2019 Regular Season Recap
The Generals put together their best regular season since the team was created in 1935. They finished with the best record in the league of 31-11. After starting the year 6-5, the Gens won 25 out of their last 31 games. They had three separate winning streaks of at least five games. Those three streaks include the last five games of the regular season that the Gens were able to win. They enter the playoffs hot at the right time.
Offensively, the Gens put up a .285 batting average with just under 100 doubles and 41 long balls. A big contributor in those categories was Wes Clarke (Forest, VA | South Carolina). Wes finished fifth in the league in hitting with a .364 batting average. He led the team in doubles with 14 and home runs with six. Other key players in getting the batting average up to that high number of .285 were Connor Norby (Kernersville, NC | East Carolina) with a .333 batting average with 4 triples and 4 homers, Jack Murphy (Orinda, CA | St. Mary’s) with a .314 batting average with 11 doubles, three home runs, and 25 RBI, and finally, Gunner Peterson (Salem, WI | Illinois St.) with a .321 batting average with three home runs. The team didn’t just sit around and wait for extra base hits either. They were able to steal 65 bases. Jackson Tate (Pike Road, AL | Alabama) stole 12 to lead the team. Kobe Lopez (Orlando, FL | Florida International) stole 11 bases to follow up Tate. Finally, Bryson Worrell (Sims, NC | East Carolina) stole eight to round out the top three. With all these extra base hits and stolen bases, it should come as no surprise that the team averaged right around eight runs per game. The top five run scorers on the team were Kobe Lopez with 37, Wes Clarke with 33, Jackson Tate with 32, Connor Norby with 31, and Jack Murphy and Joey Kinker (North Port, FL | Florida Gulf Coast) tied with 30. The people with the highest amount of runs driven in looks pretty similar to the people that have scored the most runs. Top five RBI men were Jackson Tate with 31, Wes Clarke with 29, Jack Murphy with 25, Kobe Lopez with 23, and Eli Quiceno (Berryville, VA | Gannon University) with 21. Finally, the Gens organization wants to thank our top five guys in games played. These guys brought it every night for the team and never complained once. Kobe Lopez and Joey Kinker with 40 games played, Jackson Tate and Jack Murphy with 38 games played, Wes Clarke with 37, and Ethan Cady (Soddy Daisy, TN | East Tennessee State) with 32.
Those offensive numbers were phenomenal considering the team’s pitching was so dominant. There were some nights where the pitching had to carry the load, and this team could do it with starters or a suffocating bullpen. Our top 5 pitchers for wins include Deven Judy (Belle Vernon, PA | Gannon University), Zach Kirby (Upland, CA | East Tennessee State), Zach Blankenship (Fleming Island, FL | Valdosta St), Luke Short (Los Gatos, CA | St. Mary’s), and Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, FL | Florida Gulf Coast). The five-man tie for the team lead in wins saw them get three wins. As for the suffocating bullpen, the team picked up a total of nine saves. McLain Harris (Griffin, GA | Young Harris Col) led the team with three, Christian Edwards (Hartselle, AL | Jacksonville State) had two, and a host of players with one apiece. They include Nick Zegna (Newark, DE | George Mason), Christian Dearman (Pembroke Pines, FL | Florida International), Jan Figueroa (Trujillo Alto, PR | Florida International), and Matt Mercer (Chattanooga, TN | East Tennessee State). The team’s ERA was 3.72 and the total amount of runs given up per game sat at just 4.70. The top five players in ERA for the team were Christian Dearman with a 0.45 ERA, McLain Harris with a 0.85 ERA, Luke Short with a 2.18, Jan Figueroa with a 2.82 ERA, and Deven Judy with a 3.21. The staff was able to strike out a little over nine per game to take pressure off the defense. The top five strikeout men were McLain Harris with 31, Zach Kirby with 29, Deven Judy and Daniel Casto (Olive Branch, MS | Memphis) with 27, and Tyler Shuck and Luke Short with 26.
With the playoffs set, let’s look at how the Generals fared against the possible opponents from both divisions.
#2 Seed in the South: Charlottesville Tom Sox
The Gens were 4-2 against their rivals from just down I-64. However, the Generals won their last four decisions against the Tom Sox. The last time the Tom Sox were victorious over the Gens, it took 10 innings on June 21st. The Tom Sox scored an unearned run in the 10th to win by a score of 2-1. That moved the season series to 2-0 in favor of the Tom Sox. However, the Generals rattled off four straight wins to win the season series. That included three consecutive games for the Generals from July 4th to July 8th.
#3 Seed in the South: Covington Lumberjacks
The Gens were 5-1 against the Jacks on the season. The one victory that the Jacks had against the Gens came on June 4th. They also had a very good opportunity to win a back end of a double header vs. the Gens on July 18th, but the Gens mounted a comeback from three runs down in the top of the sixth of a seven inning game with five runs to win the game 5-4.
#4 Seed in the South: Staunton Braves
The rivalry was a bit one-sided in the regular season. The Gens won all six matchups between the two teams. The Braves had a very good chance on June 26th. The bases were empty in the ninth with two outs in the inning and they were leading by three runs at their home ball park. However, the Gens mounted a comeback that was highlighted by a game-tying 3-run homer by Joey Kinker to tie it up. The Gens would eventually win in the 10th.
#1 Seed in the North: Strasburg Express
The Gens were 3-0 against the North division’s top team. This includes the 17-4 victory in Strasburg on the final day of the regular season for the Gens to clinch the best win-loss record in team history. The other two matchups between the teams saw the Gens winning by a margin of four runs each time.
#2 Seed in the North: Woodstock River Bandits
The Gens finished 2-1 against the River Bandits this season. The two wins they had against Woodstock were both high-scoring affairs. The Gens took the first matchup 20-10 in Woodstock. They mounted a five run comeback in the ninth to tie and eventually win the game in the 11th inning in the second matchup. Finally, the River Bandits came up with a victory against the Gens in Woodstock.
#3 Seed in the North: New Market Rebels
The Gens lost the season series 2-1 to the Rebels this season. The Rebels were only one of two teams in the entire Valley League that had a winning record vs the Generals. The Gens took the opening game in New Market on June 6th by a score of 13-5. But The Rebels swept a double header at Kate Collins Field on June 16th. The Rebels took both games by one run. The first game finished at 5-4 and the second finished at 2-1.
#4 Seed in the North: Winchester Royals
The Winchester Royals were the other of the two teams that had winning records vs. the Gens this summer. The first matchup on June 27th saw the Gens pick up their one win over Winchester with a 10-6 score. A go-ahead 3-run homer by Ethan Cady in the bottom of the 5th would prove to be the game-winner. However, the Royals took the next two games of the series. The first was at Waynesboro that they connected on a couple homers to win 9-6. The other was in Winchester when they shut out the Gens 4-0. That marked the only time the Gens were shutout on the season.
Now that the scene is set, it’s time to enjoy some playoff baseball in the Valley League! Game One of the first series against the Staunton Braves is Sunday, July 28th, at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field at 7 PM. The Gens are looking for their 7th VBL Championship and first since 2014.
Gens Get Back In Win Column
A two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh by Jackson Tate put the Generals ahead for good on Monday night in a makeup game with the Harrisonburg Turks.
The Turks jumped out to an early lead in the game with two runs in the first inning. All the offense in the first came with two outs in the inning. Cole McNamee singled and Caston Peter was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Aaron Levy drilled one into left center for a double that scored the first run of the game. The next batter was Jack Roberts who singled up the middle for the second run of the inning. The Gens would sniff out a play that Roberts would steal second, but once the throw was made by the catcher, he stopped in his tracks. Once the throw was made, the runner from third tries to steal home. Fortunately for the Generals, Kobe Lopez (Florida International) delivered a strike to the catcher and the runner was caught stealing at the plate for out number three.
The Generals weren’t able to respond in the bottom of the first, but in the bottom of the second they made up for it with three runs to take the lead after two innings of play. Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) started the inning with a double over the left fielder’s head. Two batters later, Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) worked his way on with a walk to put runners at first and second. After a strikeout, Connor Norby (East Carolina) bounced a single up the middle to bring in the first run of the game for the Generals. When Worrell tried going from first to third on the hit, the throw got away from the third baseman to allow Connor Norby to scoot into second base. Two runners were now in scoring position for Kobe Lopez. Kobe came up big with a double that was scorched into the left center field gap. Both runs would score and the Gens had the lead.
The Turks would tie things back up with a run in the fourth inning. The run was an unfortunate one for the Gens. The inning started with a routine ground ball that was fielded cleanly at third by Connor Norby. When Norby made the throw across, it was going to be on target, but the ball was right in the sun for the first baseman Wes Clarke (South Carolina). When the ball skipped away, Immanuel Wilder was able to reach second base. Wilder then stole third to put himself just 90 feet away with nobody out in the inning. After a strikeout, the Turks came up with an RBI groundout to short by Nick Zona. The score was tied at 3 going into the bottom of the fourth.
The Generals took the lead right back in the bottom of the fourth. Bryson Worrell came up after the first out was made, and in a 2-2 count, he hammered a no-doubter to right field for his third home run of the summer. Bryson showed exactly why the Gens chose him to be our representative in the home run derby on Sunday in Harrisonburg for All-Star weekend. The Gens led 4-3 after four complete innings.
The Turks didn’t let the lead last very long. They tied the game up in the top of the fifth. Caston Peter led things off with a walk. He moved to second on a wild pitch, then to third on a ground ball to the right side. Jack Roberts, who had just given up the home run after coming into pitch in the last half inning, made amends with an RBI single up the middle. This tied the game and Roberts got himself off the hook for the loss.
After a few innings of not scoring, the Generals broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh in a big way. After Jack Murphy was hit by a pitch with one out in the inning, Jackson Tate (Alabama) was quickly in an 0-2 hole. He said in his post game interview that after a curveball in the dirt got away and allowed Murphy to go to second that the next pitch had to be a fastball. He was right. He took the elevated fastball deep to left center for his third home run of the summer to give the Generals the lead 6-4 after seven innings.
That put the pitcher of record, Christian Dearman (Florida International) in a spot for his second win of the season. Dearman was lights out once again. He threw three innings, allowing just two hits, no runs, walking one, and striking out three. After working the sixth, seventh, and eighth, he turned the ball over to McLain Harris (Young Harris College) for the save opportunity. McLain, as he has been all year, was shut down once again. He allowed a hit and a walk to get the go-ahead run to the plate, but to home fans, the game never really seemed in doubt. Harris was able to strike out two batters in the ninth to pick up his second save of the season.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
Jack Roberts: 2-5, 2 RBI
Cole McNamee: 3-5, R
Nick Zona: 2-4, RBI
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 1-4, Go-Ahead HR in 7th (3), 2 RBI, R
Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s): 2-3, 2B, 2 R
Bryson Worrell (East Carolina): 1-3, HR (3), RBI, 2 R
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 2-4, RBI, R
Christian Dearman (Florida International): W (2-0), 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
McLain Harris (Young Harris College): SV (2), 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
The Generals (16-8) are back in action on the road in Covington. They take on the Lumberjacks on Tuesday in a double header consisting of two seven inning games. After the win over South division foe Harrisonburg, the Generals have a good opportunity to put some space between themselves and Covington to lengthen their lead on the rest of the division. First pitch of the first game set for 5 pm with the second game starting approximately 30-45 minutes after the completion of game one.
Generals Post 7-4 Win Over Harrisonburg
Entering the game, Waynesboro led the season series with Harrisonburg 3 games to 1. The Generals offense would bust out 7 runs on 10 hits and the pitching staff would do a lot of “bending but not breaking” to bring home their 4th win in the series.
The Generals would take the lead early on with 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning and wouldn’t look back. Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) would lead things off with a single to left. He would be followed up with what looked to be a routine single to center by Chase Cheek (Duke), but the ball got underneath the glove of the Turks centerfielder and allowed runners to advance to make it second and third with nobody out in the inning. Alex Brait (Florida Gulf Coast) wouldn’t waste much time and would single to center to drive both runners in.
The Turks would turn right around and make things a bit closer by scoring in the top of the second. They used back-to-back one-out singles to get a rally started. Generals starter Fred Villarreal (Houston) would do a nice job at minimizing the inning, and would only allow a sacrifice fly to the next hitter and would put out the next batter for out number 3. Heading to the bottom of the second, the score read 2-1 in favor of the Gens.
In the bottom of the second, the Generals would get the run they gave up right back. Dalton Wingo (UCF) would lead things off with a single. He would work his way all the way over to third via wild pitches and passed balls. Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St) would bring in Wingo with a double down the left field line. The Generals got the score back up to 3-1.
Things would settle down a bit after the first two. Villarreal would start to cruise, as would Eli Ellington for Harrisonburg. Ellington was subbed in after just 2 innings out of the Harrisonburg starter. Hits and runs would begin to resurface again for both teams in the 5th. The Turks would pull a bit closer after a lead-off single and a hit batsmen would move to second and third on a sacrifice bunt. With one away in the inning, the Turks looked prime to tie the game when Austin Embler would shoot a single to center to drive in one. However, Villarreal then got a tapper back to the mound for out number two and would punch out the 3-hole hitting player for the Turks with 2 runners in scoring position. The Gens would cling to a 1 run lead after 4 and a half innings.
The Gens would answer right back in the bottom half of the 5th. Chase Cheek would work his way on by way of error. Ellington and the Turks would record 2 harmless outs after Cheek. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) would wear his league leading 16th pitch to make it first and second with 2 away. Jackson Webb (UCF) would load the bases with a walk to end Ellington’s night on the mound. Dalton Wingo would draw an RBI bases loaded walk to bring in the first run. He would be followed up with an RBI single by Joe Bellini (Cincinnati) but the inning would end on that play when the center fielder for the Turks threw out Webb trying to score. After 5 complete, the Generals would lead by a score of 5-2.
In the 6th, things would get a bit sticky. Villarreal would leave the game after only being able to record 1 out in the 6th. He left with the bases loaded and one out. Matt Nickles (Randolph-Macon) would come in and get the ground ball he was looking for. The Gens would turn a smooth 6-4-3 double play to escape with no damage done. The Generals would ride that momentum in the bottom of the 6th and would lengthen their lead by another run. Tyler Bielamowicz would single with one out in the inning. After a passed ball moved him to second, Chase Cheek came up with a double to left center to bring him in. The score would stand at 6-2.
The Turks would crack Nickles in the 7th inning and would touch him up for 2 innings. But when the duo of Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee) and Aron Solis (Texas Southern) came on, the Turks didn’t have an answer. In the bottom of the 7th, the Gens would add an insurance run for a little more breathing room. Dalton Wingo would work his way on base yet again in the inning. He walked with one out. After a passed ball, Joey Bellini moved him to third on the strength of a base hit to right. Bruno Teramoto was able to bring in Wingo by sending a slow groundball to the third baseman. The Turks weren’t able to turn the double play quick enough for the speedy Teramoto. The score would move to 7-4.
From there, Aron Solis came on in the 8th and threw 2 dominant innings to pick up his second save of the year.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Austin Embler: 2-5, RBI
- Andrew Llewellyn: 2-2, Sac Fly, RBI
- Paul Castillo: 1-4, SB, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Fred Villarreal (Houston): W (1-1), 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
- Aron Solis (Texas Southern): SV (2), 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
- Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston): 2-5, 2 R
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R
- Alex Brait (FGCU): 1-3, BB, 2 RBI
- Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St): 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI, BB
The Generals (16-13) win their 3rd in a row and 6th out of their last 7. They’ll take their win streak on the road Wednesday night when they travel up to Bridgeforth Field in Winchester when they take on the Royals.
Generals Get Back to Winning Ways On the Road In Harrisonburg
In the final game before the All-Star Break, the Gens faced an important “swing game” for their record. If the Gens won, they’d have a record above .500. If they lost, they would have a record of below .500. The Generals would win the ball game to make it 5 wins in their last 6 opportunities.
The Generals would get on the scoreboard in the very first frame and would never relinquish the lead after that. It started when Chase Cheek (Duke) drew a 1-out walk. He eventually stole second base with 2 outs in the inning to put himself into scoring position. Alex Brait (Florida Gulf Coast) would bring home Cheek with an opposite field double to move the score to 1-0.
The Gens would not score in the second, but they would tack on a run in both the 3rd and 4th innings. In the second inning, the run would be scored after the first two hitters of the inning. Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary) would walk to start the inning. He would steal second base and eventually score on a single by Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss). In the 4th inning the Generals would once again start things off with a walk. Jackson Webb (Central Florida) would walk. After the steals of second and third on consecutive pitches by Webb, it drew in the infield for Harrisonburg. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) would hit a grounder to the shortstop. When Webb bluffed a few steps, it pressured the shortstop to charge the ball to try and prevent him from scoring. However the ball caromed off his glove into left field. The score after 4 innings was 3-0 in favor of the Generals.
Evan Gillespie (Faulkner) was impressive on the mound. He went 3.2 innings without surrendering a hit to start the game. He had worked 4 shutout innings when he came to a bump in the road in the 5th inning. The Turks would score 2 off of him to tighten the score to 3-2. 2 runners would be on for Harrisonburg with two away in the inning when the newest Turk, Orynn Veillon, drilled a triple into the right centerfield gap. Gillespie would retire the next batter and end his day after 5 stellar innings.
The Generals would answer right back with a run to provide the Waynesboro bullpen with a little more breathing room. It began with a 1-out double by Dalton Wingo (Central Florida). Andrew Orzel would single to drive in his second run of the night to make the game 4-2. The Gens would then turn to Fred Villarreal (Houston) for middle relief and he wouldn’t disappoint. He threw 3 innings, gave up 3 hits, but no runs and struck out 4. He would hand it over to Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee) for the ninth. Harper-Cook would continue to pitch well and would lock down the save.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Orynn Veillon: 2-3, 3B, BB, 2 RBI
- Andrew Llewellyn: 2-4
- Cam Irvine: 2-4, 2B
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Evan Gillespie (Faulkner): W (2-0), 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
- Fred Villarreal (Houston): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
- Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee): SV (1), 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-5, RBI
The Generals (14-13) will fire things back up after the All-Star Game this weekend. They’ll start with Woodstock on the road on Monday. Graham Ashcraft (Mississippi State) will be on the hill.
Gens Outlast Turks In Walk-Off Fashion
After what turned into a little bit of a chippy affair between the Generals and Turks, Alex Brait (FGCU) delivered a walk-off single to get the last laugh over the Turks.
Both starting pitchers had their good stuff working for the first half of the game on Monday night. Jake Brace for the Turks was the first to be cracked, while Nathan Schneider (St. Mary’s) was a bit more masterful in what was originally a pitcher’s dual. Schneider actually worked the first 4.2 innings in perfect fashion until he gave up back-to-back singles with 2 away in the inning. He was able to keep the shut-out in tact by stopping the threat there with one of his seven punch outs on the night.
In the bottom of the 5th, the Gens drew first blood by starting a rally with 2 outs in the inning. Joe Bellini (Cincinnati) started things off with his first hit of the summer since joining the Gens only 2 games prior to Monday night. The hit was a double down the right field line to get him into scoring position for the top of the lineup and the hot-hitting, Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss). Montenegro was able to hit one into the hole at shortstop, but it was fielded cleanly by the Turks. However, the long and off-balance throw across the diamond was a bit wide of the mark. This errant throw allowed Bellini to score from second on an infield single. The Gens kept the line moving on a single to right by Chase Cheek (Duke) that brought Montenegro to third for Andrew Orzel (Wofford). Orzel promptly singled for the Generals 4th straight hit in the inning to score Montenegro. The Generals now had a 2 run lead for Nathan Schneider.
In the 6th is where the in-game drama began. A 1-out single started the inning for the Turks. The runner then moved up to second on a pickoff attempt that trickled into the dugout. After Schneider got another Turk to go down swinging for out number 2, he gave up an infield single to Zach Little. Runners were now on the corners for Paul Castillo, the cleanup hitter for Harrisonburg. After a 2-0 pitch caught the corner, Schneider called his catcher Alex Brait (FGCU) out to the mound. Nate had noticed that the hitter Castillo was peaking at Brait’s pitch calling signs. When Brait confronted Castillo, things got a bit heated. Brait and Castillo had to be separated, and both coaches came out to calm their players down. Once things got settled down, the very next pitch to Castillo was hit into left field for an RBI single. When Castillo got too big of a round of first, he got caught in a run down that allowed Little to score on a single from 1st base to tie the game at 2.
The Generals would bounce right back, but the chippyness continued. Jackson Webb (UCF) started the hitting with a 1-out infield single. Tyler Trovinger (Oakland) then drilled another single to center to put runners at 1st and 2nd. Bellini would come up with his second hit to make it 3 straight singles, but this time, the centerfielder botched the ground ball rolling towards him to allow both runs to score and Bellini to move up to second. Gabe Montenegro then worked a walk off of the new pitcher Connor Roberts. With men on 1st and 2nd, Chase Cheek ripped a single to right that scored Bellini and moved Montenegro to 3rd. During Andrew Orzel’s at-bat, Cheek stole second to open up a base. After Orzel struck out, the next hitter was Alex Brait. It all seemed to be a perfect storm for Harrisonburg. The player that confronted a Turk was at the plate with a base open and 2 outs in the inning. On the very first pitch of the at-bat, Alex Brait was hit by a fastball. Home plate umpire Mike Mackey immediately ejected Roberts for what looked to be an intentional bean ball. With all this told, the Generals had scored 3 runs to put themselves on top, 5-2.
After a clean 7th by both teams, Schneider would be back on the mound to try for his 8th inning of work. After a lead-off walk in the inning, the Gens would turn to Hunter Shuff (USC Aiken) to try and strand Schneider’s runner. Unfortunately, Shuff had some issues. He walked the first batter he saw to put runners on 1st and 2nd and then gave up a single to load the bases. He was able to get an out on a fielder’s choice, but a run scored. The score was now 5-3 with runners on the corner and 1 out. Shuff then walked the next hitter to load the bases again. Luke Nussman got another run in on a sac fly, but there were now 2 outs and runners at first and second. Elian Merejo came up huge with a sharply hit single to right field that was able to score Little on a close play at the plate. The score was now tied after the Turks had their chance to hit in the 8th.
In the bottom half of the 8th, it looked like the Gens were destined to score when they loaded the bases with nobody out. Harrisonburg turned to Cade Bullinger to try and get them out of a tough mess. He did just that with a strikeout, a pop-up in the infield, and a ground ball to third base to not allow a run. Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee) came on to try and hold off the Turks to give his offense a chance to win it in a walk-off. He did just that by working 2 perfect innings in the top of the 9th and 10th.
In the 10th the Generals would have to try and figure out Bullinger, who was looking dominant. But after the lead-off double by Gabe Montenegro down the left field line, Bullinger’s job would become much tougher. Cheek was the next batter and successfully sacrificed himself to move Gabe to 3rd. The Turks chose to intentionally walk Andrew Orzel to get to the controversial figurehead of the night, Alex Brait. On a 1-2 count, Brait was able to put good wood onto a fastball to single to left to end the ball game. The Generals had walked it off in the 10th to win 6-5 for their second straight win.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Elian Merejo: 3-4, 2B, RBI
- Zach Little: 1-5, SB, RBI, 2 R
- Cade Bullinger: L (0-1), 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 IBB, 3 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Alex Brait (FGCU): 3-5, Walk-Off RBI
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 3-5, 2B, SB, RBI
- Nate Schneider (St. Mary’s): ND, 7+ IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
- Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee): W (2-0), 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 3-5, 2B, 2 R
The Generals (11-12) will try to get back to the .500 mark with their game at Rebel Park Tuesday night when they take on New Market. The game is slated for 7:30. A win would make 3 in a row for the Generals.
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 Take Down Turks In Rain-Shortened Game
Friday night in Harrisonburg, the Generals scored at least one run in 6 out of 8 innings. The game got a later start than normal due to rainy conditions. When the rain set in for good in the bottom of the 8th inning, the game was called in favor of the Generals.
The Generals scored in the first frame on an RBI triple by Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) to start the scoring off at 1-0. In the bottom half however, the Turks put up a three spot on the strength of an RBI double by Zach Little, a wild pitch to bring in another, and then an RBI single by Elian Marejo to get the lead to 3-1 for Harrisonburg.
The score was tied up quickly in the second inning. After a Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St) stolen base to put runners on second and third, Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) delivered a 2-out RBI single to tie the game at 3.
The third inning kept the consecutive innings scored streak alive. Chase Cheek (Duke) led off with a single and then stole second. He was brought in to score on a single by Dalton Wingo (UCF) to take the lead. The Turks then induced a double play to clear the bases with two outs. What seemed to be a harmless single from Andrew Orzel (Wofford) then turned into chaos. With a host of wild pitches and passed balls, Orzel went station-to-station all the way home for another tally to make the score 5-3.
The 4th inning continued to show the relentlessness of the Generals with a leadoff walk to Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary). Two batters later, Wrighte stole second and third base. Wrighte then came around to score on a passed ball by the Turks catcher. The score after 4 innings was 6-3.
The Turks would mount a comeback in the bottom of the 5th inning. They had finally kept Waynesboro off the scoreboard in the top half of the inning and were looking to build off that momentum. The second batter of the inning was hit by a pitch. That was followed by a single to put runners on first and second with only one out. Zach Little, the Turk that delivered on an RBI double in the first inning, came through again with an RBI single this time. He advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Two consecutive passed balls allowed the Turks to score again in the inning to tighten the score up at 6-5 with the Generals still leading.
The 6th inning is where the Gens would start to distance themselves. Kyle Wrighte would work himself on with a hit-by-pitch and a steal of second base yet again. Tyler Bielamowicz continued to have a good day at the plate by singling and putting runners on second and third after Wrighte drew a throw to the plate that Bielo moved up on. Chase Cheek delivered one of his 4 hits on the night to bring in Wrighte and Bielo. Dalton Wingo followed that up with another single to continue to threaten the Turks with only one away in the inning. After a pitching change, Wingo and Cheek executed a double steal to get into scoring position. With the infield in at this point, the Turks got a ground out that Cheek had to hold for. Andrew Orzel got himself on base again with a HBP to load the bases. Jackson Webb (UCF) worked a bases loaded walk for an RBI and Bruno Teramoto was hit by another pitch to officially bat around in the inning. The Generals struck for 4 runs, all told, to get their lead to 10-5.
They weren’t quite finished scoring yet, however, as they scored 2 more in the 7th. Alex Webb (Chipola) diminished the hopes of the Turks this time with a 2 RBI single. The score after 7 ended up being the final at 12-5. The General bats finally exploded for 14 hits and 12 runs in the ball game.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Caleb Walls: 2-4, 2 R
- Zach Little: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston): 2-5, 3B, RBI, 2 R
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 4-5, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 3 R
- Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary): 2 R, 3 SB
The Generals will be back in action Saturday night when they take on the Staunton Braves at Kate Collins field.
General Bats Continue to Struggle In Loss to Turks
Waynesboro allowed 4 unanswered runs en route to their 4th loss in their last 5 games on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Park when they took on the Turks. Saturday made it 6 out of their first 9 games with 4 runs or fewer.
The Generals started out with a big inning right away in the top of the first inning. Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) started things out with a single up the middle. 2 batters later, Chase Cheek (Duke) hit a chopper to the second baseman, who proceeded to throw the ball into left field trying to force a play at second. This moved both Montenegro and Cheek into scoring position. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) delivered a 2 RBI triple into the right field gap and then came around to score on a groundout to second to make the score 3-0.
The Turks would answer in the bottom of the second. After singles by Whelton and Castillo, Brycen Braswell hit a two RBI single, but was put out trying for second base. Tyler Thompson (Austin Peay), the starting pitcher for the Generals, was able to maneuver his way around further trouble in the second. However, Harrisonburg went right back to work in the bottom of the third. After a one out single, Thompson became a bit wild, delivering a few wild pitches. The last of his wild pitches was on a dropped third strike that allowed the tying run to score. That would be the end of his night after just 2.2 innings.
Bryan Wilcox (Florida Gulf Coast) came on in relief of Thompson to finish the 3rd. He threw a relatively clean 4th with only a two-out single given up. Wilcox began the 5th with 3 out of the first four batters being put on via the free pass or hit-by-pitch. Even though he had loaded the bases, he managed to strike out David Craan for the second out. The next hitter was Paul Castillo. In a 2-2 count, Wilcox induced a short pop fly in foul territory that was destined to get him out of the inning. A bit of miscommunication set in and the ball dropped for a foul ball. His next two pitches were balls to walk in the eventual winning run. Hunter Shuff (USC Aiken) then came in for Wilcox and was masterful in his 3.1 innings.
The Generals struggled to figure out Turks starter Kyle Arjona who moved to 2-0 on the year by pitching deep into the ball game. Only 3 Generals tallied hits and the lineup tallied 11 strikeouts throughout the night.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Kyle Arjona: W (2-0), 8 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
- Cameron Irvine: 2-4
- Paul Castillo: 1-3, R, RBI, BB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-4, R
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-4, 2B, R
- Hunter Shuff (USC Aiken): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
The Generals will be back in action tomorrow night when they go on the road to take on the North Division leading Front Royal Cardinals (9-2) at Bing Crosby Stadium.
