River Riders fan 20 in win over Flyboys

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – The Elizabethton River Riders used a six-run sixth and a 20-strikeout performance to beat the Greeneville Flyboys, 7-2, on Thursday night.

The Flyboys (0-2) had a difficult time making contact all night long against the River Riders’ (2-1) pitching staff. Starter Peyton Jula (Austin Peay) struck out six batters in his 3 1/3 innings pitched. Pablo Torres (Bethune-Cookman) also struck out six batters. Will Bolinger (Johnson County CC) fanned five of the six men he faced, and his teammate at JCCC, John Harrick, struck out the side in the ninth inning to finish off a great pitching performance from Elizabethton.

The Flyboys got a good start out of Daniel Eagen (Presbyterian) who enjoyed an early 1-0 lead after his college teammate Joel Dragoo picked up an RBI on a groundout in the first inning. Eagen pitched four innings, allowed one run and struck out four in his Flyboys debut.

Things went downhill for the Flyboys in the sixth inning, when Nic Good (BGSU) gave up six runs. It was the second time in as many games that the Flyboys allowed a team to score six runs in one inning. Ryan Weingartner (St. Joseph’s) and DJ Dillehay (Brown) both had two-run singles in the inning.

Greeneville did get an excellent outing out of Connar Penrod (BGSU). Penrod struck out seven of the eight batters he faced in the game.

Up next, the Flyboys will be back in Elizabethton to wrap up the two-game series tomorrow at 7 p.m. local time. A link to listen to the broadcast is available on the Greeneville Flyboys website.