Tom Sox Travel to Harrisonburg Seeking 4th Straight Win

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (4-2) will face the Harrisonburg Turks (4-2) tonight at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, VA, as they seek a 4-game win streak. The game will be broadcast on the Turks Facebook Page. A Tom Sox radio call will also be available. First pitch is set for 7:30 P.M.

Coverage: Viewers can head to the Turks Facebook Page to watch tonight’s game. Nathan Schwartz and Alex Rocco will call the action on a Tom Sox radio feed, available on YouTube. A link to the live stats is available on Pointstreak. The Tom Sox Twitter account (@CvilleTomSox) will provide live updates.

Ticket Information: Tickets to Turks games are $5 for adults, $2 for seniors (65+), $3 for students with a college ID, and $1 for children 12 and under.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Charlottesville: LHP Jaden Kinsler – James Madison (1-0, 4.0 IP, 0.00 IP, 0 BB, 6 K)

Harrisonburg: RHP Miles Jamieson – Davidson (0-0, 1.0 IP, 0.00 IP, 1 BB, 1 K)

LEADING OFF

• The Tom Sox will play the second of four games on the season against Harrisonburg.

• Charlottesville is riding a 3-game win streak.

• Charlottesville sits tied with Harrisonburg and Woodstock for second in the VBL.

• The Tom Sox and Turks are the top two pitching teams in the VBL, with the Turks sporting a 2.72 ERA and the ‘Sox at 3.12.

• Tonight’s game will be a homecoming for starter Jaden Kinsler, who will pitch in his home ballpark at JMU. Kinsler was JMU’s second leading pitcher on the season and sported a 3.68 ERA at Eagle Field in 2023.

• Charlottesville will return home Saturday to face the league-leading Purcellville Cannons.

SPEEDY ‘SOX

• The Tom Sox have stolen 33 bases in their first six games, the most in franchise history.

• The previous high was 19, set by Kory Koehler’s 2021 Tom Sox team.

• They have not been caught stealing so far.

• Charlottesville set a new single-game record with nine stolen bases against Covington last Friday, besting the previous record of eight set in a road game at Woodstock in 2021 (also the second game of the season).

• This season, the ‘Sox have four games with 6+ stolen bases after having only six such games in their first seven seasons (322 games).

• The ‘Sox are currently on pace for 242 stolen bases on the year. The current team record is 110, set by the 2021 team.

• Lyndon Coleman’s record in the VBL is 120, set by the 2016 Winchester Royals.

AGAINST HARRISONBURG

• Charlottesville and Harrisonburg will meet for the second time this season, the first rematch of the season between any two VBL teams.

• Harrisonburg snapped a 16-game road losing streak in the teams’ first meeting last Saturday, bringing in the go-ahead runs in the ninth inning after a 2-2 tie for much of the evening.

• Jose Perez had all four Turks RBI in the first meeting, while Sergio Rivera had the lone ‘Sox RBI knock. Perez’s homer is the only long ball allowed by the ‘Sox this season.

• Charlottesville won the last meeting at Veterans Memorial Park last season, an 11-6 final sparked by three RBI from Carter Cunningham and a 3-for-5, 2-RBI day from Christian Martin. It was their only win in their four visits to Eagle Field last season (against Harrisonburg only).

• Charlottesville has won 23 of the last 34 matchups between the two teams (dating back to the start of the 2017 season).

ROAD SUCCESS

• Charlottesville has found success on the road early in the season, with three of their four wins coming away from CHO Airport Field.

• The ‘Sox have a +18 run differential in their three road games, including a run-rule victory over Culpeper Sunday. They are +1 at home.

• ‘Sox pitchers have allowed only eight earned runs away from home so far, with six of the eight coming Wednesday in a battle at Woodstock.

• Last season, Charlottesville followed a similar trend – they were 17-7 on the road and 13-9 at home, the first time in team history finishing with more road wins than home wins.

• They have not trailed in a road game this season.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, AGAIN

• Charlottesville won their third Valley League Championship last season with a series sweep over the Woodstock River Bandits.

• The ‘Sox did not lose a playoff game, winning all six of the games they played in a postseason plagued by rain. The Tom Sox played only one of the six games at home, with both the division semifinal and division championship rounds being played away from CHS.

• The ‘Sox swept Covington in the first round (in a doubleheader in Harrisonburg), Waynesboro in the division championship (both games played in Waynesboro), and Woodstock in the league championship.

• The Tom Sox trailed in only three of the 54 postseason innings played, all coming in the first game of the Waynesboro series.

• Christian Martin led the Tom Sox at the plate in the playoffs with a .417 average and .517 OBP. The Tom Sox staff was masterful, with a 2.17 ERA and 60 strikeouts in the six games.

READY TO RUN IT BACK

• Seven players from the 2022 Championship team will return to the ‘Sox in 2023, with four on the active roster to begin the season.

• Kyle Edwards served as the ‘Sox’s starting shortstop for much of the season, starting 42 of the team’s 48 games at short. Edwards was named an All-Star Reserve after fielding at a .971 clip and stealing 12 bases. He led the ODU Monarchs in hitting this spring with a .341 average, six homers, and a 1.038 OPS as an infielder and outfielder.

• Braden Halladay returns to Charlottesville after a 2022 summer which saw him post a 3.86 ERA in 18.2 innings with 25 strikeouts and only 7 walks. He turned in over half his innings over his final two appearances alone, allowing one run and striking out seven in six innings at Staunton (July 20) and punching out a career-high nine batters in five innings in a playoff game at Waynesboro (July 30). Halladay worked to a 4.61 ERA in 41 innings for High Point this spring, striking out 29.

• Kalvin Alexander only played the back half of the season for the Tom Sox last summer, but made it count. Alexander hit six home runs in 18 games, tying him for the team single-season record. He also served reliable behind the plate, catching four batters stealing on the summer. Alexander hit 10 homers for Georgia Southwestern this spring, combining with nine doubles and a triple for a .423 slugging percentage.

• Shane Stossel only appeared in one game for Charlottesville last summer – game two of a doubleheader at Waynesboro – but made it count, tossing 5.2 scoreless innings of relief on 105 pitches to clinch the 1 seed in the South division playoffs. Stossel was named All-Conference as a pitcher and utility for Lebanon Valley this spring, posting a 3.73 ERA while hitting .331 with ten home runs and 55 RBI.

LOOKING BACK

• Charlottesville earned the #1 seed in last season’s playoffs with a 26-16 overall record, winning a tiebreaker over the Generals courtesy of a 5-2 head-to-head record.

• The ‘Sox finished third in the league in batting average, first in walks drawn per game, first in stolen base percentage, sixth in ERA, and third in strikeouts per nine innings. They scored five runs per game (6th in the league) and allowed runners to reach at a .222 clip (second).

• The ‘Sox were led by a 3-headed monster at the plate in Christian Martin, Carter Cunningham, and Cole Wagner. The trio hold the fourth, third, and sixth spots respectively in the single-season record book for batting average, while occupying three of the top four spots in both slugging and on-base percentage (joined in both by Michael Wielansky, 2017 VBL MVP).

• Wagner finished the season on a 38-game on-base streak, the longest in team history.

• On the mound, the ‘Sox were led by a variety of starters and relievers. No Tom Sox pitcher threw more than 32 innings, with Emmett Bice pitching the most with 31.2. Notable starters included Trey Yesavage (1.73 ERA, 32 K in 26 IP), Bice (3.98, 24, 31.2), and Bobby Olsen (3.63, 15, 22.1).

• Relievers included John Armstrong (0.00, 20, 15.2), Tyler McLoughlin (0.73, 27, 12.1), Chandler Marsh (1.86, 29, 19.1), Jackson Nove (2.64, 25, 30.2), and Drew Bryan (2.70, 34, 26.2).

SCOUTING HARRISONBURG

• Harrisonburg is tied with Charlottesville and Woodstock for second place in the Valley League, trailing only first-place Purcellville.

• The Turks sport the league’s best pitching staff (2.72 ERA) and the third-best offense (.290 BA).

• Harrisonburg has largely won their games with their arms, scoring the second-fewest runs in the VBL through six games (28).

• Aiden Alexander leads the Turks on offense with a .417 average from the leadoff spot. Alexander went 3-for-4 with a run scored and walk in the first meeting.

• The Turks sport two of the league’s six leading pitchers in the young season in Dominic Castellano (0.00, T-1st) and Robert Kelley (1.29, 6th).

• Harrisonburg sports two returners from last season’s team in JMU arms Sean Culkin and Casey Smith, while Kelley (Strasburg) and Tyler Borges (Waynesboro) played for other teams previously in the VBL.

• Two-way player Ben Barrett (FSU) was D1Baseball’s Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year.