strong effort from starter Phil Negus, who struck out nine in five innings. He left with the game tied at 2-2 after giving up a pair of solo home runs.

“We’re still learning a lot about Phil, but he got ahead tonight and threw strikes and stayed in the strike zone,” Newman said “His off-speed stuff was working, and he had his fastball command. When you do that stuff, you will have nine strikeouts and be in the ball game. He was in control.”

After squandering a two-run lead in the eighth, Johnson City played small ball to get the winning run in the ninth. After Matt Rigoli singled off Christopher Zagyi to open the inning, pinch-runner Hector Alvarez moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored with two outs on a single to left field by designated hitter Christian Beatty. Zagyi, the third of four Bristol relievers, took the loss.

Bristol got a runner as far as third base with two outs in the ninth, but stranded him there. For the game, the BriSox left eight men on base.

“We had our chance right there,” Newman said of the eighth inning. We just didn’t get the big hit. It seems like we keep giving ourselves chances to win, but we’re coming up a ball or strike short. We can’t seem to get that big hit right now.

“We could very easily have five or six wins right now. These are young hitters, and it’s still the first two weeks. It’s coming. You can see the progress being made. That’s all I can ask.”

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