CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox fell 9-2 in their first home game of the 2022 season against the Covington Lumberjacks.
As tradition goes, last year the Tom Sox opened their season against the Lumberjacks and defeated them 9-5. So naturally, the Sox were hungry for their first win, but were unfortunately unable to deliver.
The first inning was scoreless for both the Tom Sox and Lumberjacks, but it was far from a foreshadowing for the rest of the game.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Julian Rojas (Radford) got the scoring started after a wild pitch from Lumberjacks pitcher Michael Guerrero; and shortly after in the top of the third, Covington’s Cole Ketzner scored after a passed ball to tie the game up 1-1.
With a fourth inning stalemate that did not come to stay, Kyle Edwards (Old Dominion) came to play. After he hit a single and was able to steal second by way of a Lumberjack error; he took it and ran – literally – to score on the error for a ‘Sox 2-1 lead in the fifth.
The pitchers were largely the story for the first six innings, allowing a combined three runs and five hits while striking out 15. Charlottesville’s Tom Vincent (Rice) dazzled, allowing only one unearned run on a pair of hits and five punchouts in his four innings. The man following him, Drew Bryan (Chicago), tossed a pair of hitless innings to take the game to the seventh with a 1-run lead.
The good times did not roll, however, as the Lumberjacks’ John Urena hit a line drive to left field off of new ‘Sox pitcher Christian Howe (Kentucky), allowing runners on second and third to both score and take a 3-2 lead.
The top of the ninth was nothing short of a great heist. Walks, wild pitches, and errors helped the first seven Covington batters of the inning reach base, with six of them scoring. This helped the Lumberjacks absolutely rob six runs for themselves and lead to their blowout win.
The Tom Sox look to bounce back after two-straight losses as they face the Lumberjacks again tomorrow at 7 p.m. on the road at Casey Field.
Additional Notes
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The Tom Sox start the season 0-2 for the first time since the 2015 season.
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The loss snaps Charlottesville’s six-game win streak against the Lumberjacks, which dated back to July 2019.
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Charlottesville falls to 4-3 in home openers and lost their first since 2016.
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Gavin Abrams (Clemson) continues his hot start, reaching base in five of his first nine plate appearances to start the season.
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Tom Vincent’s four innings pitched marked a personal career high as a collegiate player.
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The Lumberjacks had eleven batters reach base in the final three innings after just six through the first six frames.
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Charlottesville has made multiple errors in five consecutive games dating back to last season.
