Charlottesville Battles but Falls to Harrisonburg
By Landon Weaver
CHARLOTESVILLE, Va. - After a run-rule loss last night to Waynesboro, the Tom Sox showed an immense amount of resiliency and fought hard against the Harrisonburg Turks. Luck was not on their side; however, as the ‘Sox came up short against the Turks, 3-1.
This contest can be succinctly put as a pitcher’s duel. The ‘Sox only used two pitchers in the contest to Harrisonburg’s four. For Charlottesville, Lucas Cash (Bridgewater College) delivered another lengthy start, working through five and two-thirds innings.
Cash allowed just two earned runs after holding the Turks scoreless through three. He was followed up by a new arrival in Anthony Mancini (Saint Peter’s), who starred in his debut. Mancini wowed those in attendance at CHO Airport Field with four strikeouts, along with allowing no earned runs and just one hit.
The Turks gained a lead that they would not relinquish in the away half of the fourth with an RBI single from Conner Spellman. Harrisonburg followed that up with a two-run blast off the bat of Jaxon Walker in the fifth to give themselves a 3-0 lead.
Mancini kept the game in reach for Charlottesville, but the bats just never got going for the four-time VBL champs.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Tom Sox would put a dent in Harrisonburg’s advantage with Grayson McCollum (Kennesaw State) scoring off a Turk error. That was as close as the ‘Sox would get. From then on, it seemed like Charlottesville would be at the brink of cracking the game open, but a fly ball just wouldn’t drop or wouldn’t carry quite far enough.
When all was said and done, the ‘Sox left nine runners on base. A good majority of those runners were in scoring position.
Tanner Craytor (Sewanee) added two more hits to his total tally of nine on the young season. The incoming freshman doubled and singled as well as stealing two bases.
McCollum was nothing short of special, either for the ‘Sox. He logged two hits and worked himself a walk as well.
Despite the efforts of Craytor and McCollum, the ‘Sox comeback effort fell just short, as the side was sat down in order in the game’s final frame, giving Harrisonburg (3-3) the 3-1 win.
Up Next: The Charlottesville Tom Sox (0-6) travel to Culpeper County High School for the second time this season as they face off against the Culpeper Cavaliers (3-3). The Cavaliers handed Waynesboro their first loss of the season last night, and they’ll try to keep that momentum going. The ‘Sox travel with hopes of securing their first win of the 2026 campaign. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. in Culpeper, VA.
