Sports stats



Burlington Sock Puppets

Sock Puppets Offense Erupts in Win over Kingsport

June 16, 2023 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Burlington Sock Puppets News Release


KINGSPORT, Tenn. - In a rematch of last season's Appalachian League championship game, the Burlington Sock Puppets used eight unanswered runs to rally past the Kingsport Axmen on Thursday night, 11-7. After falling behind 7-3 entering the fifth inning, the Sock Puppet offense responded with a barrage of hits to overcome the deficit.

Mason Ruh (Northern Illinois) shut the door on the Axmen with 4 1/3 innings of one-hit ball while earning his third win of the season.

Burlington (6-3) improves its record to 4-1 in series opening games and 3-0 in games following a loss. Sock Puppet pitching responded with another high strikeout performance, sitting down 15 Axmen on strikes.

The Sock Puppets continued to get a jolt at the top of the lineup from Duke Blue Devil Vince Fattore. Fattore finished the night with his finest game of the young Appy League season. The center fielder went 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs, three runs scored and a home run that gave the Sock Puppets a late four-run cushion in the seventh.

The Axmen (4-5) struck early and struck hard with six runs through the first three frames. Deniel Ortiz (Walters State CC) got the offense going in the first with a two-run homer that gave Kingsport the early lead. Following a two-run inning from the Sock Puppets, the Axmen responded with three more runs with two coming off a single from Andrew Citron (Georgetown).

After the RBI single from Citron, the game was all Sock Puppets. Five different Sock Puppets drove in a run during the 8-0 Burlington run with 2022 returner Evan Appelwick (Miami, OH) closing the gap to two runs with an RBI double in the fifth. Koby Kropf (USC Upstate) and Kenny Mallory Jr. (Elon) both drove in runs which tied the score at seven.

Ryan McCrystal (East Carolina) had another great performance in the middle of the lineup. McCrystal drove in the go ahead run in the sixth and finished the night with a pair of runs driven in. Despite playing in just five games, the East Carolina Pirate leads the Sock Puppets in RBIs with 12.

Landon Russell (Gulf Coast JC) filled the stat sheet again at the bottom of the order, recording a 2-for-4 night with three runs scored and a double. In his return to the lineup, Tommy Walker (Appalachian State) secured a double and caught all nine innings behind the plate.

The Sock Puppets will battle the Axmen on Friday night before continuing their four-game road trip with two games against the Bristol State Liners this weekend.

Check out the Burlington Sock Puppets Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Appalachian League message board...

Appalachian League Stories from June 16, 2023


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.

OurSports Central