CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After an extra day of anticipation, the Charlottesville Tom Sox (0-0) will face the Harrisonburg Turks (1-0) to begin their 2025 season at CHO Airport Field at Charlottesville High School. It will be broadcast live on the Tom Sox Facebook page and YouTube channel, and first pitch is set for 4:00 p.m.
Coverage: Viewers can head to the Tom Sox Facebook page or the Tom Sox YouTube channel to watch tonight’s game. Luke Stefanisko and Jeremy Rose 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 today’s game is free for all fans! Come join us for our Fan Appreciation Day and catch the Tom Sox season opener!
PROBABLE STARTERS
Harrisonburg: TBA
Charlottesville: RHP Bradley Link (Pensacola State College)
BACK IN BUSINESS
- It’s the first game for the Tom Sox since August 1, 2024, when the ‘Sox beat the Purcellville Cannons, 9-5, in game three of the Valley League Championship Series to claim their fourth VBL title
- Today’s game is just the fourth time in ten seasons that the ‘Sox open the season at home
- The Tom Sox are 2-7 all-time in season openers, including a three-game losing streak
- The two wins came in 2017 and 2021 against Covington. In last season’s opener, the Tom Sox fell to the Staunton Braves, 9-8
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 253 games, and have a winning percentage of .604
RETURNING ‘SOX
- The Tom Sox are excited to welcome back three players from last year’s Valley League title team
- Trevor Booton (Auburn), Kaegan Costa (Paul D Camp), and James Nunnallee (Virginia) were all on last year’s team at some point, and are on this year’s Opening Day roster
COAST TO COAST
- The Opening Day roster for the Tom Sox features 26 players from Division I and three Junior College players across 15 conferences in college baseball
- The highest represented conference is the ACC with six active players
- The ‘Sox are from eight states across the country (Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia), with Virginia being the most represented (14 players)
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 where he helped mentor players such as Vinnie Pasquantino, Connor Gillespie and Carson Spiers
- Joey Davis joins the staff as this year’s hitting coach
- Davis, 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
- Chris Glaize will serve as the pitching coach for the 2025 season
- Glaize 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 JAM-PACKED SCHEDULE
- The Valley Baseball League and Charlottesville Tom Sox have announced exciting changes for the 2025 schedule
- Inter-division play returns this season as part of the 42-game slate, with every team playing each team in their own division six times (three home and three road), and every team in the other division twice (one home and one road)
- New game times are coming to CHO Airport Field at Charlottesville High School this year, with Saturday home games beginning at 4 p.m., and Sunday home games starting at 1 p.m.
- The two 2024 Championship Series rematches will come on June 15, when the Tom Sox travel to Purcellville to take on the Cannons, and on June 29, when the Cannons make the trip to Charlottesville
- Another exciting change this season revolves around the brand-new playoff format, which grants a playoff berth to all 12 teams
- The top two seeds in each division will receive a first-round bye, while seeds 3-6 play their preliminary single-elimination game, then the remaining teams will play out the quarterfinal and semifinal games in order to determine who punches each division’s ticket to the championship, which remains a three-game series
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
- 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 their first title in 2017 (‘17, ‘19, ‘22 [2020 season cancelled], ‘24)
A MAGICAL 2024
- It was a magical season in Charlottesville a year ago, as the Tom Sox brought home the VBL title for the fourth time in franchise history
- Throughout the regular season, the ‘Sox were stellar, as they secured their second consecutive VBL regular season crown, finishing 0.5 games ahead of Purcellville at 26-13 on the year
- They carried home a division title for the fourth straight season, winning the South by four games over Harrisonburg
- The Tom Sox rolled through June with relative ease, going 17-4, scoring in double-digits in nine of those 21 games
- The ‘Sox felt more adversity in July as rosters began to turn over, but they never lost consecutive games until after they locked up the division title
- Colby Wallace (East Carolina) paced Charlottesville’s offense in the regular season, winning the league batting title with a .470 batting average
- He added a team-leading .464 on-base percentage and also ranked among the league’s best in slugging percentage (.489)
- Including the playoffs, Wallace hit for a team-best .348 batting average, tallied 10 extra base hits, and drove in 22 runs
- Ryan Wynn (Wofford) and Robbie Lavey (George Washington) also put forth impressive seasons
- Lavey paced the team among active players with six home runs (including playoffs), while Wynn ranked among the league’s top five sluggers with seven doubles, three triples, a home run, and a .467 slugging percentage
- A variety of arms led the ‘Sox throughout the year, including Chase Stryker, who held a 2.27 ERA in 35.2 innings, and James Hays (Stetson) who carried a 3.94 ERA in 32 innings
- Trevor Booton (Auburn), Daniel Powell, (Kennesaw State), Ryan Grzesiak (Florida Southwestern), Bobby Olsen (Villanova), and Will Pearson (Iowa) were among those making the biggest impacts out of the bullpen
- In the playoffs, the Tom Sox faced adversity multiple times
- In the South Division Championship Series, Culpeper took game one, 4-1, putting the ‘Sox in elimination mode
- In response to the game one loss, the ‘Sox put up 27 runs across the next two games, winning game two, 8-1, and game three, 19-2 in seven innings
- The 19 runs scored in game three is a Tom Sox playoff record, and tied the franchise record for most runs scored in a game
- In the Valley League Championship Series against Purcellville, the Tom Sox and Cannons put on a show
- In game one, the Cannons led 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth, but Robbie Lavey (George Washington) came up clutch with a two-run single to tie the game
- In extras, Sam Mummau (Jacksonville) blasted a walk-off two run homer to give the ‘Sox a 1-0 series lead
- Game two was a much different story for the ‘Sox though
- Charlottesville scored seven runs in its first two at-bats, but then Purcellville responded to that deficit with 21 unanswered runs, and evened the series with a 21-8 run-rule win
- In the deciding game three, it was the Cannons taking an early lead, holding a 4-0 advantage going into the bottom of the fifth
- The Tom Sox responded with a six-run fifth, highlighted by RBI singles from Colby Wallace (East Carolina) and Caden Ferraro (Blinn)
- Chase Stryker limited the Cannons offense in the middle innings, and Cooper Blauser’s two-run homer in the eighth provided the insurance Charlottesville needed
- Daniel Powell struck out the side in the ninth, sealing Charlottesville’s fourth Valley League Championship
‘SOX ON THE ROAD TO OMAHA
- Several former Tom Sox are playing in this year’s NCAA Tournament with their eyes set on reaching the College World Series in Omaha, NE
- The ‘Sox are represented in 10 of the 16 NCAA Regionals across the country, including six players playing in the Conway Regional hosted by Coastal Carolina
- 2024 ‘Sox: Blake Brookins (Florida), Cade Belyeu (Auburn), Cale Stricklin (Auburn), Colby Wallace (East Carolina), Dean Mihos (Coastal Carolina), Ethan Sutton (Georgia), Frank Menendez (Florida), Jake Books (Coastal Carolina), James Hays (Stetson), James Taussig (UTSA), Landon Abrahamson (Dallas Baptist), Nick Parham (East Carolina)
- 2023 ‘Sox: Alex Bouche (East Carolina), David Utagawa (UC Irvine), Derek Williams (Miami), Hayden Smith (Kentucky), Jake Bennett (Dallas Baptist), Justin Thomas (Arkansas), Salvy Alvarez (Stetson), Sergio Rivera (Bethune-Cookman), Zach Root (Arkansas)
- 2022 ‘Sox: Jackson Nove (Kentucky), John Armstrong (Auburn), Tyler McLoughlin (Georgia)
‘SOX IN THE PROS
- Four former ‘Sox are currently playing in the majors (Connor Gillispie – Marlins, Vinnie Pasquantino – Royals, Carson Spiers – Reds, Wyatt Langford – Rangers)
- Gillispie, Pasquantino, and Spiers all played for Charlottesville in 2017 when the ‘Sox won their first VBL title
- Langford played for the Tom Sox in 2021
- The ‘Sox also have 29 former players currently playing Minor League Baseball
- Kyle Nicolas, who pitched for Charlottesville in 2018, made his MLB Debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, and has appeared in 62 games
- Nicolas is currently playing for the Pirates AAA affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians
