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Kingsport Axmen

Cardinals Set Tone Early In 5-3 Win

August 23, 2016 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Kingsport Axmen News Release


JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.- After power failure filled the ballpark in-between what was supposed to be a double header affair Monday night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark, Kingsport traveled home with only one decision on the night which was a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Johnson City Cardinals.

The contest was also national televised by My 40 WMYA and Fox Sports Midwest with broadcasters Jack Connors and Jason Patterson bringing the play-by-play and color commentary throughout the night. The game was also streamed online for free as a number of fans from both sides enjoyed watching an Appalachian League contest for possibly the first time on the year.

With the win. Johnson City (34-23) improves to 11 games over the .500 mark and holds steady with a two game lead over the Elizabethton Twins for first-place in the Appalachian League West standings. Kingsport (19-38) was officially eliminated from playoff contention with the two-run loss Monday night. The K-Mets are currently 0-5 on the seven game road trip.

The Johnson City Cardinals jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after one inning of play as Kingsport starting pitcher Chris Viall (0-2) surrendered the four runs off three hits including a two-run home run by Hunter Newman that barely made it over the top of the 15-foot right field wall on the line drive bomb.

Prior to the home run, Matt Fiedler brought in the first run of the game with an RBI single to right field that scored J.R. Davis who led off the frame with a single right up the middle. Two batters later, Allen Cordoba, who walked earlier in the inning, scored from third base on a delayed double steal with runners at the corners.

The play set the table for Newman who then extended the lead to 4-0 as the bottom of the first inning came to a close.

Two innings later in the bottom of the third inning, Bryce Denton singled in Fiedler to make the score 5-0. Viall was able to induce a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play off the bat of Jonathan Rivera to exit the frame without further damage.

However, through three innings of play, the Cardinals led by five runs and were outhitting Kingsport in 6-3 fashion.

The Cards kept the foot on the pedal in the following inning as the bases were loaded with only one away when Joel Huertas entered the contest in relief of Viall in the bottom of the fourth inning. The southpaw would settle down by striking out Matt Fielder and inducing a 5-4 force out at second base to end the inning off the bat of Andrew Knizner.

Huertas was able to escape the frame unscathed as the lead remained at five runs for Johnson City.

Kingsport would finally breakthrough in the frame that followed as the squad rallied with two away in the top of the fifth inning.

Consecutive-doubles from Santo Marte and Ian Strom put Kingsport on the scoreboard for the first time on the day. Marte's drive brought in Yeffry De Aza who singled and then advanced to second base on a ball that was inadvertently kicked into foul territory down the left field line by Johnson City's Allen Cordoba.

Strom then drove a two-strike offering into right-center field to plate the second run of the contest as the Kingsport Mets finally had some momentum heading into the bottom of the frame, trailing by only three runs.

The K-Mets added another run in the top of the sixth inning when Reed Gamache scored on a fielding error by Johnson City's second baseman, J.R. Davis. The runner was moving on contact as the ball hit off the bat of Jose Maria and booted off the right of Davis' glove. Gamache scored easily on the play to bring the deficit to only two runs at 5-3 heading to the bottom of the frame.

Following the Kingsport rally, Estarlin Arias came into the ballgame to slam the door shut for the final out of the sixth and a scoreless top of the seventh inning for the four-out save. The strong effort out of the bullpen preserved the win for Johnson City as the Cardinals took the first part of what was supposed to be a twin-billing in 5-3 fashion over the K-Mets.

Daniel Castano (1-5) picked up his first win of the season in a 5.2 inning effort in Monday's Game 1. The strong showing featured only five hits and two earned runs as the starter also walked one and struck out one batter apiece.

Viall took home the loss after surrendering five runs off six hits in only three innings of work in the start. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out three batters while walking one in the process. The two-run home run by Newman in the bottom of the first inning set the tone early for Johnson City against Viall in what ended up being a two-run victory in Game 1.

Offensively for Kingsport, the two-run fifth inning highlighted a night where the K-Mets were held in check for only five hits. Strom tallied two hits and an RBI while Marte drove in a run on a fifth inning double.

A double header will now take place Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. Darwin Ramos will take the hill for Game 1 while Sixto Torres will toss Game 2 for the K-Mets. Coverage on the Kingsport Mets Baseball Network will resume at 5:45 p.m. with the pregame show brought to you by Eric Cain. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

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