CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Charlottesville Tom Sox (26-10) earned two victories on Friday evening, including a division-clinching win that capped off a long day of baseball at Willie T. Barnett Field. After finishing off the final 4.5 innings of July 9’s suspended game against the Covington Lumberjacks (15-19) with an 11-1 run-rule victory earlier in the afternoon, Charlottesville squeaked out a 2-1 win in the seven-inning nightcap to officially earn the top seed in the VBL South Division.
GAME ONE (resumption of July 9 contest):
Back on July 9, Palmer O’Beirne (State College of Florida) took the mound in the first inning for the ‘Sox, but surrendered an early run as a bloop single for the Lumberjacks brought one of their men home. Down 1-0, Charlottesville would go quietly in a quick bottom of the frame.
Looking for redemption, O’Beirne stepped back on the mound and sat three Covington batters down on just 11 pitches. An RBI double from Nick Parham (East Carolina) in the bottom of the second brought Johnnie Lopez (Seminole State) home to even the tally.
After both squads went scoreless in the third and fourth, O’Beirne returned for another scoreless frame in the fifth to cap off his night. The lanky lefty would strikeout six batters in five one-run innings.
In the bottom of the fifth, with an excited Dean Mihos (Coastal Carolina) on third, Wynn singled for his 13th RBI of the season to give the ‘Sox a 2-1 lead.
With the ‘Sox rolling, there was trouble in paradise as an operational error with the lights suspended the game until July 19 with the ‘Sox up 2-1 in the fifth.
Both teams picked up right where they left off on Saturday evening. Wynn laid wait on first base as Caden Ferraro (Blinn College) was up to bat. A quick double play moved the contest into the top of the sixth where Bobby Olsen (Villanova commit) navigated a one-out throwing error to work a clean frame.
In the bottom of the sixth, Colby Wallace (East Carolina) set himself up nicely as a ball hit into center field fell between three men giving him the chance for a double to open the bottom of the inning. ‘Sox newbie James Nunnallee (Virginia) then advanced himself to first and Wallace to third. Parham then smoked a beautiful RBI double that whipped Wallace and Nunnalle over home plate. A 4-1 tally made way for the top of the seventh.
Olsen returned to the hill delivering heat amid the calming weather and supplied five straight strikeouts on the day and six of the team’s twelve in the game.
The ‘Sox would tack on four more in the seventh and three in the eighth to take a ten-run lead and end the ballgame as Nunnallee recorded his first RBI of the summer and Parham added on to his four-RBI game.
“I like hitting guys in. I like winning,” Sam Mummau (Florida) said. “I was seeing the ball better and not scared to mess up. We’ve played all summer to win so we did.”
Olsen also shared his thoughts on his success on the mound and the expectations of the team:
“It felt great. Stuff work working and it was my first time pitching at home too. We’re looking to finish out strong. We want to win a championship. We’re getting a little thin on our roster but the guys that are here want to win.”
GAME TWO:
Trevor Booton (Auburn) got the start on Bark in the Park Night for the ‘Sox and navigated a pair of two-out baserunners in the top of the first to put an early zero on the scoreboard and set the stage for the C’Ville offense.
Ethan Gibson (Virginia Tech) led off the bottom of the frame with a base knock into right field, and after working his way over to third, trotted home on an RBI groundout by Robbie Lavey (George Washington) to put Charlottesville on the board first. Lavey’s RBI increased his team-leading season total to 22 and bumped himself into the top-ten of run producers in the VBL.
After Booton tossed another scoreless inning, the ‘Sox struck again in the bottom of the second. Blake Brookins (Florida) started the frame with a bloop single into right field before Jack McMullan (Liberty) drove him home with a scorching two-out double into the left-center field gap to put Charlottesville up 2-0.
The Lumberjacks’ offense finally got to Booton in the top of the third, but the true fireworks of the frame were provided by ‘Sox right-fielder Nick Parham (East Carolina). After a throwing error on Gibson and a base hit put runners on the corners, Covington DH Thomas Marsala launched a deep fly ball toward the right-center field fence. But what initially looked like surefire extra bases was hauled in by Parham on the warning track with a full-extension, over-the-shoulder diving catch.
Though just a sac-fly that cut the ‘Sox lead to 2-1 in the scorebook, Parham’s extraordinary effort limited the damage and helped Booton get out of the third without any further damage. The 6’2 righty would put another zero on the board in the fourth — thanks in part to another diving grab by Parham in right — to end his night with just one un-earned run surrendered on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.
While Charlottesville’s offense cooled off in the middle innings, Ferraro took the mound in relief of Booton in the fifth and kept the 2-1 lead intact with a quick shutdown inning.
Ryan Grzesiak (Florida Southwestern) took over on the bump in the sixth, but ran into some trouble after a two-out throwing error on third baseman Sam Mummau (Florida) put a runner on second. After a walk and wild pitch amplified the jam, Head Coach Randy Tomlin turned to Daniel Powell (Kennesaw State), who recorded the final out of the inning with a lightning-quick pickoff at first.
Searching for a rally, Covington started the top of the seventh strong as Dariel Castillo led off the frame with a swinging bunt single down the third base line. After a sacrifice bunt moved Castillo to second, the Lumberjacks brought in some speed in the form of pinch-runner John Vasquez. The move paid off immediately as Vasquez willed himself to third by tagging up on a popout into shallow left. But the Lumberjacks’ speedster would be stranded ninety feet from home as Nunnallee tracked down the final out with a nifty sliding catch in foul territory.
Powell’s efforts earned him a team-leading fifth save of the season and put the finishing touches on Charlottesville’s fourth-straight (and fifth all-time) division championship.
“It’s really neat with all the ins and outs, the guys coming in and leaving, to still see the unity that they’ve been able to create,” Head Coach Randy Tomlin said on his squad’s success this season. “They pull for each other, and of course, the level of play is really good. We’ve just tried to prepare every day to put them in positions to be able to go out and do their thing.”
UP NEXT:
The Tom Sox will return to Charlottesville High School on Saturday for Women in Sports and Host Family Appreciation Night. Charlottesville will be seeking its 27th win of the season as the Culpeper Cavaliers come to town. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Charlottesville’s two runs in game two are their fewest in a win since a 2-0, seven-inning win over the Winchester Royals on July 3, 2022. Their three hits are tied for their fewest in a game this season, and are their fewest in a win.
- The Tom Sox secured their 15th and 16th home wins of the season, surpassing their total from each of the last two seasons and tying the entirety of the 2021 season.
- Charlottesville out-hit Covington 15-5 in game two, their largest margin since out-hitting Waynesboro by 11 on June 2.
