Greeneville’s Brodie Johnston was out of the lineup at the beginning of the night. But when the game was on the line, Flyboys’ manager Jack Wilson called his number.
Johnston, a Vanderbilt commit, changed the course of the game, leading the Flyboys to a 7-3 win over the Burlington Sock Puppets on Thursday at Pioneer Park.
With the Flyboys trailing 3-2 with the bases loaded and two out in the Greeneville seventh inning, Johnston entered the game as a pinch-hitter.
After a few pitches, Johnston sent one that he liked to shallow right field, a high-arcing ball behind first base. Burlington right fielder Derek Tarpley looked to be tracking the ball well but stumbled at the last second, right on the foul line. It was hard to tell if the ball was fair or foul, with the ball coming down on the back of Tarpley, laying on the line, but the home plate ump gave a “fair ball” call. Three runs scored as Johnston scampered his way to a bases-clearing triple, giving the Flyboys a 5-3 lead.
“We are talking playoff baseball,” Wilson said. “It’s different than the rest of the season because you can use your bench. So you are going to use your bench, use a full bullpen, use your full lineup. So with Brodie being Brodie, we took a guy there to give us an opportunity.”
“I was just trying to stay relaxed up there, just stay calm,” Johnston said on what he was feeling after getting the call from Wilson. “I got a 3-0 count, got to see his fastball and all that. Then he threw me one fastball down the middle, and I was a tad bit late on it, but it worked out. I just pushed it to the other side and scored them.”
From that moment on, the game shifted in Greenville’s favor.
“That broke it open,” Wilson said. “With two outs and we were still down one at the time, it was even better with getting two (more runs) in the next inning. That’s huge. Not only do you go ahead, but then you score again and put it out of reach and give you bullpen a little more breathing room.”
After back-to-back outs to start the bottom of the eighth, Greeneville loaded the bases once more. Nick Arias shot a screamer past first base for an RBI single and BJ Peart took a pitch to the back to push another run through, 7-3.
Greeneville’s relief pitcher Brock Toney ended the game with two strikeouts and a pop fly, earning the save. In 2 1/3 innings, he gave up no hits or runs and struck out four.
“That’s him,” Wilson said of his closer. “That’s been him all year. As soon as we got him, he’s been that go-to guy for us. We have three or four that are just fantastic in the bullpen. (Toney’s) a guy that as soon as we took the lead, we are going right to Brock. He’s been fantastic all year so it was nice to go to him and seal it.”
The night started with Greeneville putting runs on the board first in the bottom of the second. Arias worked a walked and Peart singled on a grounder to right field. With two outs, Jordan Lewis hit a shallow fly ball to right field that dropped perfectly between the outfielder and second baseman for an RBI single, 1-0.
The Sock Puppets scored all three of their runs in the ensuing inning. Lee Trevino Jr. hit an RBI single, Noah Murray scored on a wild pitch and Carter Bailey made it 3-1 on a deep sacrifice fly.
The Flyboys had some difficulty against Burlington’s bullpen early, only recording four hits before Johnston’s seventh inning triple. They finished the night with seven hits.
“Their pitcher is one of the best in the league and we knew that,” Wilson said on his team’s early struggles. “We faced them last week and I think he struck out eight in five innings and only gave up like one hit. So we knew what we were facing, going in. We knew it was going to be a battle. They are a great team.”
Nicklas Williams was 2-for-4, Lewis, Peart and Arias all had one hit and one RBI and Brady Francisco had one hit.
Kyla Bade drew the start on the mound, tossing five innings, giving up six hits, three runs, walked two and struck out five. Cristian Bonilla pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief, surrendering no hits or runs and striking out two.
“Toney was awesome and I really liked Christian Bonilla today,” Wilson said of his pitchers. “Bade didn’t have his best stuff, but even his B-plus game was enough to give us a chance to win. That’s how good he is.”
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