PURCELLVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox traveled to Purcellville to take on the Cannons and secured two wins in Saturday’s doubleheader.
In game one, the Tom Sox defeated the Cannons 3-1. Runs were hard to come by for both sides. Neither team scored in the first three innings of play as Purcellville and Charlottesville combined for just four hits.
The Tom Sox’ offense struck first in the top of the fourth. After Wyatt Langford (Florida) reached on a single and Cole Foster (Auburn) moved him to third with a double, Elijah Nunez (TCU) brought Langford in for the first run of the game on a sharply hit single to second base.
The Cannons immediately responded with a run of their own. Geordon Blanton drew a walk for Purcellville to start the fourth inning, and after stealing second, Blanton scored the Cannons’ first run thanks to a deep double to center by Soterio Ramirez.
After a scoreless fifth and six innings, the Tom Sox retook the lead 3-1 in the seventh. Kam Guidry (Georgia) drew a four pitch walk, and after stealing both second and third, Guidry crossed home plate on a fielder’s choice to first from Logan Amiss (VCU). Cal Stark (Weatherford) would later drive Amiss on a single in the gap between first and second to push the Sox lead to two.
Brady Kirtner (Virginia Tech) took the mound for the Sox game one and dominated the Cannons from the start. Kirtner finished his outing in the seventh inning after throwing 98 pitches. He went 6.1 innings, allowing just one run and two hits while striking out eight. Kirtner is the first Tom Sox pitcher since July 31, 2017 to pitch into the seventh.
Carter Spivey (ECU) took the mound in the seventh inning to replace Kirtner. Spivey needed just eight pitches to put away the Cannons for good and secure the game one win for the Sox 3-1.
Four ‘Sox players recorded two hits: Gehrig Ebel (Virginia Tech), Wyatt Langford, Cal Stark and Elijah Nunez.
In game two, the Tom Sox came alive early and blew out the Cannons 12-1.
In the second inning, Guidry drew a walk and Gehrig got hit by a pitch to put two on for the Sox. After both runners each advanced 90 feet following a wild pitch, they came home on a single from Amiss and a fielding error to put the Tom Sox up 2-0.
The Tom Sox would increase their lead to four in the top of the third. Foster reached on a single, and Garrett Spikes (Georgia) would also single to give Charlottesville two base runners. Foster stole third, and following a wild throw from catcher Jared Glinski to try and freeze him, Foster touched home for the third run of the game.
Will Safford (LSU) helped distract the Cannons by attempting to steal second long enough for Spikes to steal home and put the fourth run on the board for Charlottesville. The ‘Sox kept the scoring going in the fourth when Guidry came home on a passed ball to extend the Tom Sox lead to five.
Charlottesville’s offense exploded in the sixth for five runs. In his second game as a Tom Sox player, Eddie Eisert (NC State) singled in the sixth and would later score a run to increase the lead to 6-0. A double by Adam Cecere (Wake Forest) would drive in Langford to make the score 7-0. Spikes would launch a deep, 3-run blast to right-center to give the Sox a double-digit lead, 10-0.
Dillon Janac (Rice) started on the hill in game two for the Sox. He finished the day after five innings pitched with two hits allowed and six strikeouts.
Two position players (Stark and Foster) came on in relief of Janac. Stark allowed Purcellville’s first and only run of the game in the sixth, and Foster closed out the inning.
After Purcellville walked three straight to load the bases in the seventh, Nunez was hit by a pitch to bring home Jack Hurley (Virginia Tech) for the ‘Sox’s 11th run of the game. Cecere drove in another run to make the score 12-1.
Foster closed out the game for the Sox and secured the 12-1 victory, as Charlottesville moved to 18-7 on the year.
The Charlottesville Tom Sox return home to Crutchfield Park tomorrow for their Fourth of July showdown with the Waynesboro Generals. Admission and parking are free for Sunday’s game courtesy of Carter Bank and Trust.
Additional Notes
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The ‘Sox are now 10-1 in their last 11 games against Purcellville.
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In 14 total innings, Purcellville had only 18 batters reach base. Charlottesville had 38 reach base over the two games.
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Kam Guidry extended his reached-base streak to 10 games.
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Game 1: Brady Kirner’s performance matched many records that had not been touched in years. Kirtner is the first Charlottesville pitcher to pitch into the 7th inning since Connor Gillispie did so on July 31, 2017 against Waynesboro. He is also the first since Gillispie in that same outing to throw 95+ pitches in a game.
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Game 2: Charlottesville’s 12 runs are their most this season. It is the most they have scored since they scored 18 at Fireman’s Field on July 10, 2019.
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Game 2: Every Tom Sox starter reached base, and all but one substitute (Cal Stark, 1 AB) reached base.
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Game 2: Purcellville’s 5 errors are the most by a Charlottesville opponent this season.
