Gens Bounce Back Against Front Royal
After only scoring two runs in their last 19 innings of play, the Generals responded with 10 runs and a victory on the road over the Front Royal Cardinals at Bing Crosby Stadium.
The Gens jumped out to an early lead with four runs in the second inning. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) battled his way on first with a lead off walk. Two batters later Jackson Tate (Alabama) sent a 1-0 pitch over the scoreboard in left center field with an absolute moonshot. It was high enough and long enough for Jackson’s second homer of the summer. Waynesboro wasn’t done there. Santiago Garcia (Alabama State) was hit with the very next pitch. After being moved to second base on a ground out, Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) joined Garcia on base by drawing a walk. This brought Seth Cannady (Florida International) to the plate. He drilled a single to left field in a situation that looked like would load the bases. However, the ball was hit so hard that it caromed off the left fielder to allow Garcia to score, Proffitt to go to third, and Cannady to motor in to second base. Proffitt scored a few pitches later on a wild pitch to put the fourth run of the inning on the board for the Generals. Going to the bottom of the second, the Generals led 4-0.
The Cardinals would respond right away. Tre Dabney was hit with the very first pitch of the inning to make his way down to first. After a wild pitch moved him to second, he would come around to score on a swinging bunt and a subsequent error by the Generals pitcher. It also allowed the hitter Baggett to get all the way to third base. Baggett then scored on a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 4-2. After a two out walk, the Cardinals scored again on a double by Mason Nadeau. The score after two complete innings was 4-3 in favor of the Generals.
In the third inning, the Generals would get things started off of an error made by the Cardinals third baseman with one out in the inning. After a strikeout, back-to-back walks to Santiago Garcia and Connor Norby (East Carolina) loaded the bases with two outs. Christian Proffitt drove in a run the easy way by drawing a bases loaded walk. The score after 3 complete innings had the Gens on top 5-3.
A stellar relief appearance by Luke Short (St. Mary’s) kept the Cardinals at bay and allowed the Gens to open up their lead a bit. Short picked up his first win of the summer by going four innings, scattering two hits and two walks, and also picking up six strikeouts. The score was 4-3 when he came in. When he left, the score was 10-3.
In the sixth, Wes Clarke (South Carolina) was hit with a pitch to put a runner on first base with two outs in the inning. Wes moved to second base thanks to some awesome base running decisions. He read a ball in the dirt and took off for second immediately to allow himself to slide in safely at second base. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) drilled a single to center to drive in Clarke. The score after six complete read Waynesboro 6- Cardinals 3.
In the seventh, the Gens broke it open a bit with four more runs. Jackson Tate worked his way on with a walk. Santiago Garcia then sent one to the warning track for what should have been ruled a hit. Unfortunately for Santi, they ruled it an error on the left fielder. Runners ended up at the corners with nobody out. Connor Norby delivered a sharply hit single to centerfield to allow Jackson Tate to score. Once reaching second base, Garcia was pinch run for by Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s). On a single by Christian Proffitt, Murphy was thrown out trying to score for out number one. After a fly out gave the Cardinals their second out, Christian Proffitt stole second base. He, along with Connor Norby, was brought in on the very next pitch by Wes Clarke. Clarke moved in to second base on the throw that tried to get Proffitt at the plate. Clarke moved up to third on a wild pitch. That made it a little easier to score on Kobe Lopez’s second RBI single of the night. That got the score to 10-3.
The Cards would get a rally going in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings to make things a bit interesting. They scored 3 runs in the final two frames, but Alex Tyson (Valdosta State) would come in to clean up the mess. The final score was 10-6.
Key Performers for Front Royal:
David Willis: 2-4, HR
Phineas Pratt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Peter Schuldt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Kobe Lopez (Florida International): 2-6, 2 RBI
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 R
Luke Short (St. Mary’s): W (1-0), 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast): 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI
The Generals (10-7) will be back in action on Monday night in a make-up game with the Covington Lumberjacks. The Generals will play their third game in a row on the road. First pitch is set for 7 pm at Casey Field.
Generals Fall to Tom Sox
In their first trip back to C-VILLE Weekly Ballpark since being eliminated from the playoffs last summer, the Generals lost to Charlottesville by a score of 7-2.
The Tom Sox got on the board in the bottom of the first and would lead the rest of the game. They would load the bases with nobody out in the inning. The fourth hitter in the inning would tap back to the mound where the Generals pitcher couldn’t corral and would be saddled with an error and a run scored. The next run would happen on a big double play ball that would allow starting pitcher Alex Tyson (Valdosta St) to keep things manageable for Waynesboro. After one inning of play, the deficit for the Gens was 2-0.
The Tom Sox would strike for two more runs in the third inning to get their lead to 4-0. Kevin Madden would hit a one-out triple for Charlottesville and would stay at third until a Josh Simon two out double would bring in both Madden and Cole McNamee who had walked earlier in the inning.
The game would then fall into a bit of a lull. Neither team could get much going. For the Generals, they could get a few one or two-out hits, but really weren’t able to string multiple hits together. With this lull, it felt like Charlottesville had everything under control until the top of the 8th inning. The Generals would be able to take advantage of a Charlottesville pitcher struggling to hit the strike zone. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) would start things with a single up the middle. Joe Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) would then reach via the infield single on a slow roller hit to the shortstop. After a fly out, Wes Clarke (South Carolina) would walk to load the bases. Jackson Tate would (Alabama) would also walk to bring a run in, and the bases were still loaded with one out. After a pitching change and a subsequent strikeout, Santi Garcia (Alabama State) would bring in a run after being hit by a pitch to make the score 4-2. However the Generals were not able to bring any more runners in and would end up giving up three runs in the bottom of the 8th to get the score to 7-2. That score would be the final.
Key Performers for Charlottesville:
Ramon Garza: 2-4, R
Kevin Madden: 2-3, 3B, RBI, 2 R
Mike Nickles: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Jack Friedman: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Bailey Wimberley (Memphis): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Kobe Lopez (Florida International): 2-5, R
Santi Garcia (Alabama State): 2-3, RBI
The Generals will be back in action Saturday as they continue their road trip. They’ll take on the Covington Lumberjacks at Casey Field. First pitch set for 7 pm.
Clarke Homers and Gens Win 6-1
The Generals’ offense was relentless in their 6-1 win over the Turks on Saturday night. They scored in five of their nine offensive frames with nine hits.
Scoring started in the second inning for the Gens. They loaded the bases thanks to a hit-by-pitch, a walk, and a Seth Cannady (Florida International) single. Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring in Santiago Garcia (Alabama St) for the first run of the game. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) kept the line moving with his RBI single to bring in Wes Clarke (South Carolina) to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Generals.
The Gens would get back on the scoreboard in the 4th when Wes Clarke hit his first homer of the season on the second pitch of the inning. He blistered the ball over the right-center field wall for the first home run hit by a General this season.
In the 5th, the Generals would get on the board again. Elijah Quiceno (Gannon U) drilled a one-out double and was brought in on the very next pitch. Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) singled to put the Gens up 4-0.
The 6th inning got off to a slow start with the first two batters being retired, but when Christian Proffitt drew a two-out walk, the Gens would put together a nice two out rally. Kobe Lopez would follow up with his second single of the night, Joe Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) would load the bases with a walk, and Elijah Quiceno drew a bases loaded walk to bring in Proffitt. This made the score 5-0 after six complete innings
The 7th inning would make it four straight innings that the Gens would push one run across. They did their damage with two outs in the inning just as they had done in the 6th. This time it was Wes Clarke with a two-out double. He would move to third on a wild pitch and then come in to score on a Seth Cannady single to make the score 6-0.
The Turks would add a run in the bottom of the 9th to make it 6-1, but for Harrisonburg it was a story of missed opportunities. They pumped out seven hits, they were walked seven times, and they also had one hit batsman. Not only did they just get runners on, they also got them into scoring position plenty of times. They stole two bases and only struck out four times as a team. They just could never come up with that situational hit, so a ton of credit has to go to the pitching staff for working through pressure packed situations all night.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
Travis Reifsnider: 2-2, BB, HBP
McCann Mellett: 1-3, RBI, SB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Kobe Lopez (FIU): 2-4, RBI, BB
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 2-3, 2B, HR, RBI, 3 R
Seth Cannady (FIU): 2-4, RBI
Alex Tyson (Valdosta St): 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB
Bailey Wimberley (Memphis): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
The Generals are back in action Sunday night when they welcome the Purcellville Cannons to Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field. First pitch is set for 7 pm.
Valdosta State Southpaws
Waynesboro, Virginia
The Blazers of Valdosta State University will send 2 left-handers to eat up some innings for this year’s General pitching staff. Valdosta competes in the Gulf South Conference in NCAA Division II, and will begin their conference tournament this Friday as the 6th seed. Valdosta State finished 27-19 overall and 14-12 in a strong conference that saw their top 7 teams with a winning percentage of at least .517. Alex Tyson and Zach Blankenship are the lefties making their way up from Valdosta, Georgia.
Alex Tyson – Left-Handed Pitcher
Alex Tyson is the son of Maria and Jim Tyson of Madison, Florida. The 5’9 190 pound junior lefty is in his first season with the Blazers after he transferred in from Pensacola State College. At Pensacola, Alex was an absolute inning-eater. In 19 career starts, he recorded five complete games. That means Alex was good for a complete game once about every four starts. In the present era we live in today where so much is made over pitch counts, the number of complete games is staggering in his first two years. In order to be in position to throw those type of performances, a pitcher has to pound the zone with strikes on the regular. In almost 113 innings, Alex only issued 23 walks. Currently at Valdosta State, Alex has a record of 2-0 over a total of 30 innings with an ERA of just under four. The coaching staff and fans should look forward to the strike-throwing machine toeing the rubber. Welcome to Waynesboro, Alex Tyson!
Zach Blankenship – Left-Handed Pitcher
Zach Blankenship is a 6’0 200 pound lefty from Fleming Island, Florida. He is currently in his first year with Valdosta State after going to St. John’s River Community College out of high school. At SJRCC, Zach was teammates with two year General, Joey Bellini. In Zach’s most recent year at St John’s River, he was able to compile a 2-1 record over 24 innings with 28 strikeouts. Now at Valdosta, Zach has more than doubled his innings pitched this year. In 60 innings, he’s only allowed 51 hits, 27 earned runs, and has struck out 64 batters. His ERA currently sits just a few ticks over four. He has had some ace-like performances for the Blazers this year. He threw eight shutout innings in a start vs Montevallo and followed that up with a two-hit nine strikeout game against Christian Brothers. We look forward to the excitement that Zach can generate on the mound. Welcome to Waynesboro, Zach Blankenship!
