STAUNTON, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox’s (22-8) seven-game win streak was ended by the Staunton Braves (13-17) 14-13 at Staunton on Friday night.
Charlottesville started things off with back-to-back singles from Logan Amiss (VCU) and Wyatt Langford (Florida). Red-hot Adam Cecere (Wake Forest) made it three singles to fill the bases and bring Amiss home. For the Braves, Joseph Delossantos advanced on a pitcher error, but they went out in order from there so the inning ended 1-0.
The Tom Sox kept it going in the second with a single from Cole Foster (Auburn), and an eventual single from Pierce Bennett (Wake Forest) that brought Foster home to make it 2-0. Staunton answered with a double from Ian Diaz and the later double from Bren Taylor that brought Diaz home and the score to 2-1.
The third inning was marked with no runs, no hits, and no errors, but three left on base for Head Coach Koehler’s squad. Staunton, on the other hand, had four runs on four hits, started off by a single from Ryan McCarty that brought Justin Hanvey home to tie it 2-2. Diaz later singled to bring McCarty and Joseph Holiga home. Diaz was then brought home on a single from Luke Trainer to bring the score to 5-2.
In the fourth inning, both teams went down with no runs, one hit, and no errors.
The Tom Sox came back in the fifth inning, beginning with a single from Garrett Spikes (Georgia), then later a single from Foster which brought Spikes home for the first run of the inning. Eddie Eisert (NC State) added a single of his own and brought pinch runner Will Safford (LSU) home to tie the score at 5-5. After a pitching change from Chase Centala (Florida) to Brady Kirtner (Virginia Tech), the Braves responded with a single from Holiga, then Diaz, and then a home run from Trainer to bring the score to 8-5.
The Tom Sox went down with no hits, no runs, no errors, and the bases loaded once again in the sixth inning. New Tom Sox member Ethan Martinez (USC Lancaster) came in for Kirtner and then Staunton added a run for a 9-5 score with a home run from Gabe Jennings.
Charlottesville scored a run off a single from Bennett that brought in Kam Guidry (Georgia) in the top of the seventh. It didn’t help much, however, since the Braves then added three more runs of their own, which included another Jennings home run.
In the top of the eighth, the Tom Sox rallied with a 3-run double from Guidry to bring it to 12-9. In the bottom, pitcher James Vaughn (Duke) held the Braves to just one run from Diaz on a wild pitch to make the score 13-9.
In the ninth, Charlottesville once again rallied. A double from Spikes allowed Bennett, Elijah Nunez (TCU), and Cecere to score. Spikes was then brought home by Foster to tie the score 13-13. The Braves went down in order to bring up a tenth inning.
In extra innings, Jack Hurley (Virginia Tech) singled but the next two went out in order and Hurley was thrown out as well to end the top of the tenth. The Braves then won 14-13 on a run scored on a wild pitch.
The Tom Sox will be back in action on Saturday with a doubleheader at New Market with the first game starting at 6 pm. Head Coach Koehler and the team’s five All-Stars will be playing in the Valley League All Star game in Harrisonburg on Sunday.
Additional Notes
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The 36 combined hits are the most in a game in Tom Sox history.
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After winning the first four meetings against the Braves, the Tom Sox have dropped the last three.
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Both teams scored in double-digits for the first time since June 16, 2019 when Charlottesville defeated Purcellville 17-16. That game featured a previous-record 35 combined hits.
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Adam Cecere collected multiple hits and an RBI for the fourth-straight game.
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After only one player (Pierce Bennett) had reached base in a single game five times in the first 29 games, three players did so tonight – Adam Cecere, Logan Amiss, and Cole Foster.
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Charlottesville’s six errors rank 2nd in team history, and they’re the most since the ‘Sox committed seven at New Market on June 26, 2019. The Tom Sox have made 5+ errors in each of the last three games against Staunton.
