River Turtles earn commanding win over Flyboys

The Pulaski River Turtles earned a split in their series with a commanding 11-4 victory over the Greeneville Flyboys. The River Turtles now stand at 13-10, and still stand at second in the East in the standings. The Flyboys fall to 14-9 but are still atop the West, a half-game ahead of the Bristol State Liners.

A three-run second inning put the River Turtles up early, thanks to an RBI single by Mark Trotta and a two-run homer by John Bay, his sixth of the season.

A four-run top of the fourth let the Flyboys take the lead, but the River Turtles didn’t take long to answer back. In the bottom of the fourth, a two-run home run to left-center field by Jackson Beaman put Pulaski back up, 5-4.

Three straight scoreless innings kept the game close, but a six-run eighth inning from Pulaski blew the game wide open. A two-run moonshot by Garrett Rice broke open the floodgates and made the game 7-4. An E-5 brought in another run and made the score 8-4. And finally, back-to-back homers, a two-run by Conner Gore and a solo shot by Cameron Leary, allowed the River Turtles to take a commanding 11-4 lead.

Lucas Reed earned the win by going four innings, allowing only one hit and striking out eight. Connor Harris took the loss after allowing six hits and five runs over four innings.

Trotta was the standout player after he went 3-for-4, had scored two runs and had an RBI.

The Flyboys continue their road trip as they travel to Burlington to face the Sock Puppets. The River Turtles look to build on the strong win as they now go to Bluefield to face the Ridge Runners.