Danville Braves outlast Astros in 17 innings
Published on June 29, 2012 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Greeneville Astros News Release
Greeneville, TN - The Greeneville Astros and Danville Braves went 17 innings on Friday night before the Braves produced four runs in the top of the 17th to win the game. It took just over four and a half hours (4:36) to complete and was the longest game in Greeneville Astros history in both innings and length of time.
Both Greeneville and Danville entered the night with identical 7-3 records, tied for tops in the Appalachian League. They each showed they were deserving of those spots with a hard fought game that required each club use a large portion of their roster. In all, the Astros used fourteen position players compared to twelve for the Braves, and each club used seven pitchers.
The odd thing is that the first eight innings were played in less than two hours. However, there was no score at that point.
In the ninth inning, there was finally some scoring. With a runner on third, the Braves scored their first run on a wild pitch from Greeneville. Then, Greeneville got a leadoff hit from Jean Batista, a D'Andre Toney sacrifice bunt to move him to second, a passed ball to push him to third and a Brian Blasik base hit to left field to drive him home to even the score at 1-1 and send the game into extra innings.
Despite each team having chances to close the game, the next six innings were scoreless. In the top of the sixteenth inning, Danville got a leadoff triple from Aris Alcantara and scored him on a Felix Marte single two outs later. Once again, however, Greeneville answered in the bottom of the inning when Ariel Ovando hit a sacrifice fly to score Jose Monzon and keep the game going another inning.
In the seventeenth inning, the Astros got two quick groundouts before the Braves caught a break with a throwing error by Greeneville to allow a base runner. From there, following a stolen base and a walk, the Braves got a Trenton Moses single to score a run and give them the lead for good. Then, they added three more runs on a wild pitch and a fielding error from the Astros to push the final score to 6-2.
Danville reliever Nathan Hyatt got the win following a blown save. He pitched two innings, gave up one run on two hits and had two strikeouts.
The Astros will conclude their series will the Braves on Saturday with a 6:00pm game. For more information on the Greeneville Astros, please visit www.greenevilleastros.com or call (423) 638-0411.
Appalachian League Stories from June 29, 2012
- Danville Braves outlast Astros in 17 innings - Greeneville Astros
- Bristol Sox Drop Another Game with Big Princeton Inning - Bristol White Sox
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
