After a brief hiatus, Corbin’s Corner is back to get you caught up on the Charlottesville Tom Sox (26-13) who wrapped up their regular season on Tuesday night and who now turn their attention toward a playoff run and, hopefully, securing the fourth VBL championship in franchise history.
The ‘Sox, who officially clinched the VBL South Division title on Friday night, are just 5-5 since the last edition of Corbin’s Corner but remain the favorites to take home some hardware in the coming week. Here are four developments from the past two weeks of Charlottesville baseball.
The Carolina boys can play
The North and South Carolina to Charlottesville pipeline has always been strong throughout franchise history, but a trio of Carolinians have been especially dominant for the ‘Sox as of late.
Two-way star Colby Wallace (East Carolina) is 13-for-26 in his last eight games with a home run, three doubles, and six runs batted in, raising his team-leading OPS to .948 and helping him secure the VBL batting title with a .370 average.
Wallace — the sixth-ranked American Athletic Conference Prospect for the 2026 MLB Draft according to Perfect Game — has cemented himself as Charlottesville’s best bat down the stretch this summer. His six doubles and .459 on-base percentage are each good for second-best on the squad as Wallace has simply dominated VBL pitching.
Fellow ECU Pirate Nick Parham (East Carolina) has recently settled into his summer with the ‘Sox as well. After a slow start, Parham has a hit in four of his last six games, providing a reliable bat at the bottom of Head Coach Randy Tomlin’s lineup. Parham has four extra-base hits this season and has shown a consistent eye at the plate, drawing thirteen walks to help bolster a .388 on-base percentage.
Perhaps more importantly, though, Parham has put on a defensive clinic in right field over the past week. He made two SportsCenter Top 10-worthy, game-saving plays in right field on Friday night, including arguably the VBL’s catch-of-the-year — an over-the-shoulder, diving catch deep in the right-center field gap. Parham’s catch was a pivotal moment in Friday evening’s pitchers’ duel that ended in a 2-1 division-clinching win for the Tom Sox.
While not an ECU Pirate, Wallace and Parham’s Carolina neighbor, Ryan Wynn (Wofford), is arguably Charlottesville’s hottest hitter. In the month of July, Wynn is 18-for-41 (.439) at the plate with 7 walks, 12 RBI, 3 doubles, and 3 triples (which propelled the ‘Sox to the franchise’s single-season triple record).
Wynn has been a tremendous table-setter near the top of the ‘Sox lineup. His 11 extra-base hits are tied with Robbie Lavey (George Washington) for the team-high, his .347 batting average is sixth-best in the VBL, and his .927 OPS is second-best among qualified ‘Sox. The Wynn-Wallace-Lavey combo is the driving force of the Charlottesville lineup heading into postseason play and is arguably the most productive heart of a lineup in the VBL.
The playoff picture is taking shape
The Tom Sox clinched the VBL South Division with a pair of wins over Covington on Friday evening, earning Charlottesville its fifth division title in franchise history and fourth in a row. The ‘Sox also locked up the best record in the league, topping the Purcellville Cannons (26-14) by half a game.
As a result, Charlottesville has ensured home-field advantage throughout the entirety of the VBL playoffs that get underway with wild-card action on Thursday evening. Here’s the full playoff picture:
The Tom Sox have the top seed in the South, followed by the Harrisonburg Turks (22-17) and the Culpeper Cavaliers (20-20), who finished tied with the Covington Cavaliers for third but earned a playoff bid via tiebreakers.
The Turks and Cavaliers will square off in the Wild Card game on Thursday with the winner taking on the ‘Sox in the three-game South Division Championship series over the weekend.
On the North side of things, the Cannons edged the Strasburg Express (23-17) for the top seed, sending the Express to take on the Winchester Royals (20-20) in the North Division Wild Card game.
If the ‘Sox manage to advance, the VBL Championship Series gets underway on Monday, July 29th.
Don’t panic over the recent struggles
The ‘Sox are just 5-5 in their last ten games and 0-3 since clinching the division on Friday, but those results don’t tell the whole story.
In the four games since taking care of their regular-season business, Randy Tomlin has shaken up the lineups and tried some new faces on the mound to give the everyday starters some rest and let the guys who don’t always see a lot of playing time get some reps.
The losses also don’t fully represent how the ‘Sox have performed as of late. In a matchup with the Cavaliers on Saturday night, Culpeper jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, but Charlottesville battled back and nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback. A Cooper Blauser (Jacksonville State) grand slam cut the lead to 10-9 before Culpeper managed to add a few insurance runs. And on Monday night in Culpeper, the ‘Sox used a five-run seventh inning to take a commanding 6-2 lead, but inclement weather wiped the runs off the board and reset the results to the end of the sixth inning.
The recent record is clearly not indicative of Charlottesville’s chances to make a run in the playoffs this week, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned about this ‘Sox squad, it’s that they never quit.
The ‘Sox made a splash at the MLB Draft
In the words of former Washington Commanders’ general manager Bruce Allen, the Tom Sox are ‘winning off the field.’
Charlottesville had nine current and former players taken in the MLB Draft last week including 2022 pitcher Trey Yesavage who was taken 20th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays.
2023 pitcher Davian Garcia (6th round — Nationals), 2022 pitcher Fisher Jameson (10th round — Rockies), 2022 outfielder Carter Cunningham (10thround — Blue Jays), current catcher James Nunnallee (14th round — Brewers), 2023 pitcher Jordan Little (15th round — Reds), 2022 pitcher Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman (16th round — Mariners), 2022 shortstop Christian Martin (18th round — Cardinals), and 2021 pitcher Chase Centala (20thround — Marlins) made up the rest of the Tom Sox draft class.
Charlottesville’s success in the draft is yet another example of the Tom Sox’s success as an organization. Another league championship in the coming week would only further solidify what we already know: the Tom Sox are the pride of the Valley League.
