ApL Elizabethton River Riders

River Riders Unable to Complete Opening Homestand Sweep, Lose 14-6 John Montes Hit the First Home Run in River Riders History

Published on June 5, 2021 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Elizabethton River Riders News Release


Elizabethton, TN - The Elizabethton River Riders (1-1) were defeated by the Greeneville Flyboys (1-1) 14-6 at Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark Friday night. John Montes (University of Central Florida) hit the first home run in River Riders history.

Scoring began in the first inning when Greeneville right fielder Johnathan Hogart (Wabash Valley) singled to score center fielder Zeddric Burham (South Florida State) who tripled to lead off the game.

The River Riders responded in the bottom of the first starting with Montes' first home run of the season and the first River Rider home run in club history. Right fielder Garrison Berkley (Texas Christian University) followed with a single and was brought home on a Robin Fernandez (St. Thomas) double to put the River Riders ahead 2-1 after the first inning.

Greeneville tied the game at 2-2 when third baseman Chris Williams (St. Petersburg Community College) hit the first home run in Flyboys history.

In the fourth inning, the Flyboys took the lead when shortstop Trevor Austin (Missouri) scored designated hitter Christian Ficca (Georgetown), 3-2 Flyboys.

Elizabethton responded in the fourth inning with three runs. The first run was scored when left fielder Robert Bavon (Oklahoma State) scored on a wild pitch. Montes scored catcher Reagan Guthrie (Regis) and second baseman Trey Hinton (Tusculum) with a single to centerfield, 5-3 Elizabethton.

The Flyboys took control of the game in the fifth inning, sending a total of 12 batters to the plate, and scored six runs. Eight batters in total were either walked or hit by a pitch in the inning. Hogart recorded the only hit of the inning and scored Burham. Elizabethton used three pitchers in the inning, RHP Casey Keller (Embry-Riddle) retired the side with three straight strikeouts.

The sixth inning had four straight singles to begin the inning and gave shortstop Trevor Austin his second RBI of the game. Another run was scored on a fielder's choice before an error by Hinton scored the third and final run of the sixth.

The final Flyboy run was scored by first baseman Derek Tenney (Hartford), whose sacrifice fly to score Hogart to give Greeneville a 14-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

Two-way player Bavon RHP pitched the eighth and ninth innings and was the only E-town pitcher to not allow a hit and struck out four Flyboys while walking just two. The winning and losing pitcher will be decided by Major League by noon the following day of the game.

Local talent and designated hitter Logan Estep (Milligan) recorded his first hit of the season and was scored by Montes to bring the final score to 14-6. Montes finished the night by going 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and 1 run.

The River Riders will hit the road for the first time this summer and go upstream to play a two-game series against the Bristol Stateliners (0-1), first pitch is at 6 pm. Fans can listen to all River Riders games by going to https://www.mlb.com/appalachian-league/elizabethton/fans/audio-listen-live.

Check out the Elizabethton River Riders Statistics

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Appalachian League Stories from June 5, 2021


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