State Liners blanked; Pulaski’s Seth Buchanan hits two home runs

He suffered his sixth defeat on Saturday night, but he certainly deserved a better fate.

Bobo threw a no-hitter in the sixth inning but was still tagged with the L as the State Liners lost 3-0 to the Elizabethton River Riders at Joe O’Brien Field.

A right-hander from Lincoln Memorial University, Bobo is now 1-6 with a 5.54 ERA.

His final line Saturday included two runs on three hits in six innings pitched, while allowing two walks and striking out four.

That doesn’t tell the whole story of how he dominated for five innings.

Elizabethton scored twice in the sixth when Josh Hines (Florida Southern) hit a two-out, two-run single.

Hines also drove in a run against Bristol reliever Brooks Lang (Towson) in the eighth inning via an RBI single.

Meanwhile, the State Liners (16-27) managed just five hits and struck out six Elizabethton pitchers 10 times.

Tyler “Z-Man” Zedalis (Old Dominion), Mikah Conner (Presbyterian), Jett Johnston (Auburn), Hunter High (Tennessee) and Zak Rice (Alabama A&M) all had those hits.

Elizabethton starting pitcher Dane Bjorn (Tennessee) pitched four scoreless innings, while Johnny Montgomery (Alleghany Community College) picked up the win as a pinch-hitter.

It was the fourth time this season that the State Liners had drawn a blank.

The State Liners have just three games left in 2024 and perhaps forever if a stadium issue in Bristol isn’t resolved.

After a day off on Sunday, Bristol visits the Johnson City Doughboys on Monday.

In other Appalachian League play on Saturday, Virginia Military Institute (VMI) sophomore Seth Buchanan (Lebanon) hit two home runs as the Pulaski River Turtles defeated Bluefield 20-3 at Bowen Field.

Buchanan played for the Bristol State Liners through the 2023 season.