Tatis walks it off for the Yankees in 10 innings

PULASKI, Va – The Pulaski Yankees erased a 5-1 deficit, and Carlos Tatis provided the big hit in the 10th inning to walk off a 6-5 win over the Elizabethton Twins on Sunday night at Calfee Park.

The Twins struck first in the opening inning after Yanks’ hurler Pedro Barrios retired his first two batters. Back-to-back walks, followed by a RBI single by Gilberto Celestino scored Trevor Larnach to open the scoring for Elizabethton.

Next inning in the bottom half, Mickey Gasper continued his power surge with his fifth homer of the season and third of the homestand with a blast to right center to even the score. The Twins answered back with a long ball of their own on a 2-run shot by Chris Williams with Larnach on base, making it 3-1.

Elizabethton added a pair of runs in the fourth after Andrew Cosgrove doubled home a run, followed by a Yeltsin Encarnacion RBI single to open a 5-1 cushion. The Yanks posted a pair on runs of their own in the bottom of the 5th to cut their deficit to two. Robert Javier singled in Jordan Scott on a 2-2 pitch, and David Metzgar tripled to score Javier.

Pulaski came back to even the score after Griffin Garabito walked with the bases loaded and a Jordan Scott sacrifice fly in the 6th. In extra frames, the Twins loaded the bases with one out in the 10th, but Brett Morales turned a remarkable 1-2-3 double play off a hard-hit comebacker to exit the half-inning unscathed.

In the bottom half of the 10th, with the game-winning run starting at second base, Carlos Narvaez reached on an infield single to move the winning run to 90 feet away. Next at bat, Carlos Tatis singled through the right side of the infield to win the game in dramatic, walk-off fashion for the Yankees. The victory was Pulaski’s 20th of the season, improving their record to 20-25. It also marked the Yanks’ second walk-off win of the season, coming in consecutive games to claim a three-game series win over the Appalachian League west division-leading Elizabethton Twins.

The Yankees finish their six game homestand with a 3-3 record and take the road tomorrow for the start of a six game road stand against the Princeton Rays and the Burlington Royals.