The game was initially delayed thirty minutes for rain. It was a pitcher’s duel into the bottom of the sixth, when with Twins on the corners and no outs the rains came and the tarp was hustled onto the field.

Geno Encina was ready to enter the game before the rain arrived and trotted out to the mound when the game resumed some 50 minutes later at just after 10 p.m. Encina had a rocky start. He threw a wild pitch that scored Alex Perez from third for Betsy’s first run of the night.

With Chris Paul still at the plate and LaMonte Wade at second, the former Cal Bear smacked a double to the wall. The Twins led 2-0. Travis Blankenhorn knocked Paul home before the frame ended. Right out of the gate after the rain delay, Elizabethton had built a three run lead that would never be challenged.

Betsy added two runs on a series of walks and wild pitches in the eighth without getting a hit off Blue Jays 2012 Compensation Round Pick Matthew Smoral. Logan Lombana relieved Elizabethton Twins Radio Network player of the game Anthony Mciver and earned a three inning save.

Mciver pitched just one inning, but the lefty was marvelous getting out of a jam created by Dereck Rodriguez. Dereck was solid again giving up six hits but no runs. The two relievers combined for four innings of work with just one hit, no walks, and six strikeouts.

Elizabethton earned a 5-0 win, pulling even in the season series with the Blue Jays. Elizabethton scattered seven hits, but unlike Bluefield who had the same, the team created scoring chances taking advantage of sketchy relief work out of the Bluefield pen.

Elizabethton remains 2.5 games back of Greeneville who won at home against Bristol, but with a Johnson City loss is just a half game out of a playoff position. The race for the playoffs is going to be intense, but Betsy is right in the thick of it at 21-22.

Not all that the Betsy boys did tonight was championship challenging baseball, so let get to the observations from the Press Box in regards to tonight’s contest.

K-Kings Show No Signs of Progress

I will be brief on the topic that is one that rears its ugly head way too many times when the E-Twins play. Kamran Young and Amaurys Minier combined for 6 of Betsy’s 13 strikeouts on the night. Minier has 51. Young has 48.

Minier has failed to get a base hit since last Sunday. Young did get a key single last night at Johnson City, and a walk tonight but the stats do not often lie. Like Forrest Gump often said, “That is all I’m going to say about that.”

Complete Pitching Performance

Dereck Rodriguez gave his team exactly what they have come to expect. He surrendered no runs on six hits. He got out of every adverse situation he got into, and used a lot of pitches doing it. The latter calling for him to be relieved after back-to-back base hits to start the sixth.

The performance by the bullpen was a different story. While the Bluefield line-up does not have the big bats of a team like Johnson City. One has to respect a team that was leading the season series 2-1.

Anthony Mciver made his best appearance of the year so far. Mciver had given up nine earned runs in 4.2 IP over his last three outings. He got Bluefield out in order, despite two runners aboard in the top of the sixth. Had the rains not come, he would have surely returned to pitch the seventh and maybe beyond.

Logan Lombana had given up five earned runs on eight hits in 5.1 IP in his previous two appearances. He responded tonight by allowing a single hit, and striking out the side in the eighth.

Tonight was a great pitching performance much like last night against the Cardinals. The question remains can the team put three games in a row like this, we will find out tomorrow against Bluefield.

The Opportunity is Now

The season is on the downhill decent. With the majority of the Twins remaining games against division opponents, the team still has a number of chances to take the division. LaMonte Wade and Chris Paul continue to lead the team offensively and in the clutch.

Travis Blankenhorn is going to be a star I really believe because he plays the game very hard and never takes anything for granted. The guy plays with a lunch pail mentality that I hope resonates with the E-Twins faithful. The bullpen can only get better and over the last three have shown glimpses of turning the corner.

The season is in the home stretch, and while the team plays almost, if not every day until the First of September. We only have five games remaining on the network. If you do give us a listen, I would love your feedback because as a former athlete, I totally understand the purpose of criticism.

We have five more games on the air beginning tomorrow night against Bluefield. I hope you can join us at 5:45 for the Clubhouse Show. Until then, Go Twins.