Johnson City pulls upset in tourney

By Wes Holtsclaw
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

   Being down 4-2 going into the sixth inning, Johnson City American took advantage of Johnson City Major, turning up three runs to take an impressive 5-4 comeback win in the semifinal round of the David's Trophies Invitational.
   Both teams came out and executed great defense in the first inning, but Johnson City Major hopped on board first with a quick score in the second inning.
   Major continued its run in the third inning. Zachary Ross started things out with a walk, followed by a errored RBI double from John Storie to take the 2-0 lead.
   Jordan Alexander stepped up next with an errored RBI bag, followed by a Caleb Mancuso run from a passed ball, as Johnson City took a 4-0 lead over American.
   American bounced back in the fourth inning defensively, and held a strong position throughout the remainder of the ball game.
   They got into a swing of things as well. Ryan Arnold walked on to start things, and made his way around from a Jake McIntosh single.
   A steal attempt from McIntosh cleared the way for Arnold, who stole home for American's first score, closing the gap at 4-1.
   Major bounced right back with two consecutive singles from Jameson Hamilton and Matt Love, but were swatted down like flys behind a strong defensive effort.
   American went into the bottom of the fifth behind three runs, they came closer step by step with a double from Daniel Sharpe, who also scored on a stolen base.
   An altercation with the coaches from the Major team stalled things momentarily, but when things picked up their hitting suffered, and it gave American one last shot to win.
   Ryan Arnold opened the sixth with a walk, followed by an errored base for Jake McIntosh. Arnold scored on an error made by the second baseman, closing the gap at 4-3.
   Mitch Kincaid came up and delivered a single, followed by Kelby Arrowood, who hit a stifling RBI single to tie the contest with the winning run on.
   Joseph Ward was intentionally walked, loading the bases for Andrew Sims. A walk to Sims brought in Kincaid, giving American the 5-4 comeback win at Carter County American Field.
   A second game between Unicoi County and Johnson City National was postponed until Wednesday evening, with the championship game tentatively scheduled for Thursday night at 8 p.m.