HARRISONBURG, Va. – Following a loss on Monday night, the Charlottesville Tom Sox (18-6) returned to Eagle Field to face the Harrisonburg Turks (13-9) for a redemption game on Tuesday. Charlottesville sought for a bounce-back and accomplished their goal, as both the batters and pitchers pulled their weight for a 9-7 victory.
Motion started early at the top of the first for the ‘Sox. Dean Mihos (Coastal Carolina) walked to lead off the game and quickly swiped second, which set him up to score after a Colby Wallace (East Carolina) RBI single, putting Charlottesville up 1-0.
Harrisonburg wasted no time to respond and racked up four runs off Charlottesville starter Palmer O’Beirne (State College of Florida) to put themselves ahead 4-1 in the bottom half.
However, the Tom Sox did not feel the pressure and immediately started to claw back. A Jake Books (Coastal Carolina) walk initiated a potential scoring opportunity to start the second, and Ryan Wynn (Wofford) quickly secured this opportunity with a double off the wall to cut the deficit to two.
The Turks answered back quickly with one more run, though, putting them ahead of the ‘Sox 5-2.
The leadoff trend continued in the third as the ‘Sox continued to rally back. Back-to-back singles from Robbie Lavey (George Washington) and Wallace led off the inning, then a fielder’s choice for Caden Ferrraro (Blinn College) moved Lavey to third. With two outs on the board, Books stepped up and delivered a crucial two-run single to make it a one-run game.
After a first inning which almost saw the ‘Sox change pitchers all-together, O’Beirne gradually found his rhythm. Following Harrisonburg’s four-run first, he allowed only one additional run and two additional hits before turning the ball over to Bobby Olsen (Nebraska) for the top of the fourth. Olsen registered his first of many strikeouts on the night and was also assisted by Ferraro, who turned an unassisted double play at first to keep the Turks at bay.
While Harrisonburg’s arms kept the game at bay for the first four innings, they finally started to show some rust in the fifth. A leadoff walk to Ferraro forced starter David Davilla out of the game, but the ‘Sox were able to get on reliever Hudson Rowan early. The first batter he faced, Cooper Blauser (Jacksonville State) walked, then Books continued his hot night with a double to left field to score Ferraro and knot the game at five apiece.
“I really tried to see the ball deep tonight, let it get into my swing, and let my bat do the work,” said Books, who tallied a game-high three RBI on the night. Books reached base in four of his five plate appearances, walking twice to join his pair of hits.
Charlottesville finally took the game back in the following at-bat. Wynn proved that all good things come in threes, snagging his third hit for the night to score Blauser and make it 6-5. They still weren’t done, though, as Mihos sucked the breath out of the Harrisonburg crowd with an impressive bunt single to score Books and give Charlottesville a two-run advantage for the first time.
Following a three-up, three-down bottom of the fifth, Charlottesville began to find their groove defensively, especially on the mound. Olsen had a seven-pitch inning to lock down that frame, closing it out with his second of six punchouts on the evening.
“I had the curveball working and mixed the changeup in as well,” said Olsen, who became only the second ‘Sox pitcher to throw five innings in a game on the season. “I think having the three pitches going really helped me.”
Charlottesville added another insurance run in the sixth to help pad their lead. Wallace and Ferraro hit back-to-back one-out singles to threaten the Turks, and they were able to move up on a passed ball by Turks catcher Matthew Delgado to put two in scoring position. The extra 90 feet proved to make a difference, as Blauser popped a sac fly to left field to score Wallace and give Charlottesville a three-run advantage.
Following a pair of scoreless innings for both sides, the offenses woke up one final time in the ninth. Ferraro singled and Books walked to put a pair on with one out, looking to give Charlottesville a four-run advantage. They would soon do just that, as a wild pitch by Turks closer Cam Nelson allowed Ferraro to cross the plate and make it 9-5.
The eighth proved to be the final inning in an outstanding outing for ‘Sox reliever Bobby Olsen, who gave way to closer Daniel Powell (Kennesaw State) in the ninth. Olsen finished his day tossing five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, one walk, and striking out six. Despite the extra pair of innings, Olsen was able to throw seven fewer pitches than O’Beirne, who finished his three innings with 58.
Powell wouldn’t get out scot free, however. After a six inning scoring drought for Harrisonburg, the Turks offense seeked a comeback with back-to-back one-out singles. The latter featured a throwing error by Books in right field to make the game ever-closer. The Turks would bring one more in on a Powell wild pitch, but they wouldn’t get any more as Powell got VBL batting leader Luke Hatcher to ground out and close the game at a 9-7 final.
“They showed a lot of fire,” said Head Coach Randy Tomlin, who’s Tom Sox got their first win of the season at Veterans Memorial Park and cut Harrisonburg’s series lead to 3-2. “The start of the game, [the Turks] came out swinging and scored some off of Palmer [O’Beirne], but we were able to get things under control. With Bobby Olsen pitching five innings of shutout ball, it allowed us to get back in the game.”
UP NEXT:
The Tom Sox continue their four-game road trip Wednesday, traveling to Covington to take on the Lumberjacks for a 7 p.m. first pitch.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Charlottesville’s lead-off batter reached in six of nine innings, including the first five.
- Books recorded his first multi-RBI game of the season.
- Olsen joins Isaac Fix as the only Tom Sox pitchers to throw 5+ innings this summer.
