STAUNTON, Va. — Charlottesville’s journey to a championship title began on Friday night under the lights as the Tom Sox hit the road to face the Staunton Braves. The bats were alive at John Moxie Memorial Stadium as both teams combined for 17 runs and 19 hits, but the Braves came out on top, 9-8, after a three-run rally in the sixth. Here’s how it happened:
Ethan Gibson (Virginia Tech) wasted no time to get on base, sending the first pitch into right-center field for a double. Jack Ray settled in following the hit, putting away three straight batters to get out of the inning.
Two strikeouts and a fielder’s choice led by pitcher Isaac Fix (Davidson College) put the Tom Sox back at the plate.
With runners on base, Johnnie Lopez (Seminole State) laid down a perfect bunt to advance both runners into scoring positions. A wild pitch in the next at-bat sent Robbie Lavey (George Washington) striding home from third for the team’s first run of the year.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second, the Braves responded quickly by sending six runners home on three hits, three walks and two errors. Micah Canterbury was a big contributor to the explosive inning with a two-RBI double into left-center field.
After a scoreless third frame by Ray and Marco Levari (Old Dominion), the back half of the Tom Sox’s lineup worked their way on base. Lopez singled to center field, bringing the first run of the inning in before Gibson tallied two more onto the board with his second hit. Then, Cade Belyeu (Auburn) sent a ball flying over the moon for a three-run homer to put the Tom Sox up 7-6.
The tug-of-war continued in the sixth as the Braves took the lead back thanks to a Tim Dickerson missile that brought in the team’s seventh and eighth runs. Dickerson would come soaring home a few batters later off the bat of Charlie Keller.
Brayden Scott held onto the two-score lead through the seventh and eighth innings, going pitch-for-pitch with Ayden Alexander (George Washington).
With the Tom Sox’s backs up against the wall in the top of the ninth, Lavey drove in Tommy Roldan (Virginia) and cut the lead down to one. However, it wouldn’t be enough as a double play ended the Toms Sox hopes for a comeback win.
UP NEXT:
The Tom Sox will look to bounce back against the Culpeper Cavaliers on Saturday at 7 p.m. for their season home opener.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- The Tom Sox lost their season opener for the third straight season. They are 0-2 when opening the season against Staunton, following a loss in the 2018 opener.
- Robbie Lavey finished his Tom Sox debut 4-for-5 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored. Lavey is the first Tom Sox player with 4+ hits in a season opener.
- Including the end of his freshman season at Auburn, Cade Belyeu has a home run in four of his last five games.
