Johnathan Edwards
Tuesday, June 29, 2024
In game one of the road trip, the Coal Cats lost 3-0 to the Bristol State Liners, marking their 10th loss of the season. A balk call allowed Mikah Conner to score, followed by an RBI double from Esteban Garcia, which sent Cayden Phillips home. Conner also drove in the final run with a 
line drive single in the seventh inning.
In the second game, the Coal Cats lost 12-5 to the State Liners. Logan Poteet made a significant debut for Tri-State, hitting a three-run home run in the first inning. The Coal Cats extended their lead to 4-0 in the second inning, but a six-run sixth inning by the State Liners turned the game in Bristol’s favor. Both games were played in Greeneville.
In Thursday’s doubleheader against the Kingsport Axmen, the Coal Cats earned a 4-4 tie in
seven innings, which counted as a loss due to the tiebreaker rule. Tri-State initially led, but Kingsport tied the game in the second inning and took a 4-2 lead with a two-run homer by Devan Zirwas. RBI singles from CJ Richard and Chace Chaplin tied the game, which ended without a decisive winner.
The second of Thursday’s games was not as kind to Tri-State, with Kingsport taking game two by a final score of 10-2. The Coal Cats only scored in the third and seventh innings, while playing from behind the whole contest. Trey Lawrence was the only noted playmaker on the scoresheet for the Coal Cats, being involved with both runs. Jet Gilliam collected a two-run homer for the Axmen in the bottom of the fifth to truly put the game away. For different cause, but like the game earlier in the day, this contest was decided in seven innings.
The Axmen completed the series sweep with an 8-3 victory in the final game of the trip. The Coal Cats’ record fell to 7-14.
Tri-State has an opportunity to get back on track at home, kicking off another series with Bristol State Liners. Game one of the series gets underway at 7 P.M. at Jack Cook Field in Huntington, WV. As always, you can find all of our Tri-State baseball coverage here on the station website. Onward and upward.