The Tom Sox hit their way to an 8-5 victory Saturday night against the Harrisonburg Turks. The victory began a stretch of 13 games in 11 days for the ‘Sox, by far the toughest stretch of their summer schedule. A solid offensive performance aided the win, led by Ryan Dyal’s (Auburn) three RBIs. Improvement by Charlottesville’s pitching staff kept Harrisonburg bats quiet all night. The Tom Sox batters broke through with big innings in the third and sixth frames, all but securing a stress-free win.
Trace Bright (Auburn) got the start for the ‘Sox in Harrisonburg. His 3.2 innings were the second-longest outing of any Charlottesville pitcher this season, trailing only his four innings in the season opener. His dominant game, including six strikeouts, kept the Turks scoreless. Christian Williams (TCU) came in for relief and secured the last out of the fourth.
In the fifth, the Turks tied the game up off of Williams’ pitching woes. A walk and a dropped infield popup by the Sox put runners on first and second. Austin Mueller of Harrisonburg singled to left to get the Turks on the board, but a 3-run blast from Conor Hartigan tied the game at four. Momentum seemed to be shifting toward the home side, but the Sox were able to get hot in the very next inning.
Two Sox batters struck out to start the top of the sixth, but a walk of Gehrig Ebel (Virginia Tech) and a couple errant throws from the Turks put runners on first and third. Cole Foster (Auburn) advanced to second on a steal, but a 2-RBI double down the right field line by DH Ryan Dyal made the score 6-4. Another ‘Sox hit by Alex Urban (Clemson) scored Dyal, making the Sox’s lead three runs. In the seventh, an Ebel single down the third base line scored Matt Corpas (Florida Southwestern) for a Charlottesville 8-4 lead.
Coming in for relief in the sixth, Dillon Janac (Rice) kept Harrisonburg scoreless for an inning, but three walks led to Reifsnider making the score 8-5. Janac escaped the seventh by stranding three Turks baserunners.
Will Morrison (Auburn) came in for Charlottesville in the bottom of the eighth and ninth, adding two more strikeouts to the team’s tally. His performance smothered any late game rally by Harrisonburg and secured an 8-5 victory.
Catch the Charlottesville Tom Sox back in action Sunday afternoon at Crutchfield Park at 5 P.M. for a doubleheader against the Front Royal Cardinals, admission-free courtesy of Carter Bank and Trust.
