River Riders sweep Flyboys in Elizabethton

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – The Elizabethton River Riders utilized another strong pitching performance and scored ten times to defeat the Greeneville Flyboys, 10-4, on Friday night to earn a series sweep.

The Flyboys (0-3) briefly held a lead in the top of the second inning when Tristan Ellis (Minnesota) picked up an RBI single and Johnny Pilla (Stony Brook) followed with a run scoring double. The double by Pilla was the first extra-base hit for the Flyboys in 2023 and the road team led 2-1.

The River Riders (3-1) would score the game’s next nine runs. Elizabethton scored three runs in the second and third innings. Flyboy’s starter Aiden Denlinger (Tallahassee CC) walked five batters and hit two of them. He gave up five runs over two innings pitched.

Carter Jagiela (St. Joseph’s) and Travis Moore Jr. (Park) hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning in almost identical places over the left center field wall.

The Flyboys did not have a batter reach base for 16 straight hitters from the third to the ninth inning. Despite the struggle Nick Barone (West Virginia) had a multi-hit game. Barone reached base in three of his four plate appearances and scored two of the four Flyboy runs.

The loss means Greeneville has started the season on a three-game skid and the team finds itself two and a half games behind the River Riders and the Bristol State Liners (3-1) for first place in the Western division.

The Flyboys will welcome in the Johnson City Doughboys (2-1) for their home opener Saturday. The teams will play two seven-inning games starting at 6 p.m. local time. A link to watch the game can be found on the Flyboys website.