CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (14-11) will face the Staunton Braves (9-18) tonight at John Moxie Stadium in Staunton. It will be broadcast live on the Braves Facebook page. First pitch is set for 7:30 P.M.
Coverage: Viewers can head to the Braves Facebook Page to watch tonight’s game. Live audio is available over the air on ESPN 1250 “The Boss” in Staunton or on TuneIn Radio. A link to the live stats is available on Pointstreak. The Tom Sox Twitter account (@CvilleTomSoxVBL) will provide live updates.
Ticket Information: Tickets are available at the gate for tonight’s game. Free tickets are available locally at Fisher Auto Parts, H&R Contractors, and Select Physical Therapy in Staunton.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Charlottesville: RHP Bobby Olsen, Brown (2-0, 1.74 ERA, 10.1 IP, 8 BB, 11 K)
Staunton: RHP Ryan Cook, James Madison (0-0, 9.58 ERA, 10.1 IP, 9 BB, 8 K)
LEADING OFF
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After two-straight rainouts, the ‘Sox will look to get back to baseball tonight at Staunton.
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Storms postponed both Wednesday’s game at Harrisonburg and last night’s game at Waynesboro.
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Charlottesville will play the 300th game in the franchise’s history tonight.
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The Tom Sox have scored 15+ runs in back-to-back games after scoring in single-digits in 11 straight.
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After sitting in last place on the league batting average leaderboard for much of the season, the Tom Sox are now fifth after the offensive explosion.
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Bobby Olsen will make his first start for the Tom Sox since he was activated from the injured list on Saturday.
SERIES vs WAYNESBORO
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The Tom Sox and Braves will meet for the fifth time this season, but only the second time in Staunton.
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Three of the remaining four meetings between the ‘Sox and Braves are in Staunton.
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The teams are tied 2-2 so far this season.
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Staunton took the last meeting 5-3 last Friday. They added on runs throughout the game, scoring three in the first two innings and then a couple more later in the game. Luke Payne made his best start of the season for the Braves, tossing four innings with three runs and five strikeouts. Satchell Norman went 2-for-3 with a walk for the ‘Sox and Nic Ericsson went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs. Carter Cunningham hit his first home run of the season.
SOX ARE HOT!
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The Tom Sox offense has exploded over the last four games, scoring 42 runs. That’s good for just over 10 runs per game.
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Charlottesville is batting .371 over the 4-game win streak with 43 hits, 11 doubles, three home runs, and 31 walks to 18 strikeouts.
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The ‘Sox have scored 15+ runs in back-to-back games, both at home. They defeated Waynesboro 17-4 on Monday before shutting out Covington 16-0 last night.
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33 runs in back-to-back games is the most in team history.
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16 runs last night was the largest margin of victory in a single game in Tom Sox history. The 17 runs scored on Monday were the most ever at Charlottesville High School.
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Charlottesville’s batting average has jumped from last to fifth in the VBL over the last three days, and their OPS has shot from last to third.
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
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The Tom Sox have been one of the top defensive teams in the Valley League this summer.
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Charlottesville’s .973 fielding percentage and 23 errors both lead the Valley League.
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The ‘Sox have committed only one error over their last nine games.
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Kyle Edwards, Charlottesville’s starting shortstop, has only one error, as does infielder Gavin Abrams, who’s started 17 of 25 games.
CARTER’S HIT PARTY
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Carter Cunningham has been on a tear in the month of July.
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Cunningham is batting .600 during the six-game stretch with eight runs, 12 hits, two doubles, a home run, six RBI, and three walks.
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He has multiple hits in each of the last four games. He collected three hits in both ends of the doubleheader at Winchester and has two in each of the last two games.
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He’s scored seven runs over the last four games with four RBI and two doubles.
