CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – With thunder in the sky, the Charlottesville Tom Sox (4-5) faced off under the clouds against the Staunton Braves (3-7) in search of returning their record to .500. The last time the ‘Sox played the Braves at home, they walked away with their highest scoring game as of yet. Charlottesville blew that record out of the water with a final score of 15-7, and a successful trip back to a .500 record.
After a 34-minute hold for weather, the ‘Sox got into action in the first inning. In their eagerness to lend the Tom Sox a hand, the Braves pitcher walked four of Charlottesville’s first five batters, eventually sending Gavin Abrams (Clemson), Satchell Norman (Florida Southwestern), and Cole Wagner (Georgia) home for an early 3-0 lead.
On defense, the ‘Sox continued to play at the high bar they set for themselves at the beginning of the game, getting the Braves to send only four batters to the plate in the top of the second. Bobby Olsen (Brown) ended his third start for the ‘Sox with an extremely successful array of throws, doubling his strikeouts for the season from three to six. Trey Yunger (Wofford) then hit an absolute dinger to left field for his first home run of the season, giving Charlottesville a 4-0 lead.
After allowing one run, the ‘Sox stole the momentum back in the third inning with a double play to secure the first two outs of the inning. They quickly followed that up with a play at first for a quick first half of the third.
The Tom Sox didn’t let the Braves catch a breath either as Hunter Teplanszky (TCU) set the tone for the fourth, scoring on a wild pitch. Only minutes later, Norman hit a double resulting in two RBIs as Yunger and Abrams came home to stretch their lead. Thought it was finished? Think again, because next up was Logan Amiss (VCU) who hit Charlottesville’s second homer of the day to make it 9-1.
The Braves attempted to redeem themselves, scoring two in the top of the sixth, but the ‘Sox took that in stride and responded with another five runs of their own. Norman hit a sacrifice fly to send Kyle Edwards (Old Dominion) home, followed immediately by Amiss sending Abrams home. Now sweating, the Braves switched up pitchers, but that was no problem for the ‘Sox. Cole Wagner continued the season of giving, hitting his second home run of the night to bring home two more. Yunger then hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Tristan Bissetta (Clemson), making it 14-3 after six.
The Braves responded in the seventh with four unearned runs off of Tom Sox pitcher Emmett Bice (Charleston), but it was too late to make a large impact to Charlottesville’s lead. Manager Ramon Garza called on Drew Bryan (Chicago) to pitch the final 2.1 innings, and he was electric; striking out seven of the ten batters he faced to stop the Staunton threat.
The Tom Sox continue their homestand Friday at 7 P.M., hoping to continue their offensive high when they face the Harrisonburg Turks (6-4). Admission is free courtesy of Carter Bank & Trust.
Additional Notes
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The Tom Sox hit four home runs in the contest, the most since July 2017 against the Braves. It was their most home runs ever hit at Charlottesville High School. The four homers come after hitting only one in their first nine games.
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Cole Wagner’s two long balls are tied for the most by a player in a single game. He is the first to do it since Adam Cecere hit two at Covington in July of last season, and the first Tom Sox player to ever hit multiple homers in a single game at Charlottesville High.
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The Tom Sox’s 15 runs scored are their most since scoring 15 at Staunton on July 15, 2021. They have scored double-digit runs in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
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Satchell Norman continued his on-base streak and has reached base in every game this season.
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‘Sox batters struck out only three times on the night, the second fewest this season (twice on June 11 at Harrisonburg). They have walked 19 times over the last three games.
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Double-digit runs have been scored by at least one team in each of the last five games in the Staunton-Charlottesville series.
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Charlottesville’s 2-4 hitters finished 6-11 with seven runs, ten RBI, and two home runs. They reached base a combined nine times on the night.
