Pulaski falls to Bluefield, 12-9

The Pulaski River Turtles fall to the Bluefield Ridge Runners in a back-and-forth battle, losing 12-9.

Going into this game, we expected a high-scoring affair, and we were not disappointed.

Bluefield got on the board quickly. An RBI double from Jackson Feltner put the Ridge Runners up 1-0 after one.

Pulaski tied it up one inning later, when Bluefield walked with bases loaded to bring in catcher Irvin Escobar.

Bluefield took the lead back in the third, with an RBI double from Ryley Preece that brought in third baseman Sam Tanous. Pulaski then followed in Bluefield’s steps, by walking with bases loaded to bring in Preece and make it 3-1.

In the fourth, a four-run inning put Pulaski up. The first run came off an RBI single from shortstop Owen Deshazo that brought in Escobar. In the next at-bat, second baseman Carter Newmam brought in right fielder Christian Smith off an RBI single. Then right after that, center fielder Rodney Green Jr. hit a double to bring in both Deshazo and Newman and make it 5-3, Pulaski.

The inning of the night, where Bluefield took control of the game was in the fifth, where they scored seven runs off of seven hits and make it 10-5.

In the top of the sixth, a sac-fly from right fielder Josh Heath brought in catcher Haydn McGeary to make it 11-5.

In the bottom of the sixth, a 3 RBI double from designated hitter TJ Fondtain put Pulaski within three and make the game 11-8.

Then in the seventh, a ground-out from Green Jr. brought in Deshazo to make it 11-9.

We saw the first scoreless inning of the night, before Bluefield’s shortstop, Kaelen Culpepper, hit a double to bring in Preece and make the final, 12-9.

The winner on the mound went to Bluefield’s Guy, who made it debut tonight. Guy went 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs off three hits, walked two, and struck out four. The loss went to Pulaski’s Drew Blake, as he went, 4 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs off seven hits, walked four and struck out four.

Pulaski will look to tie up the series in a rematch against the Bluefield Ridge Runners on Tuesday.

By Kyle Manalo