CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (8-3) will face the Covington Lumberjacks (4-5) tonight at Casey Field. It will be broadcast live on the Lumberjacks Facebook page. First pitch is set for 7 P.M.
Coverage: Viewers can head to the Lumberjacks Facebook Page to watch tonight’s game. A link to the live stats is available on Pointstreak. The Tom Sox Twitter account (@CvilleTomSoxVBL) will provide live updates.
Ticket Information: Admission to all Lumberjacks games is free.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Charlottesville: LHP Alex Ayala – Florida Southwestern (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 K)
Covington: LHP Avery Heiple – Potomac State (0-1, 8.59 ERA, 7.1 IP, 9 BB, 15 K)
LEADING OFF
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Charlottesville and Covington will meet for the second time in the last 7 days.
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The Tom Sox have won both of the meetings this season, taking home a 9-5 win on opening night before defeating the ‘Jacks 9-7 on Tuesday.
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The ‘Sox lost their second game in 3 days last night, falling 3-1 to the Harrisonburg Turks.
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Entering this current stretch, the Tom Sox are scheduled to play 13 games in 11 days, including two doubleheaders. The next scheduled off day is June 23.
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Charlottesville’s 3.17 ERA ranks 3rd in the VBL and its .172 opponent BA leads the league.
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Alex Ayala will make his second official start of the season after his last start was rained out after 1.5 innings Sunday.
SERIES vs COVINGTON
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The Tom Sox have won 4 of the last 5 meetings against the Lumberjacks.
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They have lost 3 of the last 4 at Casey Field, with the win coming last Tuesday.
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Charlottesville has scored 9 runs in 4 of the last 5 meetings against Covington, including both matchups this season.
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The Tom Sox have won the first 3 meetings against the Lumberjacks only once (2017, when they went 6-0 against Covington).
LAST TIME OUT
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Charlottesville lost their second game in 3 days, falling in a pitcher’s duel to the Harrisonburg Turks.
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The Tom Sox only had 9 batters reach base all night. Gehrig Ebel and Trevor Candelaria were the only batters to reach multiple times.
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Charlottesville’s 1 run is the fewest since August 2, 2019 against Staunton.
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Tom Sox pitchers struck out 15 batters, the most since June 30, 2019 against Front Royal (17).
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After walking 22 batters in their first 3 games this week, Tom Sox pitching has walked only 5 in their last 2 games.
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Chase Centala struck out 4 batters in the 8th inning, the first time in recent memory that it has happened.
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Centala and Andrew Ward both made their first appearances of the season.
DIFFERENT FACES, NEW PLACES
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A number of new and familiar faces are finding their way around the Valley League.
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The Tom Sox welcome two new faces tonight, as LSU’s Will Safford and East Carolina’s Carter Spivey join the crew.
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Former ‘Sox player Brock Edge, who played a big role in the 2019 championship, will be in the other dugout tonight as a member of the Covington Lumberjacks.
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Another 2019 ‘Sox player, Austin Mueller, was the starting catcher for Harrisonburg yesterday.
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Former Lumberjack Logan Amiss will face his former team tonight.
#OMASOX
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The Tom Sox have representatives from three of the eight teams in the 2021 College World Series.
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Christian Hlinka (2019) represents the hometown Hoos for the ‘Sox.
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Three NC State players are signed to the 2021 roster in Garrett Payne, Eddie Eisert, and Tristan Sipple. Evan Justice, a 2018 TS player, has played a major role in NC State’s run as their primary closer.
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Mississippi State also sends three reps to the 2021 ‘Sox in Houston Harding, Brayland Skinner, and Tanner Leggett. Harding has recently worked as State’s Sunday starter, while Skinner and Leggett have added important at-bats.
