WINCHESTER, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (10-11) will face the Winchester Royals (11-12) in a cross-division doubleheader today at Bridgeforth Field in Winchester. It will be broadcast live on the Royals Facebook page. First pitch for game one is set for 2:30 P.M., with the second game to follow approximately 30 minutes after the first.
Coverage: Viewers can head to the Royals Facebook Page to watch tonight’s games. A link to the live stats is available on Pointstreak. The Tom Sox Twitter account (@CvilleTomSoxVBL) will provide live updates.
Ticket Information: Tickets to Royals games are $5 for adults, $3 for seniors (60+), $2 for youth (6-12), and free for youth 6 and under.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Game 1
Charlottesville: RHP Emmett Bice, Charleston (1-0, 4.66 ERA, 9.2 IP, 5 BB, 7 K)
Winchester: RHP Sam Davies, St. Joseph’s (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 14.0 IP, 8 BB, 8 K)
Game 2
Charlottesville: RHP Drew Bryan, Chicago (1-0, 1.59 ERA, 11.1 IP, 6 BB, 15 K)
Winchester: RHP Jackson Lyons, Memphis (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 7 BB, 8 K)
LEADING OFF
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The Tom Sox play their first road doubleheader of the season, traveling to Winchester to face the Royals.
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Game one will start at 2:30, one of the earliest starts to a game in Tom Sox history.
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The Tom Sox have reached the halfway point in the regular season. They have lost more games halfway through this season than all of last regular season (10).
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The Tom Sox have lost their last two games and have scored three runs in each of the last three games.
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Emmett Bice will make his second start of the season in game one. Bice started game two against Purcellville and became only the second ‘Sox pitcher to throw five innings in a game, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and cruising after.
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Drew Bryan will make his second start in game two. His first start came at Covington, allowing two runs in 3.2 innings.
SERIES vs WINCHESTER
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The Tom Sox will travel to Winchester for the first time since the first week of the 2019 season.
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The ‘Sox are 2-5 all-time in Winchester, with the only wins coming in the first and last meetings all-time at Bridgeforth Field.
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Charlottesville and Winchester split a doubleheader last year in Charlottesville, with the Tom Sox winning game one before Winchester dominated game two.
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Wyatt Langford was the story of game one for the ‘Sox going 3-for-4 with a walk-off single in the eighth. ‘Sox pitching allowed only one earned run and walked only one Royal.
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The Royals dominated game two behind a no-hitter from Kenneth Quijano, the first no-hitter (7 or 9 innings) against the Tom Sox in team history. Makenzie Pate was the only Tom Sox hitter to reach base, walking twice.
TOUGH LUCK LAST NIGHT
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Charlottesville lost their second straight game and sixth of their last seven last night, falling 7-3 to Covington at home.
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The game was tied 3-3 entering the seventh before three straight walks loaded the bases for Nate Stocum, who hit a grand slam to give the Lumberjacks the lead.
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Satchell Norman hit his first home run of the season, a 2-run blast that scored Christian Martin and tied the game in the fifth.
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Charlottesville out-hit Covington 10-8 and did not commit an error.
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Christian Martin was named the Valley League Hitter of the Day after going 4-for-5 with a double, the first ‘Sox player with four hits in a game this season.
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
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The Tom Sox have been one of the top defensive teams in the Valley League this summer.
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Charlottesville’s .970 fielding percentage trails only Woodstock (.972) for first in the league, and they have committed the fewest errors of any team (22).
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The ‘Sox have not committed an error in five straight games, the second-longest errorless streak in team history (2017, 6 games).
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Kyle Edwards, Charlottesville’s starting shortstop, has only one error, as does Gavin Abrams, who’s started 15 of 21 games.
STRUGGLING AT THE DISH
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After an explosion during Charlottesville’s six-game win streak, the Tom Sox offense has struggled over the last five games (four of which have been losses).
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The ‘Sox are batting .221 over that span.
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They have scored 9 runs over the last five (1.8 runs per game) and were shut out in both ends of the doubleheader against New Market – the first time in team history that the ‘Sox were shut out in back-to-back games. They have scored three in each of the last three contests.
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The team OPS over the last five is .596, and Tom Sox hitters have hit only eight extra-base hits.
