Sirois’ Walk-Off Sends Tom Sox To Fourth Straight Valley League Championship Series
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA –Top of the twelfth, bases loaded, one out on the board and Keoni Painter up to bat for Culpeper. With the score tied at four apiece, the Cavaliers seemed primed to put the game out of reach. The sequence of events that followed swung the momentum fully in Charlottesville’s favor.
A Virginia Tech tandem worked tighter to get the Tom Sox out of the jam, as Hudson Lutterman scooped a chopper from Painter, flinging it home to Anderson French to keep the go-ahead run off the board. In the same breath, French swung the ball back over to Lutterman at first to complete a rare 3-2-3 double play.
This set the ‘Sox up for a signature moment in the bottom of the twelfth. After a Lee Sowers (North Carolina)single, a Perry Hargett (North Carolina)sac-bunt, and a well worked walk from Kyle Langley (James Madison),Jackson Sirois(Maryland)stepped up to the batter’s box with the fate of the game in his hands. In a 2-1 count, Sirois capitalized on his chance to be the hero. The Terp tapped an RBI single to the left side of the infield that sent Sowers home to walk it off in Charlottesville, 5-4. The win sealed Charlottesville’s fourth straight trip to the Valley League Championship Series, and the seventh in team history.
“We’re here… might as well win it,” Sirois said.
This game wasn’t always in the ‘Sox favor. They found themselves behind the Cavaliers twice in the contest before finally capturing the win in the twelfth.
Culpeper secured its first lead in the top of the second. A double steal saw Blagen Pado cross home. Sirois was unable to glove a grounder, allowing the Cavaliers to add on a few more runs, giving them an early 3-0 lead.
Things changed in the top of the fifth for the Tom Sox. It started with Riley Roarty (Virginia Commonwealth)entering the game, to which he took the Cavaliers down in order.
In the bottom half of the fifth, the ‘Sox offense complimented the strong defense with some runs. Hargett laced an RBI double to right, getting the ‘Sox on the board. Sowers scored off a wild pitch, and Langley knocked in an RBI single to even the game at three.
The Cavaliers immediately responded with a Caleb Estes RBI single to put themselves back on top, 4-3.
The score stayed deadlocked there for a few innings, as Roarty continued his strong outing. Roarty held the Cavaliers scoreless after Estes’ single, and dealt six strikeouts.’
The ‘Sox, on the other hand, went cold in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. They didn’t register a hit, and it seemed like Culpeper was on its way to its first-ever Valley League Championship Series.
After another strong defensive inning in the top of the ninth, the Tom Sox had one last chance to level things in the bottom frame.
French crushed a ball that hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity before it hit off the fence for a double. Lutterman lined his fellow Hokie home during the next at-bat, tying the game at four.
Even though Lutterman worked his way to third, he was left stranded, and the game would go into extra innings.
Both teams traded chances in the tenth and eleventh innings, but Trevor Booton (Auburn)and Culpeper’s Mason Breton were both phenomenal on the mound, keeping the game tied. It wasn’t until the fireworks and heroics for the ‘Sox in the twelfth that sent them to the Valley League Championship Series yet again.
UP NEXT:
After an early morning finish at CHO Airport Field, the Tom Sox travel to Strasburg for game one of the Valley League Championship Series. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. from First Bank Park.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
The ‘Sox have now made the championship in seven of the last eight seasons, with 2021 being the lone year they didn’t make it
12 innings is the most the Tom Sox have played in a game this season
Trevor Booton set a new season-high in innings pitched (3.2)
Charlottesville now holds a 32-15 record all-time in the postseason
