WAYNESBORO, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox headed to Waynesboro to take on the Generals on Wednesday, July 21st. The ‘Sox pulled out a close one, with the only scoring coming from both teams in the fourth and fifth innings. Strong pitching to close the day allowed Charlottesville to hold onto their 3-2 lead and pull out another win.
Garrett Payne (NC State) started on the mound for the Tom Sox. In his second start of the summer, Payne had a strong outing which included three strikeouts in the first three innings and no runs allowed. Charlottesville’s batters also started off slowly during the first three innings. The Tom Sox had no hits in the first inning but saw three players stranded on base in the second after multiple players were walked and Cole Foster (Auburn) singled.
The ‘Sox started strong in the fourth with a double from Garrett Spikes (Georgia). Eddie Eisert (NC State) was at bat next and hit an RBI double to score Spikes and put the Tom Sox up 1-0. In Payne’s last inning of the night, he gave up a home run to Brandon Pimentel, which allowed Zach Levenson to run home as well. The long ball put the Generals up 2-1 going into the fifth.
Charlottesville took advantage of multiple Waynesboro errors to score two more runs in the top of the fifth. Pierce Bennett (Wake Forest) was walked, then proceeded to steal second. Wyatt Langford (Florida) went up to bat and hit a single but made it to second after an error from the shortstop, which also allowed Bennett to run home. Spikes was next at bat and advanced to first after an error by the Generals first baseman. The error also allowed Langford to run home, giving the ‘Sox a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Celebrating his birthday, Noah Overton (UNC Wilmington) was on the mound for the Tom Sox to start the bottom of the fifth. Overton struck out one and stranded one to keep the score 3-2 Charlottesville after the fifth. The ‘Sox went cold on offense after the fifth with no more runs scored and no hits until the ninth. Pitcher Tristan Sipple (NC State) came in in the middle of the sixth and had a strong pitching performance to give up no runs and keep the sixth, seventh, and eighth hitless.
In the ninth, Waynesboro was able to threaten after a leadoff walk of Pimentel, but a strong throw from Cooper Ingle (Clemson) kept the inning at bay and helped Charlottesville secure the 3-2 win.
Charlottesville will be back in action against the Waynesboro Generals again on Friday, July 23rd for the last regular season game. It will be Women in Sports night at Crutchfield Park, where games all season are free thanks to Carter Bank & Trust.
Additional Notes
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The Tom Sox won at Kate Collins Field for the first time since June 2019.
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If the season ended today, Charlottesville and Waynesboro would face off in the first round of the playoffs.
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The Tom Sox left 10 runners on base, and left at least one on base in six of the nine innings. They left a runner on third base in four of the six.
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Wyatt Langford extended his on-base streak to 16 games. He has a hit in 13 of his last 14 games.
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Victor Castillo did not reach base for the first time with the Tom Sox.
