CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox defeated the Harrisonburg Turks 6-5 on Wednesday at Crutchfield Park, moving their active win streak to seven games. Elijah Nunez (TCU) provided the theatrics in the bottom of the ninth as Charlottesville walked off for the third time this season.
Stephen Restuccio (Northwest Florida State) started on the mound for Charlottesville, throwing 81 pitches for 45 strikes. On the offensive side, the first sign of action did not come until the bottom of the third inning when Will Safford (LSU) had a base hit to right field but was thrown out at second base by the Turks. Pierce Bennett (Wake Forest) bat next and got walked by Harrisonburg starting pitcher Adam Riggleman but was thrown out stealing second base.
The Turks brought in the first run of the ballgame from a RBI single in the fourth to make the score 1-0.
Charlottesville responded right away in the same inning when Garrett Spikes (Georgia) hit a triple then scored on an error from Harrisonburg shortstop Bryce Safferwich. The next two batters, Adam Cecere (Wake Forest) and Wyatt Langford (Florida) both hit line drive singles, but neither was able to score.
After four innings, Dillon Janac (Rice) came into pitch for the Tom Sox. Janac allowed 1 run, throwing 41 pitches and 24 strikes to 9 Turks batters. He ran into trouble early, hitting the first two men he faced. After a fielder’s choice gave the Turks runners on first and third with one out, a double steal was able to bring a run across and give Harrisonburg a 2-1 advantage.
Charlottesville found their rhythm in the fifth inning when Logan Amiss (VCU) hit an RBI double to bring home Will Safford, knotting up the score 2-2. Gehrig Ebel (Virginia Tech) was next up to bat and hit a single to advance Amiss to third base, putting two runners on for the scorching hot 5-hole hitter Adam Cecere.
Cecere hit the first of two-straight Charlottesville home runs, as his three-run no-doubter brought home Ebel and Amiss. Langford hit a solo home run following Cecere, putting the Tom Sox up 6-2.
After Janac allowed the first two batters of the sixth inning to reach, Andrew Ward (VCU) came into pitch for the Tom Sox. He struck out the first batter he faced before Michael Rosario came up to the dish. Rosario hit a three-run home run for the Turks, putting Harrisonburg one behind the Tom Sox 6-5.
Ward was able to work three full innings, striking out a team-high seven on the night.
After a leadoff single and strikeout in the ninth, Carter Spivey (East Carolina) came in to relive Ward with one out on the board. After inducing a groundout to put one on with two outs, Frederic Walter hit an RBI single to knock in Logan McNeely and tie the game up at six. Although Spivey walked the next two batters, he was able to strike out Harrisonburg’s leadoff man to get out of the jam.
Safford was hit by new Harrisonburg pitcher Michael Rosario to begin the bottom of the ninth but was thrown out stealing second. Bennett came up to bat next and hit a single, stealing second and third base shortly after. With the bases loaded and energy electric after an intentional walk to Gehrig Ebel, Elijah Nunez hit a walk-off single to bring Bennett home, making the final score 7-6 Tom Sox.
Charlottesville is now 22-7 on the season and will have their first day off in nine days, before returning to action on Friday, as they face the Staunton Braves on the road at 7:30 p.m.
Additional Notes
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Adam Cecere is the second player in team history to hit three home runs in a 2-game span, and first since 2018. Cecere has knocked in nine runs over his last three games.
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Three of Charlottesville’s five 1-run games have been walk-off wins.
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Trevor Candelaria extended his on-base streak to 11 games, tied for the longest on the team this season.
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The Tom Sox did not commit an error for the second-straight game.
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Tom Sox pitching has struck out exactly 15 Turks in three of their meetings this season, including tonight. They have struck out double-digit Turks in all but one meeting this season.
