HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (20-7) defeated the Harrisonburg Turks (11-13) Monday night by a final score of 4-0. With the win, the Tom Sox have won their fifth straight game and extend their lead in the South Division to six games.
As has often been the case throughout the season, the Charlottesville pitching staff led the way with a dominant performance from top to bottom. Tom Sox veteran Jacob Haney (William and Mary) got the start for Charlottesville and threw four no-hit innings, walking four while striking out two Harrisonburg hitters.
The 6’5” right-handed pitcher James Vaughn (Duke) came in to relieve Haney. While he did surrender the first hit of the afternoon in his first inning of work, Vaughn completed one of his best relief outings of the season. From this point on, this would be the only hit the Turks lineup could muster as Vaughn (4 IP, 1 BB, 3 K) and UCF’s Chase Centala (1 IP, 0 H, 1 K) combined for the shutout, the first for the Charlottesville pitching staff since 2018.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Tom Sox offense appeared sluggish at the beginning of the game. While it took them four innings to muster their first hit against Turks starter Garret Simpson, they swiftly broke through for their first runs of the game. Wyatt Langford (Florida), recently named as a VBL All-Star, broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff double. Three batters later, Jack Hurley (Virginia Tech) laced a double over the head of left fielder Peyton Crispin, scoring the first Tom Sox runner of the game.
Two innings later, a two out single by Adam Cecere (Wake Forest) plated Trevor Candelaria (Davidson) to put the Sox ahead by two. Cecere was not done yet, as he brought home another two Tom Sox runs via a 1-out double in the top of the eighth. While the extra insurance runs were appreciated by the Tom Sox pitching staff, they would prove to be unnecessary as the Tom Sox would go on to win by a final score of 4-0.
The Tom Sox will look to continue their strong stretch of play Tuesday night when they travel to Covington to face off against the Lumberjacks, in what is a makeup of the rainout on June 22.
Additional Notes
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The Tom Sox shut out their opponent for the first time since a 7-inning 17-0 victory over the Front Royal Cardinals on July 9, 2018. It is the first 9-inning shutout since June 7, 2018 against Strasburg.
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Charlottesville’s 1-hitter is the second in team history. The ‘Sox 1-hit Front Royal on June 7, 2016.
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Pierce Bennett went 2-for-3 with a triple in his first game since June 19.
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The Tom Sox did not collect a hit until the fourth inning.
