STRASBURG, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox (17-7) captured their eighth-straight victory on Saturday night, defeating the Strasburg Express (18-9) 7-6 in ten innings. After an electric five-run ninth-inning comeback in their last contest, the ‘Sox continued the momentum into Saturday against the Express.
In the opening inning, Brice Martinez (Wofford) was drilled by a pitch putting a runner on base for Derek Williams (Florida Southwestern). Williams made no mistake on a pitch from Isaac Fix as he tattooed the ball way over the left-field wall for a two-run shot.
Getting the start for the Tom Sox was David Utagawa (UC Irvine), and he ran into trouble early. The Express loaded the bases to begin the inning on a single and pair of walks, but Utagawa managed to get out of the inning without allowing a run.
Charlottesville threatened again in the second, with Salvy Alvarez (Florida) drawing a walk and Kyle Edwards (Old Dominion) lacing a double, but they were stranded on second and third.
After loading the bases in the first, Utagawa rebounded massively over the next three innings. The UC Irvine commit settled into a groove and was dominant on the mound. He tossed four innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four.
The score remained 2-0 until the fifth, when the ‘Sox struck again. Edwards and Martinez walked to begin the inning, and the bases became loaded after Hollis Porter (Mississippi State) drew the third walk of the inning. The next batter was Henry Ford (Virginia), and during his at-bat, Logan Griffith threw a wild pitch that allowed Edwards to score. However, the Tom Sox weren’t done in the fifth as Connor Hincks (Notre Dame) tallied an RBI single, scoring Martinez.
Head coach Lyndon Coleman went to his bullpen in the fifth, bringing in Chris Arroyo (Florida). Arroyo surrendered a leadoff double to Anthony LaSala before settling in and retiring the next two batters. However, Strasburg broke the shutout when Thad Ector launched a two-run shot into left field, making the score 4-2.
Charlottesville added to its advantage in the seventh. With two outs, Ford and Hincks reached via walks to set up a runner in scoring position. Garrett Spikes (Georgia) lined a single into right field, plating Ford from second before advancing to second on the throw to third. With Hincks and Spikes in scoring position, Alvarez had the chance to tack on two more insurance runs, but he lined out to the second baseman.
The Express threatened in the seventh against Arroyo, putting runners in scoring position with just one out. Arroyo got Ector to strike out and Joe Delossantos to ground out softly right back to him. The seventh proved to be Arroyo’s last as Coleman went back to his bullpen, calling upon Davian Garcia (Pasco-Hernando SC). Arroyo allowed two runs over three innings, and he struck out two.
After retiring the first hitter of the inning, Garcia proceeded to allow the next three batters to reach base, which loaded the bases. With the bags juiced, LaSala tallied an RBI ground out to Martinez at second. Garcia walked one more batter before being pulled for Mike Eggert (Wofford). He allowed three free passes and only recorded two outs in the frame, leaving the bases loaded.
Eggert faced a tough challenge with Victor Castillo and Castillo got the best of him, lining a bases-clearing double down the right field line to give the Express a 6-5 lead into the ninth.
The Strasburg lead didn’t last for too long, however. Williams led off the inning by launching his second dinger of the contest, evening the score at six. The home run was his fourth in the last eight games, all four of which tied the game or gave the ‘Sox the lead.
With two outs in the inning and Hincks on first after he singled, Spikes crushed a pitch to deep center field, but Delossantos made a leaping grab to end the inning. Eggert worked a scoreless ninth, and there was free baseball in Strasburg.
Spikes was the ghost runner on second for the Tom Sox, and he advanced to third on a passed ball. With Spikes on third and Alexander on first after a walk, Edwards stepped into the box looking to give his team a 7-6 lead. He did just that, skying a ball into left that was deep enough for Spikes to score.
Eggert came back out to pitch the 10th, and he received some help from his new battery-mate Kalvin Alexander (Georgia Southwestern), who nailed Chase Ingram attempting to steal third on an unpopular call with the home faithful. After allowing a pair of walks, Eggert retired the final two hitters and Charlottesville came away with their sixth comeback victory in the last eight games.
The ‘Sox are back in action on Sunday, squaring off against the Winchester Royals in a doubleheader. The first game is slated to start at 4:00 p.m.
Additional Notes
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The Tom Sox played their first extra-inning game of the season.
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Williams is the first ‘Sox player since Cole Wagner (6/16/22) to hit two home runs in a game.
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The Tom Sox’s eight-game win streak is their longest since the 2017 season (12 games).
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Charlottesville has won four of their last five games in Strasburg.
