CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (30-10) open their 2021 playoffs against the Waynesboro Generals (19-21) at Charlottesville High School. It will be broadcast live on the Tom Sox Facebook page & Tom Sox TV. First pitch is set for 7 P.M.
Coverage: Viewers can head to the Tom Sox Facebook Page or Tom Sox TV to watch tonight’s game. A link to the live stats is available on Pointstreak. The Tom Sox Twitter account (@CvilleTomSoxVBL) will provide live updates.
Ticket Information: Admission to all Tom Sox games in 2021 is free, courtesy of Carter Bank & Trust. Parking is available at a first-come, first-served basis in the CHS upper, lower, and student lots.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Waynesboro: RHP Bradley Wilson – East Carolina (1-1, 6.54 ERA, 22.0 IP, 9 BB, 18 K)
Charlottesville: RHP Dillon Janac – Rice (2-1, 3.76 ERA, 26.1 IP, 24 BB, 33 K)
LEADING OFF
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The Tom Sox and Generals will meet in the first round of the South Division playoffs.
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Waynesboro claimed the season series 4-3 with their win in Friday night’s game.
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The Tom Sox finished the regular season with a .750 win percentage, the fourth-best in the VBL over the last 17 seasons.
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Including 2021, Charlottesville and Waynesboro have met in 3 of the last 4 postseasons. Charlottesville has won each of the last 2 series.
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The ‘Sox defeated the ‘Gens 2-1 in the first round in 2018.
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The Tom Sox enter as winners of 20 of their last 24 games.
PLAYOFF FACTS
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The Tom Sox are making their fourth all-time playoff appearance, and fourth-straight.
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The Tom Sox have advanced to the championship series in each of the previous three playoff berths.
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They have won the 2017 & 2019 VBL championships.
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Charlottesville is 15-6 all-time in the playoffs. They are 6-2 all-time in the first round.
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The Tom Sox have a +19 run differential all-time in the first round.
SERIES vs WAYNESBORO
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Charlottesville has struggled as of late against Waynesboro, losing 7 of the last 10 matchups.
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They won their first game at Kate Collins Field since June 21, 2019 on Wednesday.
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The Tom Sox are 3-4 against the Generals this season, with 2 of the 3 wins coming at home.
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4 of the last 5 meetings have been decided by 4 or more runs.
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Charlottesville is batting .198 against the Generals this season and allowing 6.3 runs per game.
TEAM TRENDS
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Charlottesville’s 6-game win streak came to a close Friday in the regular season finale. It was their third 6+ game streak of the season, winning 6 straight from June 6-15 and 7 straight from July 2-7.
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Over the last 13 games, the Tom Sox are batting .303 with 107 runs, 38 extra-base hits, a .884 OPS, and 87 walks.
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After winning 4-straight games by 5+ runs, they have won a 2-run game, 1-run game, and lost a 4-run game.
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Since June 25, Charlottesville is 19-4 with a +88 run differential. Friday’s game was their first home loss since the 25th.
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Charlottesville has scored double-digit runs in 6 of the last 13 games, but none of the last five. They did so in 4 of the previous 27.
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The ‘Sox offense has scored 7.9 runs/game in wins and 3.6 in losses.
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27 of Charlottesville’s 40 games have been decided by 3 or more runs.
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Three of the seven 1-run games have been walk-off wins.
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The ‘Sox are batting .281 with 2 outs, .281 with runners on base, and .308 with runners in scoring position.
THE POSTSEASON BOOST
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Charlottesville has stepped it up when it has mattered most in each of the last three seasons, advancing to the championship in all three.
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In the postseason, the Tom Sox have hit over .300 as a team and scored over 7 runs per game in both years they won the championship.
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They have had five batters hit over .300 in both of those years. Michael Wielansky led the squad in 2017 with a .406 average, while Cayman Richardson did so in 2019 (.476).
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Clutch performances have been the story in each of the three seasons.
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In 2017, Connor Gillispie pitched a 7-inning gem against Waynesboro to put them up 1-0 in the division championship.
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In 2018, Alex Mardiney hit 2 home runs in a 1-game division championship at Covington to send Charlottesville to the league championship.
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In 2019, Sam Crawford pitched a team-high 14.1 innings and struck out 17 batters, including a scoreless 5 innings of relief in the championship game.
