STRASBURG, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox won 4-3 and 3-1 in their doubleheader today against the Strasburg Express, clinching a playoff spot for the sixth straight season.
Game one was clearly owned by Trey Yesavage (East Carolina). With eight strikeouts in the first five innings, he made the mound his homestead.
Yet the ‘Sox bats were not keeping up with that of the Express, as we could get runners on base but couldn’t seem to send them home – a common theme this season. In 35 games, the Tom Sox have averaged 8.1 runners LOB per game.
By the bottom of the sixth, the Strasburg offense hit the Tom Sox like a train, with the Express scoring the first 3 runs of the game against our empty circle on the scoreboard.
The first game of the day luckily led to a few good firsts of the season, at least for catcher Kalvin Alexander (Florida Southwestern). In the second inning, “KJ” earned his first single, but it didn’t stop there.
The seventh inning got the dugout louder than a train horn as the Tom Sox earned a new name: The “Comeback Kids.” Charlottesville rose to the occasion with a single from Brody Moss (Auburn), a double from Alexander, a double from Cole Wagner (Georgia), an RBI single from Matthew Prevesk (Florida), and a 2-run home run by Christian Martin (Virginia Tech) to top it all off.
John Armstrong (Auburn) shut the game down in one fell swoop and sealed the ’Sox’s 4-3 win.
The bats got cracking and the ‘Sox got hot early in game two. With a hit from Prevesk sending Wagner home in the first inning, an error that scored Garrett Spikes (Georgia), and the third single of the day for Alexander, the ‘Sox had already scored three runs in two innings.
Tom Sox defense, as usual, was near flawless with special thanks to Spikes and his killer arm that came in hot from right field.
Apart from one run from the Express in the fourth inning, the game had entered a stalemate. However, it gave pitcher Christian Howe (Kentucky) his longest appearance of the season, earning his second Tom Sox save and six strikeouts in just three innings of work.
These well-deserved wins lend the Tom Sox their new 21-14 record, placing third in the South division standings and inching closer to the division lead.
The Tom Sox are back in action on the road Wednesday (July 20) against the Staunton Braves at John Moxie Stadium. First pitch is at 7:30 p.m.
Additional Notes
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Cole Wagner extended his on-base streak to 26 games and now stands alone in third place all-time.
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The Tom Sox did not allow an extra-base hit on the day.
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The four-run 7th inning comeback in game one is Charlottesville’s largest comeback in the final inning of a game this season.
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The Tom Sox have won 7-straight games against the Express dating back to July 22, 2019.
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The sweep moves the Tom Sox to 8-3 against North division opponents on the season.
