CULPEPER, Va. — For the second time this campaign, the Charlottesville Tom Sox (9-5) squared off against the Culpeper Cavaliers (5-10), and Charlottesville extended its winning streak to four, capturing an 8-6 victory. The ‘Sox captured an 11-1 win the first time these two teams played, and they continued their winning ways over the Cavaliers on Sunday.
Culpeper got off to a fast start, with its first two hitters reaching base against Charlottesville’s starter David Utagawa (Northwestern). With runners on second and third, David Coppedge was in a prime position to give his team an early lead, and he did just that with an RBI groundout. One batter later and things went from bad to worse for Utagawa as he surrendered a two-run bomb to Reese Beheler, and the ‘Sox found themselves down three after one.
In the third, Charlottesville loaded the bases after Jarek Podest surrendered three consecutive walks to begin the inning. However, they weren’t able to capitalize on the free passes as Josh Tate (Georgia) struck out and Derek Williams (Florida Southwestern) bounced into an inning-ending double play.
The Cavaliers looked to extend their 3-0 lead in the bottom of the inning, and they loaded the bases with just one out in the inning. However, just like his counterpart Podest, Utagawa managed to work out of the jam by getting Keith Savoy to ground into a double play.
The ‘Sox had newfound momentum after Utagawa escaped the jam, and Brice Martinez (Wofford) got them on the board, lacing a single into right field that scored Hollis Porter (Mississippi State). During the next at-bat, Martinez quickly took off for second, and on the throw down, David Wiley (Wofford) raced home to make it a 3-2 contest.
Charlottesville continued to run all over the Cavaliers as on a wild pitch from Podest, Martinez came in to score and tie the ballgame at three. Podest surrendered a double to Kyle Edwards (Old Dominion), which signified the end of his night with the Cavaliers going to their bullpen.
The change didn’t fare too well for Culpeper as reliever Connor McAuley tossed two wild pitches that allowed Salvy Alvarez (Florida) and Edwards to score. The ‘Sox exploded for five runs in the inning and took a 5-3 lead into the fifth.
After a scoreless bottom of the fourth from Utagawa, Charlottesville’s offense got right back to work in the fifth. Porter led off the inning with a ground-rule double to right and came around to score on an RBI single from Martinez. The RBI single marked his second of the contest.
Head coach Lyndon Coleman went to his bullpen to open the fifth inning, ending Utagawa’s first start in a Tom Sox uniform. He threw four innings, allowing three runs and striking out one before giving way to his college teammate Grant Comstock. Comstock worked two consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth, striking out five straight batters.
Charlottesville extended its lead in the seventh as Martinez notched his third single of the game, which scored Nathan Fink (Ole Miss) and Wiley, making the score 8-3.
Trailing by five in the eighth, Culpeper’s bats came alive, scoring on an error by Tate at second base and a sac fly by Coppedge. The two runs forced Coleman to bring in Hayden Smith (Kentucky). Comstock exited with a runner on first and with the score at 8-5. He threw 3.1 innings, surrendering two runs (both in the eighth) and fanning seven straight hitters.
The first batter Smith faced was Beheler, and he tallied his second extra-base hit of the game, hitting an RBI double which cut the deficit to two. With two runners on and one out, Smith got Charles Crawford to ground into a double play, preserving the 8-6 lead.
Smith got the first out in the ninth before Coleman brought in Mike Eggert (Wofford) to close out the contest. Eggert retired the final two hitters as the ‘Sox extended their winning streak to four games.
Charlottesville is back in action on Monday night, facing off against Covington at home in a make-up of Friday’s rainout. First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Additional Notes
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Charlottesville’s four-game win streak is tied for their longest of the season.
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Brice Martinez collected all four RBI for Charlottesville on the night, bringing in all four with singles in three-straight plate appearances in the fourth, fifth, and seventh.
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The ‘Sox move to 7-1 in road games and sweep the season’s two games at Culpeper County High School.
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Charlottesville stole eight bases, their third-most in a game this season and tied for the third-most in team history.
