CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On a blazing Sunday afternoon at Charlottesville High School, the Charlottesville Tom Sox (22-9) topped the Staunton Braves (13-19), 10-4, on ‘Western Day’ at the ballpark. After the Braves struck early, Colby Wallace (East Carolina) powered the ‘Sox offense with three RBI as Charlottesville caught fire and earned another home victory.
With a first-pitch temperature of 97-degrees, the Braves came out hot, punching in three early runs in the top of the first. Trevor Booton (Auburn), who got the start for the ‘Sox, struggled with his command in the opening frame before turning things around on his way to a stellar outing. Booton would allow just the three early runs on two total hits and three walks in five innings of work.
The ‘Sox responded quickly as Wallace struck a hit to right field to bring home Cale Stricklin (Auburn) in the bottom of the first.
Both offenses went quiet through the second and third innings before the ‘Sox finally broke through with a five-run bottom of the fourth. After a pair of hit batters and a walk loaded the bases, Dean Mihos (Coastal Carolina) knocked an RBI single into left field, cutting the score to 3-2. After another hit batter drove in Jack McMullan (Liberty) to tie the game 3-3, Robbie Lavey (George Washington) put the ‘Sox ahead with a sac-fly into deep left. Wallace then kept the line moving with the biggest blow of the inning, a two-RBI single to score Mihos and Stricklin and put Charlottesville up 6-3.
“I was just trying to see the ball, get runners in, and try not to do too much,” Wallace said after the game.
The Tom Sox continued their scoring streak in the fifth as McMullan drove in Nick Parham (ECU) with an RBI sac-fly to grow the C’Ville lead to four runs.
The Tom Sox relieved Booton in the sixth in favor of Brett Gastman (Charleston Southern), who, like Booton, struggled in his opening frame of work before settling down as his day went on. The Charleston Southern product finished his day after 3.1 innings, allowing just one run — coming in the sixth inning — on two hits to go along with a pair of strikeouts.
The ‘Sox answered with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth as Cooper Blauser (Jacksonville State) and Parham delivered back-to-back RBI hits to increase the lead to 9-4.
The ‘Sox would add one more insurance run in the bottom of the eighth before Will Pearson (Georgia) came in to get the final two outs in the top of the ninth and seal the VBL-leading 22nd victory of the season for Charlottesville.
UP NEXT:
The ‘Sox are off on Monday before kicking off a pair of mid-week contests with the Generals on Tuesday evening in Waynesboro.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Colby Wallace collected his team-leading eighth multi-hit game of the season.
- Charlottesville struck out four batters, the second-fewest this season.
