Coal Cats drop four of six in final homestand of the season

 By Ben Anderson


    The Tri-State Coal Cats struggled in its last homestand of the season as they dropped four of six games at Jack Cook Field. 


    The week started with a two-game series against the Bristol State Liners, which saw the Coal Cats split the two-game series. Game one was a rough outing for the Coal Cats as they fell 8-2. 


    Tri-State managed just one hit in the loss. The tone was set early after starting pitcher Kenneth Jackson ran into trouble in the second inning. With two outs and a runner on, a fielding error by Tyler Smolinski opened the door for Bristol, and the State Liners made the most of it. Jackson never quite recovered, surrendering five runs -- only one of them earned -- across four innings of work. He issued four walks and struck out one.


    Noah LaFine entered in relief and struggled to settle in, allowing two more runs on three hits and three walks. The bullpen allowed one run the rest of the game. 


    Bristol was led by a dominant effort from Paulo Noris and Aidan Savona. The duo combined for six hitless innings and seven strikeouts, stifling a Tri-State lineup that couldn’t find its rhythm at the plate. The Coal Cats were held hitless through 6 2/3 innings before DeMir Heidelberg finally broke through with an RBI single off Miguel Galvez in the seventh. Tri-State scratched across one more run off a Bristol error, but the damage was already done.

BRISTOL 040 120 010 – 8 9 2

TRI-STATE 000 000 200 – 2 1 1 

Noris, Savona (5), Galvez (7), and Wright; Jackson, LaFine (5), Castro (7), Sylvest (8), McIntosh (9), and Gonzalez

Hitting: (B) Blair 2-5 HR 2B 2 RBI, Gillen 3-5 R; (TS) Heidelberg 1-4


    Game two was a completely different story as the Coal Cats reversed the script, picking up a 12-2 run-rule victory in seven innings. 


    Tri-State outhit Bristol 9-2, and capitalized on five State Liner errors. After giving up the game’s first run in the top of the second, the Cats responded immediately with two in the bottom half and never trailed again. Starter Tucker DeLisle went four innings, allowing two runs on one hit with three strikeouts. Trey Lawrence and Nick Weatherford each made their summer debut out of the bullpen and combined for three scoreless innings.


    Luke Kosko went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Bishop Quarles added a double, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base.

BRISTOL 010 100 0XX – 2 2 5

TRI-STATE 020 415 XXX – 12 9 2

Fliss, Almonte (5), Barber (6), and Juarez; DeLisle, Lawrence (5), Weatherford (7), and Golden

Hitting: (B) Wright HR, Alexander 1-3; (TS) Maggy 2-5 3B, Quarles 1-2 2B, Kosko 2-3 2 R


    The Coal Cats then shifted their focus to the Burlington Sock Puppets for the last four home games of the season. 


    Game one was ugly for the Coal Cats as they were shutout 15-0 in a seven-inning run-rule game. 


    The Sock Puppets scored two runs in the first and third innings, then six in the fourth to pull away. Preston Yaucher went 3 for 3 with four runs batted in. Dom Krupinski went 2 for 2 with three RBIs. Orlando Fernandez knocked in three runs. Brian Carrothers was 2 for 4. Zach Jackson drove home two runs. 


    The Coal Cats were limited to two hits in the loss, both coming from James Henshon. 

BURLINGTON 202 601 4XX – 15 11 1

TRI-STATE 000 000 0XX – 0 2 1

Magallan, Hedrick (6), and Carrothers; Duran, Thompson (4), Tovar (4), Isaacs (7), and Rivera

Hitting: (B) Krupinski 2-2 2B 5 R 3 RBI, Yaucher 3-3 2B 4 RBI; (TS) Henshon 2-3


    Game two, would start off with the Sock Puppets dominating at the plate, as they tallied seven runs in the first inning on its way to a 13-10 victory. 


    The Sock Puppets scored one run in the second inning, as Yaucher singled into center field to score Krupinski to put Burlington up 8-0. The Coal Cats responded in the bottom of the fourth sending two home to score a sacrifice fly by Henson to score Cesar Gonzalez, and Smolinski scoring on a wild pitch. 


    Both teams traded runs in the fifth inning with Caiden Combs crossing the plate for Burlington on a wild pitch. Gonzalez singled on a ground ball to left field to score Quarles to make the score 9-3 in favor of Burlington. 


    The Sock Puppets then scored four runs over the next three innings to pull away in the contest. The Coal Cats made the near comeback in the bottom of the ninth by scoring four runs but it would not be enough. 

BURLINGTON 710 012 110 – 13 9 0

TRI-STATE 000 210 214 – 10 7 2

Thorton, Feehery (5), Griffin (6), Johnson (8), and Laux; Yoak, Jones (5), McIntosh (7), Sylvest (9), and Gonzalez

Hitting: (B) Jennings 203 2 RBI 2 R, Fernandez 1-4 2B; (TS) Smolinski 3-4 2B 2 R, Gonzalez 2-2 RBI


    The Coal Cats avoided suffering the sweep in game three, picking up a 6-4 victory.


    Tri-State opened up the scoring in the third inning as Marshall’s Jack Smith hit an RBI single to center field to score Kosko. Tri-State added three more runs in the fifth and sixth inning to take a 4-0 lead. 


    Burlington started the comeback in the top of the seventh by tallying three runs. The Coal Cats responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame. 


    Both teams traded runs in the eighth inning as Tri-State held on for the victory.

BURLINGTON 000 000 320 – 4 3 1

TRI-STATE 001 012 11X – 6 9 0

Shafer, Bello (3), Poe (7), Noriega (7), and Smith; Collins, LaFine (7), Gomez (7), Rodriguez (9), and Golden

Hitting: (B) Fernandez 2-3 2B; (TS) Gonzalez 1-4 2B, Maggy 2-4, Kosko 2-3


    The final home game of the 2025 season ended with a sour taste for the Coal Cats as they fell 16-3.


    Burlington exploded on offense early, scoring three runs in the first two innings of the contest. Tri-State finally responded by scoring a run of their own in the third inning to cut the deficit to 3-1. 


    Burlington continued the offensive rampage by scoring six runs between the fourth and fifth innings. Tri-State scored one run in the fifth to make the score 9-2 in favor of Burlington.


    Burlington put the game on ice in the seventh inning scoring seven runs. 

BURLINGTON 210 420 7 – 16 10 0

TRI-STATE 001 011 0 – 3 5 1

Steinhaus, Craig (3), Hedrick (3), Bryan (5), and Carrothers; Oliver, Castro (4), Isaacs (6), Weatherford (7), Duran (7), and Rivera

Hitting: (B) Jennings 2-5 2B, Krupinski 2-4, Yaucher 2-4; (TS) Henshon 2-3 2B, Smolinski 1-4


    The Tri-State Coal Cats now sit fifth in the Appalachian East Division standings with a record of 16-27. They end the season tomorrow on the road with the start of a two-game road series against the Kingsport Axmen. 


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