CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox moved to 7-1 on the season against the Harrisonburg Turks following a 6-4 victory at Crutchfield Park Tuesday night.
After securing the No. 1 overall seed in the VBL last night, the Tom Sox stayed hot moving the league’s longest active win streak to five in a row.
In the first inning, the Turks registered two quick outs but then followed it up with back-to-back runs scored by Logan McNeely and Connor Hartigan to give Harrisonburg a quick 2-0 lead.
The Tom Sox responded with two runs of their own in the first. Victor Castillo (FAU) and Adam Cecere (Wake Forest) each crossed the plate courtesy of a pair of errors by Harrisonburg.
After keeping the Turks off the bases in the second inning, Charlottesville knocked in four runs to break the tie and move the score to 6-2.
The Tom Sox couldn’t stop hitting the ball in the second registering four hits and having four players touch home. Brayland Skinner (Mississippi State), Zach Limas (Incarnate Word), Pierce Bennett (Wake Forest) and Castillo all found their way around the bags.
Charlottesville benefited from three errors and four wild pitches in the first two innings.
Mason Delane (VCU) made his season debut on the hill for the Tom Sox.
Delane went two innings, struck out two and gave up two earned runs on 32 pitches. Angelo Cabral (North Central Texas) came on in relief.
The Turks responded with a run in the third to cut the Sox lead to three as Jordan Sweeney drove in Peyton Crispin.
Harrisonburg threated with a deeply hit ball by McNeely in the fifth, but Brayland Skinner had other ideas. Skinner made an acrobatic leap at the wall knocking down the 365-foot sign to keep the Turks off the bases.
Cabral finished his day in the fifth after throwing three solid innings allowing just one run and three hits and earning three strikeouts.
Andrew Ward (VCU) came on for Cabral to start the sixth and struggled initially. After allowing two singles to get men on, Ward surrendered a run off a single from Bryce Safferwich to make the score 6-4.
Ward would settle in during the seventh inning and retire the next three batters to keep the Turks at bay.
The Tom Sox’ bats got ice cold after their hot start and registered just one hit after the second inning (Castillo in the fourth). A couple walks by Harrisonburg help produce some base runners for Charlottesville.
Carter Spivey (East Carolina) came on to close out the Turks in the ninth. After allowing a leadoff walk, Spivey put away the next three Turks batters to finish off Harrisonburg.
The Tom Sox are now 10-0 at home since June 25 and have scored 46 runs in their last five games.
The Charlottesville Tom Sox travel to Waynesboro to take on the Generals Wednesday night. Following a night off Thursday, the Sox will welcome Waynesboro to Crutchfield Park Friday night for the last regular season game for Charlottesville.
Admission and parking for Friday’s contest are free courtesy of Carter Bank and Trust.
Additional Notes
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Wyatt Langford extended his on-base streak to 15 games with his double in the 2nd.
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Charlottesville is 18-3 overall since June 25.
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The Tom Sox now have a 10.5 game lead on Harrisonburg for 2nd in the South Division.
