Charlottesville Hosts Waynesboro In First Round Of Valley League Playoffs

Charlottesville Hosts Waynesboro In First Round Of Valley League Playoffs

Game Notes
July 24, 2025•6 min read

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –The quest to repeat as Valley League champions officially kicks into high gear tonight for the No. 3-seed Charlottesville Tom Sox, as they host the No. 6-seed Waynesboro Generals in the first round of the Valley League Playoffs.

Coverage: Tonight’s playoff game is set for a 7 p.m. first pitch from CHO Airport Field at Charlottesville High School. Viewers can head to the Tom Sox Facebook page or the Tom Sox YouTube channel to watch tonight’s game. Luke Stefanisko and Landon Weaver will be on the call. A link to the live stats is available on Pointstreak. The Tom Sox X account (@CvilleTomSox) will provide live updates.

Ticket Information: Admission to all Tom Sox home games is $5. Seniors ages 65 and older, children 12 and under, and any military or first responders get in for $3. Season tickets can be purchased online here.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Waynesboro:

Charlottesville: RHP Brandon Eldridge

POSTSEASON SUCCESS

  • Charlottesville enters the playoffs with their sights set on winning a second straight Valley League title, something that has never been done in ‘Sox history

  • Last year, the Tom Sox defeated Purcellville in game three of the Valley League Championship Series to win their fourth title in franchise history

  • The ‘Sox have appeared in all but one championship series since 2017, winning the league title in alternating seasons during that stretch (‘17, ‘19, ‘22 (2020 season canceled), ‘24)

  • Charlottesville’s six championship appearances and four titles since 2017 are both the most in the Valley League over that span

  • Charlottesville has only missed the playoffs one time in its history (2016), and holds a 29-15 record in the postseason

SWINGING A HOT BAT

  • Jackson Sirois (Maryland)has taken the team lead among active players with a .257 AVG

  • In the last 10 games, Sirois is hitting .333 with two doubles, a triple, and five RBI

  • Brock Clayton is hitting his stride at the right time, hitting .333 in the last five games with a home run and four RBI

  • Clayton hit the game-winning two-run single against Waynesboro on Sunday to seal the run-rule victory

  • Patrick Niehus (Gardner-Webb)has hits in five of his last six games, and is hitting .333 in that span

  • Niehus finished the regular season with the team lead in RBI (24)

DOMINANT PITCHING

  • Charlottesville’s starting pitchers have provided solid outings all season long

  • Tom Sox starters finished the regular season with a 4.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts across 109.2 innings, while opposing hitters posted just a .215 AVG against them

  • Tim Lawson (North Carolina)leads the Tom Sox in innings pitched (24.1), starts (9), and strikeouts (37)

  • In the last 10 games, the ‘Sox staff has looked the best it has all summer

  • They’ve thrown 85.0 innings and hold a 3.60 ERA in that stretch, while recording 95 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .195 AVG

NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT

  • The brand-new Valley League playoff format grants a playoff berth to all 12 teams, but is single-elimination until the championship series

  • The top two seeds in each division received a first-round bye, while seeds 3-6 play in the first round

  • After the first round, the remaining teams will play out the division semifinal and championship games in order to determine who advances to the Valley League Championship Series, which remains three games

  • The highest remaining seed for the Valley League Championship Series will get home-field advantage for game one

SCOUTING THE GENERALS

  • Waynesboro has lost its last 11 games, with its last victory coming on July 10 against Covington

  • Noah Murray leads all active players with a .350 AVG

  • Former Tom Sox outfielder Nathan Fink has been solid at the plate for the Generals over the last few weeks, hitting .303 with three home runs and 13 RBI

  • Charlottesville leads the season series, 5-1, and the all-time series, 43-28

  • On Sunday, the ‘Sox came away with a 14-4 victory powered by a six-run first inning and Evan Taveras’ two home runs

  • Sunday’s win was an outlier for the season series, as four of the six matchups this season have been decided by one run

10TH SEASON OF TOM SOX BASEBALL

  • 2025 marks the tenth season of Charlottesville Tom Sox baseball

  • Since 2015, the team’s inaugural season, the ‘Sox have won four Valley League Championships, appeared in the championship series six times, and been a step in over 30 professional players journeys

  • Over the last decade, the Tom Sox have won 273 games, and have a winning percentage of .597

COACHES CORNER

  • Randy Tomlin, the reigning VBL South Division Coach of the Year, returns to Charlottesville for his second season at the helm of the Tom Sox

  • Tomlin became the third Tom Sox head coach to earn Coach of the Year honors, joining Corey Hunt (2017) and Kory Koehler (2021)

  • Tomlin led the ‘Sox to a 30-15 overall record in his first season, a league-best 26-13 regular season record, and the fourth Valley Baseball League Championship in team history

  • Tomlin is also the current head coach at Liberty Christian Academy

  • Under Tomlin, the Tom Sox finished top three in the VBL in batting average, runs scored, ERA and WHIP during the regular season

  • Randy’s son, Coy Tomlin, also returns for his second season as an assistant coach, where he will continue to bring infectious energy to the ballpark each night

  • Assistant coaches Thomas Abell, Jim Darin, Joey Davis (Hitting), and Chris Glaize (Pitching) round out the 2025 staff. Darin, previously on Corey Hunt’s staff from 2017-2019, rejoins the staff after three trips to the Valley League Championship

  • Davis, the hitting coach, a two-time World Series champion, spent 10 years as a major league scout for the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves, and has previously coached at Berry College, St. Leo College, Western Kentucky, as well as both the Blue Jays and Phillies organizations

  • Glaize, the pitching coach, is currently the head coach at Brookville High School in Lynchburg, VA, and has previously served as an assistant coach for the Purcellville Cannons and Winchester Royals

A WINNING MODEL

  • The Tom Sox have been the Valley’s most successful team since winning their first title in 2017

  • The ‘Sox have appeared in all but one championship series since ‘17 (2021) and have won the league title in four of the last seven seasons

  • Prior to the start of the season, Charlottesville’s 190-99 record since the start of the 2017 season is the best in the VBL

  • Charlottesville’s six championship appearances and four titles since 2017 are both the most in the VBL over that span

  • The Tom Sox have won the league title in alternating seasons since 2017 (‘17, ‘19, ‘22 [2020 season cancelled], ‘24)

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