HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (19-14) won their first game at Veterans Memorial Park this season, defeating the Harrisonburg Turks (22-12) 11-6 in a crucial South division matchup. The ‘Sox rolled on offense with 14 base hits after only having six in their last two games and scored a run for the first time since Wednesday night. The scoreless stretch included a 10-0 loss in eight innings against the Turks last Friday, but the ‘Sox got their revenge.
The Turks struck early in the first inning with an RBI groundout, a similar start to Friday’s game. However, the ‘Sox took the lead in the third inning, as the 20-inning scoring drought ended on a Trey Yunger (Wofford) two-run single. Harrisonburg evened it at two with an RBI double by Mitch Farris.
The Turks regained the lead off an error and scored two more runs to take a 5-2 lead. The ‘Sox rallied in the top of the sixth to continue the back-and-forth affair. A one-out single by Carter Cunningham (East Carolina) scored two runs to bring the deficit down to one. Two batters later, Yunger got on base after an error, which allowed Satchell Norman (Florida Southwestern) to score and tie the game at 5.
Charlottesville began to pull away in the seventh. Christian Martin (Virginia Tech) hit a single that sent Nic Ericsson (VCU) home for the go-ahead run. Martin was rewarded soon after, as he touched home plate for the Tom Sox’s eighth run.
The Turks mustered one run in the eighth to inch closer, but the ‘Sox were too much from the plate. After two walks and a single, the bases were loaded, and it allowed for the Tom Sox to officially put the game to bed. Norman and Cunningham both hit sacrifice flies to bring in a run each, then Cole Wagner (Georgia) rubbed salt on the wound with an RBI single. A quick 1-2-3 bottom half to the inning sealed the deal for the Tom Sox to end their quick two-game skid.
Seven of the nine ‘Sox batters recorded at least one hit, with five having two or more. The Tom Sox struck out and reached on base on balls five times. The offense put pressure on the Turks’ pitchers all night, as they were hard to put out. Cunningham paced the team with 3 RBIs and went 2-4 from the plate. Out of his 14 games, Cunningham has recorded a hit in 12 of them. Martin was 3-5 and added 3 runs and 2 RBIs. Ericsson was a perfect 3-3 and was disciplined from the plate with two walks.
For the Tom Sox pitching, Fisher Jameson (Florida) made his fourth start of the season, easily his best with the Tom Sox. Despite allowing four hits and three earned runs in 4.1 innings, he struck out three and walked only one. Entering the night, Jameson had walked 3+ batters in each of his last three starts. Chandler Marsh (Georgia) was awarded with his second win, as he came into relief for 1.2 innings and sent three down on strikes and allowed two walks and two hits. Jack Billings (Coastal Carolina) pitched in one inning that yielded a walk and a hit. Tyler McLoughlin (Emory) closed the game out for his fourth save in the 2022 summer, as he struck three out and walked two.
The Tom Sox still sit in third place in the South division, trailing the Waynesboro Generals by three games and the Turks by 2 ½. They have their chance to eke closer when they travel to First Bank Park to square off against the Strasburg Express (20-15) in a doubleheader. The first game of this cross-division clash will start at 5 P.M.
Additional Notes
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Charlottesville’s 14 hits are tied for the most in a game this season. All 14 of them were singles.
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Their 11 runs are tied for the most ever against the Turks, the fifth time in series history they scored 11 runs against Harrisonburg.
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In his return to the ‘Sox lineup after a weeklong absence, Nic Ericsson reached base in all five of his plate appearances (3 singles, 2 walks) for the second time this season.
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Cole Wagner extended his on-base streak to 24 games, now tied with Seth Lancaster (2015) for the third-longest in Tom Sox history.
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The Tom Sox laid down a sacrifice bunt for the first time this season.
