7/23/24
The Tri-State Coal Cats flipped their fortunes over the past two weeks, taking five of the last six games and nine of the last twelve. Back-to-back series sweeps of Elizabethton, and Danville were followed up by a split doubleheader at Burlington, bringing Tri-State’s overall record to 19-22.
The most recent series of games began with a pair of contests at home against the Elizabethton River Riders. Game one of the two-game homestand resulted in a 4-3 victory for the Coal Cats, with Tri-State rallying back from a 3-0 deficit. Elizabethton surrendered a run to Tri-State in the bottom of the fifth inning, courtesy of a “balk.” Tri-State didn’t allow a run after the fourth inning and tacked on their final three runs in the seventh inning. The difference maker in game one came from a force-out, which allowed batter Ryan Limerick to reach first while scoring Michael Rodriguez. Evan Holewinski earned his third win on the mound for the Coal Cats this season, serving as the middle relief pitcher between starter Jack Brooker and closer David Sitch.
“Our pitching usually keeps us in the game. Sometimes just competing is what you want to do.” said Coal Cats Manager Tommy Gregg, following the win at Jack Cook Field. (Quote credit: Anthony Doria)
Tri-State secured a 12-2 victory against the River Riders, just one night removed from the aforementioned comeback win. RBI hits from Logan Poteet, Ryan Limerick, and Matt Ilgenfritz
put the Coal Cats up 3-0 in the bottom of the first. Elizabethton got on the board by way of Cadyn Karl stealing home in the top of the second, and collecting a second run in the top of the third thanks to a wild pitch from Tri-State’s Joshua Paulina. A seven-run bottom of the fourth put Tri-State back in firm control of the contest. In the frame, the Coal Cats took advantage of three doubles that scored one or more runs, a wild pitch, and a fielding error. An RBI single in the bottom of the fifth for Isaac Turner and another fielding error in the bottom of the sixth completed the scoring for the evening, and Tri-State claimed a 10-run victory.
Tri-State took to the road on Thursday to begin a four-day road trip, starting with a pair of games in Danville against the Otterbots. Similar to the day prior, the Coal Cats jumped out to an early lead and eventually claimed a 9-2 victory in game one. Despite a double play from the Otterbots’ fielding department, CJ Richard made his way home to put Tri-State on the board. An RBI single from Isaac Turner and a solo shot home run off the bat of Jorge Gonzalez-Febo in the top of the second and third innings, respectively, extended the Tri-State lead to 4-0. Tri-State pitcher Kenyon Collins threw a wild pitch that allowed Carrington to run home for Danville. Runs in the fifth, sixth, and ninth innings for Tri-State extended the lead and resulted in the 9-2 victory.
In game two, the “sudden-death” extra-inning rules of the Appalachian League led to Tri-State notching its fifth straight win in the record books, despite the game itself ending in an 8-8 tie. The high-scoring affair went back and forth between the Coal Cats and Otterbots, but Tri-State put its trust in its defense prior to the game when the decision is made regarding extra innings, and it paid off. Danville had three outs and a runner automatically on first to start the extra frame, and in the Appy League, there’s one inning for the team at-bat to score a run or the defense to stop them. In short, Tri-State collected the three outs needed to earn the “victory.”
With five straight wins in the rearview, the Coal Cats made their way to Burlington for two games against the Sock Puppets to close out the weekend. Mother Nature had other plans, and Saturday’s contest was moved to Sunday, resulting in a doubleheader of seven-inning games between the two squads. The two teams won one game each, with the Sock Puppets ending the Coal Cats’ longest winning streak of their inaugural season by a final score of 7-3. Tri-State returned the favor by securing a 7-3 victory of its own later on Sunday.
Now sitting at 19-22 on the season, the Coal Cats are one game out of fourth in the Eastern division of the Appalachian League, thanks in part to Bluefield losing eight straight contests in tandem with a hot streak from Tri-State. Only the top two teams from both divisions make up the four-team postseason. Despite the postseason stress, the Cats return to Jack Cook Field to begin the final homestand of the season. Game one of the series versus the Danville Otterbots gets underway at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. For more Tri-State baseball coverage, be sure to check out the rest of the Coal Cats Corner section of the website.