Tom Sox Look to Get Back on Track Tuesday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (5-4) will face the Strasburg Express (5-4) Tuesday at CHO Airport Field at Charlottesville High School. It will be broadcast live on the Tom Sox Facebook page and Tom Sox TV. First pitch is set for 7 P.M.

Coverage: Viewers can head to the Tom Sox Facebook Page or Tom Sox TV to watch tonight’s game. A link to the live stats is available on Pointstreak. The Tom Sox Twitter account (@CvilleTomSox) will provide live updates.

Ticket Information: Admission to all Tom Sox games is $5 for a single person or $10 for a carload.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Strasburg: RHP Matt Dickey – Emmanuel College (1-1, 10.0 IP, 1.80 ERA, 5 BB, 6 K)

Charlottesville: LHP Aaron Blum – Kentucky (1-0, 4.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1 BB, 4 K)

LEADING OFF

• The Tom Sox face the Express looking to stop a 2-game losing streak, their longest since July 15-16 of last season.

• The Tom Sox won their first home game last Tuesday, a 7-3 victory over Staunton.

• Charlottesville and Strasburg have combined for six of the last seven Valley League Championships and have a combined nine championship appearances since 2015.

• Charlottesville will travel to Waynesboro Wednesday for the first time this season before hosting back-to-back home games against Harrisonburg and Covington.

TEAM TRENDS

• After winning four straight games last week, the Tom Sox have dropped their last two contests.

• 4 of Charlottesville’s 5 wins have come on the road.

• The Tom Sox have scored at least 7 runs in all five of their wins.

• The ‘Sox have allowed five or fewer runs in six of their nine games.

SAD SUNDAY

• The Tom Sox dropped a contest to the Cardinals on Sunday, falling 9-6 in a game defined by one inning.

• Front Royal scored six of their nine runs in the fifth inning, punctuated by a Jaden Anderson grand slam off of Davian Garcia.

• The Tom Sox trailed 9-3 entering the ninth before putting up three runs to make it a little closer.

• Charlottesville suffered their first loss when out-hitting their opponent (out-hitting the Cardinals 7-4) and their second when scoring first.

• After allowing one home run over the first eight games, the ‘Sox allowed two on Sunday.

• Mark Perkins tossed three scoreless innings for the ‘Sox, while Shane Stossel had Charlottesville’s lone multi-hit game.

SPEEDY ‘SOX

• The Tom Sox have stolen 50 bases in their first nine games, the most in franchise history.

• They have been caught stealing once after Drew Jones was caught on Saturday against Purcellville.

• The 2023 ‘Sox now own the top two stolen base days in team history, stealing nine in game two against Covington and ten last night at Harrisonburg.

• Josh Tate tied the individual single-game record with four steals last night, tying a record that had not been touched in exactly eight years.

• This season, the ‘Sox have five games with 6+ stolen bases after having only six such games in their first seven seasons (322 games).

• The ‘Sox are currently on pace for 246 stolen bases on the year. The current team record is 110, set by the 2021 team.

• The 2023 team is already fourth in team history in single-season stolen bases, having surpassed the 2018 (47), 2016 (43), 2019 (34) and 2015 (40) teams.

• Lyndon Coleman’s record in the VBL is 120, set by the 2016 Winchester Royals.

FRONTLINE DEFENSE

• The Tom Sox have been the best defensive team in the league this year, making only four errors for a .987 fielding percentage.

• The next-best team, Waynesboro, has made nine errors for a .972 percentage.

• Four errors through nine games is the best defensive start in program history. The best fielding percentage for a season in team history is .968 last season.

FALTERING ARMS

• Charlottesville led the league in ERA through the first seven games, but have struggled over the last two with a 8.70 ERA.

• After allowing more than four runs only once in the first seven games (nine in a win at Woodstock), they have allowed eight and nine runs in back-to-back contests.

• Four different ‘Sox pitchers have allowed at least three earned runs over the last two games.

• ‘Sox arms issued a season-high 11 free passes on Sunday (eight walks, three HBP) while holding Front Royal to only four hits, two of which were home runs.

AGAINST STRASBURG

• Charlottesville has pulled away from Strasburg in recent years in the all-time series 15-8, thanks to an active 7-game win streak.

• At least one of the Tom Sox and Express have appeared in every Valley League Championship series since 2015.

• Charlottesville defeated Strasburg to win their first two VBL Championships in 2017 & 2019.

• Both meetings last season, and four of the last five overall, have been decided by three or fewer runs.

ROAD SUCCESS

• Charlottesville has found success on the road early in the season, with four of their five wins coming away from CHO Airport Field.

• The ‘Sox have a +23 run differential in their five road games, including a run-rule victory over Culpeper. They are -5 at home.

• Last season, Charlottesville followed a similar trend – they were 17-7 on the road and 13-9 at home, the first time in team history finishing with more road wins than home wins.

LOOKING BACK

• Charlottesville won their third Valley League Championship last season with a series sweep over the Woodstock River Bandits.

• The ‘Sox did not lose a playoff game, winning all six of the games they played in a postseason plagued by rain. The Tom Sox played only one of the six games at home, with both the division semifinal and division championship rounds being played away from CHS.

• Charlottesville earned the #1 seed in last season’s playoffs with a 26-16 overall record, winning a tiebreaker over the Generals courtesy of a 5-2 head-to-head record.

• The ‘Sox finished third in the league in batting average, first in walks drawn per game, first in stolen base percentage, sixth in ERA, and third in strikeouts per nine innings. They scored five runs per game (6th in the league) and allowed runners to reach at a .222 clip (second).

• The ‘Sox were led by a 3-headed monster at the plate in Christian Martin, Carter Cunningham, and Cole Wagner. The trio hold the fourth, third, and sixth spots respectively in the single-season record book for batting average, while occupying three of the top four spots in both slugging and on-base percentage (joined in both by Michael Wielansky, 2017 VBL MVP).

• Wagner finished the season on a 38-game on-base streak, the longest in team history.

• On the mound, the ‘Sox were led by a variety of starters and relievers. No Tom Sox pitcher threw more than 32 innings, with Emmett Bice pitching the most with 31.2. Notable starters included Trey Yesavage (1.73 ERA, 32 K in 26 IP), Bice (3.98, 24, 31.2), and Bobby Olsen (3.63, 15, 22.1).

• Relievers included John Armstrong (0.00, 20, 15.2), Tyler McLoughlin (0.73, 27, 12.1), Chandler Marsh (1.86, 29, 19.1), Jackson Nove (2.64, 25, 30.2), and Drew Bryan (2.70, 34, 26.2).

SCOUTING STRASBURG

• The Express are tied with Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, and Woodstock for second place in the VBL.

• Strasburg’s offense ranks sixth in the league at .267, while their staff ranks third (3.89).

• Strasburg features a former ‘Sox player in Victor Castillo, who has spent the last three seasons in the Valley. He was a 2021 All-Star with Covington before playing his final eight games in C’Ville, where he hit .318 with four RBI. Last season, he played 10 games in Waynesboro an injury ended his summer. Castillo leads the league with seven doubles in seven games this summer.

• They also feature a second Valley League veteran in Joe Delossantos, who played the last two seasons in Staunton before making his way north. Delossantos finished fourth in the league in slugging percentage last season, and already has a 2-homer game to his credit this season. Delossantos hit .473 with three home runs in six games against the ‘Sox last summer.

• The Express have produced a number of recent college stars, including multiple in Omaha this year: Wake Forest star Rhett Lowder (2-time ACC Pitcher of the Year, Strasburg ‘21), Oral Roberts’ Jonah Cox (who has a hit in 47 straight games, Strasburg ‘22), and Zane Denton (who hit a go-ahead home run for Tennessee yesterday, Strasburg ’22). The Express feature six total players in this season’s Men’s College World Series.