FRONT ROYAL, Va. — The ‘Sox are hot. The Charlottesville Tom Sox (8-5) faced off against the Front Royal Cardinals (7-7) on Saturday night, and from the first pitch, the Tom Sox were in control – capturing their third straight victory, 10-7.
Kyle Edwards (Old Dominion) shined for the Tom Sox on the night, collecting a Tom Sox record six RBI. He had a home run, two doubles, reached on an error, a walk, and also stole three bases.
Josh Tate (Georgia) and David Wiley (Wofford) also had multi-hit efforts and both scored a pair of runs, while Kalvin Alexander (Georgia Southwestern) hit his first double of the season.
Tom Sox pitching had an up-and-down night, with starter Mark Perkins (Rice) tossing four innings, striking out six, and allowing two earned runs. Four of the seven Front Royal runs came off ‘Sox reliever Henry Hardie (Florida Southwestern), who tossed ⅓ of an inning and allowed four of his five batters to reach (two on hits and two on walks). Jordan Little (East Carolina) came in with one on and none out in the eighth and pitched two no-hit innings with four strikeouts to earn the save.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
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The ‘Sox got the party started early as Justin Thomas (Georgia) was drilled to begin the contest. Thomas advanced to third after two wild pitches from starter Michael Schultz. With Thomas on third, Derek Williams (Florida Southwestern) gave his team the lead after an RBI groundout.
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Charlottesville continued its momentum in the second after Josh Tate led off the inning with a double, and David Wiley reached on a single. Wiley moved to second after a wild pitch, putting two runners in scoring position for Kyle Edwards, who made Schultz pay. Edwards ripped a two-run double into deep right, giving the ‘Sox a 3-0 lead. Edwards came around to score on an RBI groundout by Thomas.
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After retiring the first seven Cardinal hitters, Charlottesville starter Mark Perkins ran into trouble with two outs in the third as Nicholas Capozzi blasted an RBI triple, cutting the deficit to three. Front Royal made it a 4-2 ball game after Anthony Boccio notched an RBI single.
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However, the ‘Sox batters didn’t go down quietly in the fourth, with Edwards launching a two-run bomb to right field, extending the lead to four.
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The bats continued to stay hot in the fifth as Williams and Bouche reached base, setting up Tate to extend the lead. Tate reached on an error which allowed Williams to score, and one batter later, Wiley lined a single into left driving in Alex Bouche (Old Dominion), making the score 8-2. After launching a home run earlier in the contest, Edwards kept up his hot hitting, blasting a two-run double to deep center field.
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Head coach Lyndon Coleman went to his bullpen at the start of the fifth, calling upon Braden Halladay (High Point).
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Trailing by eight, Front Royal cut into the deficit in the sixth when Jaden Anderson crushed a solo home run.
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Charlottesville loaded the bases in the seventh, but it couldn’t bring home any more insurance runs.
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Coleman went to his bullpen again in the seventh inning, bringing in Hardie. The Cardinals capitalized on Hardie as he threw a wild pitch that allowed Jeremy Wolf to score. Things went from bad to worse for Hardie when he surrendered a three-run home run to Drew Camp, making it a 10-7 game. Hardie was replaced by Dave Wilson (Lamar), who got two quick outs and preserved the three-run lead.
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After a leadoff walk in the eighth by Wilson, Coleman brought in Jordan Little, who retired the side. Little worked two scoreless innings, and the Tom Sox came away with a massive 10-7 victory.
UP NEXT:
Charlottesville will be back in action on Sunday, traveling to Culpeper to square off with the Cavaliers at 7:30 P.M.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
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Charlottesville has won three straight games for the second time this season.
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Edwards collected his second multi-double game of the season after hitting two in the fourth game of the season at Culpeper.
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All but two Charlottesville batters reached base at least twice on the night, with Connor Hincks (fielder’s choice in the fifth) and Alex Bouche (hit by pitch in the fifth, later replaced in the game) the lone exceptions. Seven hitters reached at least three times and three did so four, with Edwards leading the pack reaching in all five of his plate appearances.
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The leadoff batter reached in each of the first seven innings and scored in three of the seven.
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Charlottesville put a season-high 20 runners in scoring position, scoring in four of the 20 opportunities.
