CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (28-16, 2-0 Playoffs) completed a clean sweep of the Covington Lumberjacks (19-25, 0-2 Playoffs) to advance to the semifinals of the Valley League Playoffs. With the series win, the Tom Sox will face the Waynesboro Generals for the Division championship.
Charlottesville advanced after a strong day from the pitching staff, who allowed only four runs in 18 innings. Cole Wagner (Georgia) continued his phenomenal summer, going 4-for-9 from the plate – three of the hits doubles – and extending his on-base streak to 34 games. Matthew Prevesk (Florida) and Nic Ericsson (VCU) each hit 3-run home runs in game one, while Kalvin Alexander added a 2-run shot of his own in the second contest.
The games marked the first ever neutral site games in ‘Sox history, as the two teams faced off at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg to stave off the weather.
GAME 1 – HOW IT HAPPENED
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Charlottesville struck first in the second inning. After Garrett Spikes (Georgia) and Ericsson reached on back-to-back singles to open the inning, Prevesk hit an RBI single to right to open the scoring. Charlottesville would add their second run on a sacrifice fly by Brody Moss (Auburn).
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They added their third run of the game in the fourth. A double put Ericsson in scoring position, and Kyle Edwards (Old Dominion) knocked him in on a near-home run that went for a double to center.
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The ‘Sox broke it open in the fifth. The first three batters of the inning reached base off an error, walk, and single (respectively) before Spikes hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the first. The following batter, Ericsson, crushed a no-doubt home run to left to bring in the remaining two and make it 7-0.
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Trey Yesavage (East Carolina) was nothing but dominant from the first pitch of the game. Yesavage fired seven innings of 3-hit ball, surrendering only one unearned run in the seventh. He walked none and struck out seven, his fourth game with 5+ strikeouts on the season. His seven innings (on just 94 pitches) were the most by a ‘Sox pitcher this season.
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The Tom Sox added three more runs in both the seventh and eighth innings. Prevesk delivered the blow in the seventh, a three-run home run to right center that scored Spikes and Ericsson.
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It was all but over in the eighth. Christian Martin (Virginia Tech) started it off with a triple and he was easily brought in by a Carter Cunningham (East Carolina) double. The following batter, Wagner, knocked his second double of the game down the right field line to score Cunningham. Charlottesville got their final run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Spikes, his second of the game.
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Lucas Cash (Bluefield) tossed the final two frames for the ‘Sox, yielding one run on two hits, walking one, and striking out one.
GAME 2 – HOW IT HAPPENED
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It took a couple innings for the offenses to get going in game two, but they soon started to come to life. The Tom Sox once again struck first, putting two runs on the board in the third on a Martin RBI single and Cunningham ground-rule double.
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The Lumberjacks answered right back in the bottom of the frame. After back-to-back walks and a fielder’s choice opened the frame, Mason Hammonds hit an RBI double off of ‘Sox starter Bobby Olsen (Brown) to score Covington’s first run. A single by Nate Stocum in the next at-bat tied it up at two apiece.
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The Tom Sox answered with what would be the final runs of the game in the top of the fourth. After a relatively easy first three innings from Lumberjack starter Landon Lucas, Charlottesville was able to take advantage of a wearing arm and put up four in the frame. A double by Spikes put him in prime position to take the lead, and he was quickly brought home by a Kalvin Alexander (Florida Southwestern) home run. The home run was Alexander’s fifth of the summer, taking sole possession of the team lead.
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Charlottesville added two more runs in the frame on 3-straight base hits. After Edwards singled and made it to scoring position on a wild pitch, Abrams hit the ‘Sox’s second ground-rule double of the game to make it 5-2. An RBI single by the next batter, Martin, produced the sixth and final run for Charlottesville.
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Jackson Nove (Kentucky) came in in relief and showed what he did against the team who’s field the ‘Sox were occupying for the day. After two-straight dominant appearances against the Turks (including one at Veterans Memorial Park), Nove took it up a notch against Covington; tossing five scoreless innings of relief to get the win. He allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out three of the 19 batters he faced.
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Drew Bryan (Chicago) struck out the side in the ninth to seal it for the ‘Sox on just 13 pitches.
FROM HEAD COACH RAMON GARZA:
“It’s always difficult after having a couple rainouts to bounce back and lock back in, and it’s always difficult to have a doubleheader, but our guys came out and took care of the first goal – which was to make sure we win game one – and then showed the ability to bounce back and jump ahead early in game two and hold that lead. The arms did really well and the bats came around and swung it. Just really good to see all of that coming together in the playoffs.”
UP NEXT: The Tom Sox begin a 3-game series on Friday (July 29) with the Waynesboro Generals to decide the South Division Championship. Game one and the if-necessary game three will take place at Charlottesville High School, while game two will be at Kate Collins Field in Waynesboro. All three games will begin at 7 P.M.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
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Cole Wagner is one game away from tying Michael Wielansky for the longest on-base streak in Tom Sox history (35 games). He has reached base in every game he has played in.
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Wagner’s three doubles on the day move him to sole possession of second place in team history, trailing only Wielansky (19).
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Kalvin Alexander is one home run away from tying the single-season team record (6).
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Charlottesville moves to 5-2 all-time against Covington in the playoffs.
