Generals Win Independence Day Matchup Over Charlottesville
After jumping out to a 6-0 lead, the TomSox came all the way back to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th. Enter Bryce Teodosio (Clemson). On the second pitch of the top of the 8th inning, Teodosio hammered a ball over the centerfield fence for his second 8th inning, go-ahead homer of the year to put the Gens on top for good.
After 2 complete innings, neither team had really even threatened to score. Matt Ellmyer (Wofford) was dualing against his Wofford College teammate Jake Hershman for Charlottesville. In the top of the 3rd, the Generals were able to crack Hershman. The bats would come alive with vengeance with 6 straight hits to start the inning. Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St.) started it off. He was moved to second by a Joe Bellini (Cincinnati) single and to third by a Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) single. Chase Cheek (Duke) put the first run on the board with yet another single. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) would follow suit and hit a single that brought in two runs and moved Cheek around to third. Cheek would come in to score on a wild pitch during Alex Brait’s (Florida Gulf Coast) at bat. Later in Brait’s at bat, he would double to bring in Orzel. The score after 3 was 5-0.
Matt Ellmyer was impressive in his start. He went 5 shutout innings while only allowing 4 hits. The Generals would allow him to pitch with a 6 run lead after they tacked on one more run in the top of the 5th inning. Chase Cheek led off the inning with a single to right field. He would eventually steal second. With 2 outs in the inning, Bryce Teodosio would step up and deliver the 6th run courtesy of a single to center field.
It wasn’t until the 6th inning after Ellmyer had been taken out that the TomSox would wake up offensively. The TomSox would put up 5 in the bottom of the 6th. The first 3 batters of the inning worked their way on without having to make contact with the baseball. It went HBP, Walk, HBP for the first 3 to load the bases. The next hitter would single to bring in one. 2 more runs scored on the next play when a groundball was misplayed by the General defense. That was followed by a sacrifice fly to left field for out number 1. The next batter would ground out to second base, but would be followed with back to back singles to drive in yet another run. The score after 6 complete was 6-5 in favor of Waynesboro.
In the 7th, the TomSox would tie the game after a leadoff double and some manufacturing. The lead off double was moved to third on a groundball to the second baseman. He then scored on another grounder to the second baseman. The score was right back where we started at. Tie ball game, 6-6, going into the top of the 8th.
It didn’t stay tied for long. Bryce Teodosio sent his second homer of the year out in dramatic fashion. This would give the Generals the lead with only 6 more outs to record. In the bottom of the 8th, Aron Solis (Texas Southern) came on to pitch. He immediately gave up a leadoff double. This situation had Gens fans feeling a bit uneasy at CVille Weekly Ballpark. However, Solis did masterful work at getting around the TomSox hitters to hold on to the lead. The runner was never able to advance from second after a flyout to left field for out number 1, a strikeout for out number 2, and a ground ball to third base for out number 3.
In the bottom of the 9th, Solis trotted back out to the mound to try and get 3 more outs. This time, he didn’t even let the TomSox think about tying the game. He started the inning with a hard hit flyout to center field. He followed that up with his second strikeout of his appearance. Finally, the third out was recorded on a ground ball to the first baseman. The final score was 7-6.
Key Performers for Charlottesville:
- Pat McColl: 2-4, BB
- Alex Mardiney: 1-5, 2 RBI, R
- Brent Centracchio: 1-4, 2B, 2 R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Bryce Teodosio (Clemson): 2-3, Go-Ahead HR, 2 RBI, R
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-5, SB, RBI, 2 R
- Matt Ellmyer (Wofford): ND, 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
- Aron Solis (Texas Southern): SV (1), 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
The Generals will return home on Thursday to take on the team that last beat them, the Staunton Braves. Game time set for 7 pm at Kate Collins Field.
Gens Bounce Back With Late Win Over Strasburg
Bryce Teodosio (Clemson) was cleared to play Sunday morning after the second half of his Freshman year at Clemson was ended due to a collarbone injury. With runners on 1st and 3rd, Bryce Teodosio, in only his 4th at-bat with the team, sent a go-ahead 3-Run homer over the centerfield fence in the 8th inning.
The scoring was hard to come by until the top of the 4th. Strasburg started Macklin Ohs got the first two hitters of the inning out, but Teodosio started things with a single. He was attempting to steal when Alex Webb (Chipola) singled to right. Once the ball got by the right fielder, Teodosio came all the way around to score. Dalton Wingo (UCF) followed it up with a single to drive in Webb. The Gens had struck for 2 in the top of the 4th.
Fred Villarreal (Houston) was the starter in the game for the Gens. He worked his way through 6+ innings, but when the Express struck for a double and a single to start the inning, he gave way to Aron Solis (Texas Southern) to get out of the inning. He wasn’t able to strand Villarreal’s 2 runs, but didn’t allow any more damage. The score after 7 complete innings was 2-2.
The Gens didn’t take long to answer. It all started with 2 outs in the 8th. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) walked to get the first runner on. Alex Brait (FGCU) then worked his way on with another walk. Then on a 1-2 count, Bryce Tedosio teed off on a fastball to send it over the center field fence. The 3 run homer put the Gens on top 5-2.
The Strasburg Express would add one run in the bottom of the 8th off Solis. After getting the first out of the inning, Solis let a fastball ride just a little too far inside and hit the batter. He then proceeded to get the next out. However, Strasburg wasn’t going to go away quietly. The next hitter worked a full count walk to put runners on first and second and to bring the tying run to the plate. Michael Koenig then drilled a single to left to score a run, making it 5-3 with runners on first and second again. The go-ahead run was now at the plate, but Solis kept his cool and got a fly out to left. Solis would continue to keep his cool and would work a 1-2-3 ninth to get the Generals off the 3 game losing streak.
Key Performers for Strasburg:
- Keiton Rivers: 2-3, BB, R
- Hogan Brown: 2-4
- Michael Koenig: 2-4, RBI
- Macklin Ohs: ND, 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Fred Villarreal (Houston): ND, 6+ IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
- Aron Solis (Texas Southern): W (2-0), 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
- Bryce Teodosio (Clemson): 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Alex Webb (Chipola): 3-4, R
The Generals (10-12) will try to make it 2 in a row when they return home Monday night to take on Harrisonburg at Kate Collins Field.
Comeback Victory Over Harrisonburg Snaps 3-Game Skid
The Waynesboro Generals found themselves in familiar territory Tuesday night at Kate Collins Field. Through 3 and ½ innings, the Gens had the same amount of hits, but were trailing on the scoreboard 3-0. But this time things proved to be a good kind of different as the game went on.
Harrisonburg had scored two in the top of the second after Nick Parr (Oakland) had recorded the first two outs of the inning. The Turks came up with a single to right, a walk, an RBI single, and then the sacrifice the runner on first play came into effect. There were runners on first and third. The runner from first steals second. When the throw from the catcher goes to second base, the runner from first stops in his tracks. This allows time for the runner on third to attempt a steal of home. In this case, it worked successfully for Harrisonburg. After the steal of home, the score was 2-0 in favor of Harrisonburg.
The Turks would score their 3rd unanswered run in the top of the 4th after once again recording the first two outs of the inning. A 2-out hit-by-pitch, a walk, and an RBI single was enough for the Turks to make the score 3-0.
The Gens had been hitting just as much as the Turks, but hadn’t gotten the key hit…. Until the bottom of the 4th. Dalton Wingo (UCF) started things off with a double to right center. Alex Brait (FGCU) drilled a triple into the right center gap right after. Two pitches later and Tyler Trovinger (Oakland) hit an RBI groundout to bring in Brait and tighten the score to 3-2.
In the middle innings, things got a little quiet with 4 half innings in a row of no scoring. In the top of the 7th, the Turks were able to lengthen their lead to 4-2 on the strength of back-to-back singles by Austin Embler and Zach Little, followed by another single by Elian Merejo.
However in the bottom of the 7th, the Gens were able to put together one of their most impressive innings all year. It started with a 1-out single by Jackson Webb (UCF) followed by another single by Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston). During the next at-bat, the Gens performed a double steal with Webb and Bielo. Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary) hit the ball to the shortstop to bring in Webb and move Bielo to third with the score now sitting at 4-3. The Gens would turn to Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) for the big two-out hit that they had been searching for what felt like all year. On a 1-0 count, Montenegro scorched a single into centerfield to tie the score at 4. The Gens weren’t quite finished yet. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) talked about his prior at-bat in an interview after the game. He said the pitcher threw him a fastball in a good spot to hit, but he was late. He vowed that if he threw him another pitch like that, he would make him pay for it. He did just that on the first pitch of the at-bat. Orzel unloaded on an absolute no-doubter to deep left field to take the lead in the bottom of the 7th 6-4.
A leadoff walk in the top of the 8th would come around to score on 3 wild pitches and would make things a little more interesting. Starting the top of the 9th, the score was 6-5 and Pat O’Shea (St Mary’s) was on for the save. After getting the first 2 Turks out, he allowed a two out single and a walk to put the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first. Fortunately for the Gens, he got a ground ball to second base to pick up his first save of the year. The win helped Waynesboro snap a 3 game skid.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Caleb Walls: 2-4
- Austin Embler: 2-5
- Zach Little: 3-5
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Andrew Orzel (Wofford): 3-4, 2B, Go-Ahead 2-R Homer
- Dalton Wingo (UCF): 2-4, 2 2B, R
- Jackson Webb (UCF): 2-3, R
- Pat O’Shea (St Mary’s): SV (1), 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 1 K
The Gens will look to build on Tuesday night’s victory when the Charlottesville TomSox come to town Wednesday night at 7 pm.
Generals Drop 3rd Straight in Charlottesville
Back-to-back 3-run innings were too much to handle for the Generals on Monday night in Charlottesville. The Generals were only able to muster 4 runs on 13 hits.
Things looked promising in the early going for the Generals. They were looking to snap a minor 2 game skid heading into the home of the most recent Valley League Champions in Charlottesville. In the top of the 2nd, the Gens were looking for a huge inning after a leadoff single from Andrew Orzel (Wofford) was followed by a double by catcher, Alex Brait (FGCU). The Generals ended up only getting one run in the inning after a pop up to short, a sacrifice fly to deep left by Jackson Webb (UCF), and a strike out.
In the 3rd inning, the Gens started with three straight hits. Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) led off with a double and was brought in by a Chase Cheek (Duke) double. Cheek was brought around to score immediately after that on an RBI single by Tanner Thomas (Virginia Tech). The inning took an abrupt turn, however, when Thomas stole second on a 3rd strike and the home plate umpire ruled Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) leaned across the plate, deeming it batters interference. The score after 3 was 3-0 in favor of the visiting Generals.
It wasn’t until the 4th that the TomSox were able to crack Waynesboro starter Nathan Schneider (St. Mary’s). Schneider was on to work another inning and was ambushed by three straight hits and a walk to the first four batters, chasing him from the game early. Pat McColl started things out with an infield single. He was followed by two straight doubles to bring in two runs. Fred Villarreal (Houston) came on to relieve Schneider with nobody out in the inning and runners on first and second base. Villarreal was able to roll a double play ball to give him a chance to get out of the inning with the lead still intact. However, the next hitter scorched one to the right center gap. Tanner Thomas gave a leaping attempt, but couldn’t quite bring it down. The score was tied after 4 complete at 3-3.
In the 5th, the TomSox jumped right back on it. After getting the first out, Villarreal hit 2 batters and walked another to load the bases. One run was brought in on a slow roller to second base, moving runners to second and third with 2 outs. The TomSox took advantage of having runners in scoring position with a 2 out, 2 RBI single to push the score to 6-3 after 5 innings.
The Generals would make a small comeback attempt in the top of the 8th inning with 3 straight 2 out singles by Alex Brait, Tyler Trovinger (Oakland), and Jackson Webb. Webb’s was enough to bring in Brait to cut into the lead 6-4. The Generals left Trovinger stranded on third base to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 8th, the TomSox were able to do something no team has been able to do this year. They were able to get a hit and a couple runs off of closer Gio Soto (FIU). After all the dust settled in the bottom half of the inning, the TomSox lead 8-4. The top of the 9th proved to be unfruitful for the Gens and that score proved to be the final.
Key Performers for Charlottesville:
- Brett Centracchio: 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R
- Nick DiPonzio: 2-2, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, R
- Cameron Weinberger: W (3-0), 3.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-5, 2B, RBI, R, SB
- Tanner Thomas (Virginia Tech): 2-5, RBI
- Jackson Webb (UCF): 2-3, 2 RBI, SB
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-4, 2B, SB, R
- Alex Brait (FGCU): 2-4, 2B, R
- Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee): 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
The Generals will look to snap out of this cold stretch with a home game against the Harrisonburg Turks at Kate Collins Field.
Two Eagles Heading to Waynesboro
Waynesboro, Virginia
Two Florida Gulf Coast Eagles will be making their way from sunny Fort Myers, Florida to Waynesboro, Virginia this summer. Those Eagles will be catcher Alex Brait and left-handed pitcher Bryan Wilcox as the Eagles’ coaching staff, headed by Dave Tollett, even features a former General in volunteer assistant coach Ryan Breen.
Alex Brait – Catcher
A native of Viera, Florida, the 6’4 207-pound sophomore was a key bat in the Eagles lineup during his freshman season, earning 2017 ASUN All-Freshman Team honors. Brait ranked 3rd on the team with a .296 average, while adding 5 doubles and 2 home runs. In 2018, Brait earned the first ASUN Baseball Player of the Week honor after hitting .400, collecting 9 RBI’s and producing a walk-off it. His current 2018 totals sit at a .351 average, 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 12 RBI’s.
Bryan Wilcox – Left-Handed Pitcher
A native of Davie, Florida, the 6’1 161-pound freshman came to Florida Gulf Coast as a top-500 player nationally and the 18th best left-handed pitcher in the state of Florida according the Perfect Game. Wilcox was also named a 2017 Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American and Florida Regional Honorable Mention. Early in his 2018 season, Wilcox is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 12 strikeouts and opponents’ batting average of .083 over 7.1 innings.
Waynesboro Amateur Athletics Inc is a 501(c)(3) corporation. Your donation is greatly appreciated. Visit waynesborogenerals.net for more information and game schedules.
