CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (0-0) will face the Waynesboro Generals (0-0) to open the 2023 season at Charlottesville High School. It will be broadcast live on the Tom Sox Facebook page and 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: Tickets to Tom Sox home games are $5 for one person or $10 for a carload. All ticket prices include parking.
For the season opener, fans can receive free admission by displaying a ticket to any game of the Charlottesville Regional.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Waynesboro: TBA
Charlottesville: RHP Logan Forsythe – Mississippi State
LEADING OFF
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The Tom Sox open their eighth season of play in 2023.
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The ‘Sox will play their first game since taking home the 2022 Jim Lineweaver Cup, their third in the last five seasons.
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Charlottesville enters tonight’s game with an all-time record of 191-131. 83% of the wins have come since the team’s first title in 2017.
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Lyndon Coleman will coach his first game with the Tom Sox. Coleman previously served as Head Coach for two seasons in Winchester (2016-17).
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The Valley League will feature no divisions for the first time since the Tom Sox began their history with the addition of the league’s 12th team, the Culpeper Cavaliers.
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Fans can receive free admission by showing their ticket to any game of the Charlottesville Regional.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, AGAIN
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Charlottesville won their third Valley League Championship last season with a series sweep over the Woodstock River Bandits.
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The ‘Sox did not lose a playoff game, winning all six of the games they played in a postseason plagued by rain. The Tom Sox played only one of the six games at home, with both the division semifinal and division championship rounds being played away from CHS.
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The ‘Sox swept Covington in the first round (in a doubleheader in Harrisonburg), Waynesboro in the division championship (both games played in Waynesboro), and Woodstock in the league championship.
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The Tom Sox trailed in only three of the 54 postseason innings played, all coming in the first game of the Waynesboro series.
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Christian Martin led the Tom Sox at the plate in the playoffs with a .417 average and .517 OBP. The Tom Sox staff was masterful, with a 2.17 ERA and 60 strikeouts in the six games.
SEASON OPENER FACTS
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The Tom Sox are 2-5 all-time in season openers, including a loss at Harrisonburg last season. The two wins came in 2017 & 2021.
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They will open the season at home for the third time in program history and first since 2021, when they took home a 9-5 win over the Covington Lumberjacks.
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Since 2017, the Tom Sox are 2-3 in season openers with a +5 run differential.
44 GAMES STRONG
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With the addition of a 12th team, the 2023 Valley League schedule will feature 44 games in the regular season for the first time in team history, up from 42 in previous seasons.
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Divisions are eliminated this season, with each opponent facing off against the others four times – twice at home and twice on the road.
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Doubleheaders, which were commonplace in inter-division matchups in 2021 and 2022, are also a thing of the past (albeit for Charlottesville and Winchester’s four games).
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In addition to the regular season schedule, the Valley League will play their annual all-star game and home run derby on Sunday, June 25 in Front Royal.
AGAINST WAYNESBORO
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The Tom Sox and Generals have faced off 53 times, the most-played matchup in Tom Sox team history.
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The Tom Sox dominated the season series last season, winning 7 of the 9 matchups between the teams. They were 5-2 in the regular season before the playoff series sweep, which decided the South division championship.
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Both of Waynesboro’s wins last season came in Charlottesville, a 10-2 win on June 23 and a 7-4 triumph in game one of a doubleheader on July 24.
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The Tom Sox set a series record for runs in the second game of last season’s doubleheader, scoring 18 runs in an 18-9 late-night win in Waynesboro. They also set a record with a 13-run margin of victory in a July 4 run-rule game, winning 17-4.
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Charlottesville has won the last three meetings against Waynesboro.
