BURLINGTON, NC — The Kingsport Axmen fell to the Burlington Sock Puppets, 12-5, in a sloppy Saturday evening at Burlington Athletic Stadium.
The Axmen (12-18) and the Sock Puppets (11-17-2) combined for 30 strikeouts, 21 walks, eight wild pitches and four hit by pitches in the three-hour, 37-minute contest.
Trailing 8-1 after five frames, Kingsport rallied for four runs in the final four innings, highlighted by Hunter Fitz-Gerald’s team-leading fourth homer.
The visitors pushed across two more tallies in the seventh before adding a run on Michael Dorcean’s single in the ninth.
Left-handed reliever Kyle Scrape kept the Appalachian League’s top offense off balance, retiring eight of the nine hitters he faced. Scrape notched a season-high six strikeouts. Ethan Axman twirled two scoreless innings and recorded three punch outs.
Up next, the Axmen wrap up their four-game road trip at 6 p.m. on Sunday with a seven-inning affair against Burlington.