Gens Take Advantage of 17 Free Passes to Route Cardinals
In a game that the Front Royal pitching staff gave up 12 walks and 5 hit batsmen, the Generals put up 19 runs to win the season series over the Front Royal Cardinals.
Front Royal got on the scoreboard first with a run in the very first frame. After the first batter of the game was retired, the Cards put two on with a walk and an error. Dylan Menhennett brought one of the runners in with a two out double to put Front Royal on top 1-0.
The Gens would respond with three runs in the bottom of the second and wouldn’t surrender the lead the rest of the night. The rally started with a one out walk to Gunner Peterson (Illinois State). After Peterson stole second, Brad Burckel (Houston) doubled into the left centerfield gap to bring in Peterson to tie the game at one. The very next pitch, Connor Norby (East Carolina) unloaded on his first homer of the summer to put the Gens out in front by two.
Luke Short (St. Mary’s) pitched out of his long relief role and flourished once again. He held the Cards at bay over his four innings of work. He allowed just one hit and one unearned run in his time on the mound. He scattered four strikeouts in as many innings. This helped Luke pick up his second win of the season to move his personal record to two wins and no losses.
The bottom of the third is when the game finally broke open for Waynesboro. The first five batters of the inning were either walked or hit by a pitch. Eli Quiceno (Gannon U) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in a run, and Gunner Peterson followed with a walk to bring in another run. Jackson Tate (Alabama) hit into a fielder’s choice to pick up the third run of the inning. Brad Burckel would be responsible for the last three runs brought in with his triple to right center for two more RBI and later scoring on a wild pitch. After three innings, the Gens led 9-1.
A third consecutive inning saw the Generals scoring runs. In the fourth, Waynesboro was able to tack on two more runs. Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) continued his hot hitting with a single to right. Wes Clarke (South Carolina) followed with a double to send Jack to third. Eli Quiceno came up with an infield single to bring in Murphy, but the throw to first was as wild as it was late. This allowed Clarke to score from second. The score after four innings was 11-1 in favor of Waynesboro.
The Cards would take advantage of an error with two outs in the fifth to score another run. After the error, Matt Cooper drove in a run with a double. This brought the score to 11-2 after five complete innings. However, the Gens would score eight runs over their final three frames to make things a bit ugly.
In the sixth, the Cards would load the bases with walks and hit by pitches. Jackson Greene (Florida State) ripped a single to right to drive in two runs and put runners at the corners. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) drove in a run next with a fly ball to centerfield that the center fielder dropped. After a walk to Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) loaded the bases, an RBI walk was dished out to Santiago Garcia (Alabama State) to make the score 15-2.
In the seventh, the Gens added three more. Jackson Tate led things off with his team-leading fourth home run. Brad Burckel followed the homer with his third hit of the night. After the two hits, the Cards went back to dishing out free bases. Norby was hit by a pitch, Greene was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Worrell brought in a run with a bases loaded walk. A double play ball brought in another run but the inning ended directly after with a strikeout.
The Cards tried to make things close in the top of the eighth with five runs in the frame, but the score was still 18-7. The Generals added another run in the bottom of the eighth to bring the score to its final place of 19-7. The run in the eighth was courtesy of Jackson Tate once again. He tripled down the line in right. The throw from the cutoff man was a high one that got out of play. That allowed Tate to come home for the score.
Key Performers for Front Royal:
Trey Fields: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Tre Dabney: 1-4, 3B, R
Dylan Menhennett: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Jose Hernandez: 2-3, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Brad Burckel (Houston): 3-4, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 4 R
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 2-5, HR (4), 3B, 2 RBI, 4 R
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, 3 R
Luke Short (St. Mary’s): W (2-0), 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
The Generals (17-8) are back in action on July 4th when they play the first of three straight games with the second place Charlottesville Tom Sox. First pitch at C-Ville Weekly Ballpark is set for 5 pm.
Gens Score Five In Ninth to Tie and Win In Extras
After the Generals and River Bandits combined for 30 runs in their last contest, they were at it again as they combined for 29 runs in a thrilling comeback for the Gens.
The game started on an outrageous offensive pace. The River Bandits scored two in the top of the first to take an early lead. After a one-out double, Andrew Puglielli hammered a home run over the left field fence for his first long ball of the summer. The River Bandits lead 2-0 going into the bottom of the first.
The Generals would storm right back to take the lead with three runs in the bottom half of the first. Seth Cannady (Florida International) started things with an infield single. Wes Clarke (South Carolina) added to his team lead in RBI with a double into the right center field gap that brought Cannady all the way around to score. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) sent a high fly ball out towards right that ended up dropping. It put runners at second and third because Wes could only advance one base after having to hold up. Clarke would score a few seconds later when the River Bandits starter balked him in and Lopez to third. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) delivered the last run of the first inning with an infield single. The score after one inning was 3-2.
The River Bandits responded in the top of the second inning. A lead-off walk got things started. After an error put runners at first and second, a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. A deep sacrifice fly to right field brought a run in and moved the runner at second to third. Tomas Sanchez, who had a stellar day at the plate, singled to bring in the second run to give the River Bandits the lead 4-3.
In the top of the third, things got a bit ugly for the Generals. The River Bandits batted sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs to break things open. Four of the first five batters resulted in walks from the General pitching staff who, normally, is pretty stingy at handing out free passes. The fourth walk brought in the first run with one out in the inning. Then the Gens got a sacrifice fly for the second out of the inning with only two runs in. It looked like they may have been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, the River Bandits cranked out five straight hits with two outs in the inning to get those runs in. The single by Escala brought in two runs, a Sanchez single brought in Escala after he stole second, Puglielli drove in Sanchez after he stole second, Lockhart doubled to right center to put runners at second and third, and Caleb Ward singled to bring in the seventh and final run of the inning. The score read 11-3 after two and a half innings.
The Generals had a choice to make. They could have either packed it in and lived to see another day, or they could start their comeback with a couple of runs in each inning to try and claw their way back in. That choice was made very clear with Kobe Lopez starting off the bottom of the third. He ripped a double down the left field line to get things going. The next batter grounded out to third, but heads up base running from Lopez put him at third with one out. The next batter hit a sharp ground ball at the third baseman who booted the ball to allow Lopez to come in and score as well as the runner to get to second. Jackson Tate (Alabama) singled by another sharp ground ball that just got past the third baseman again. This put runners at the corners. Santi Garcia (Alabama State) continued the target practice on the third baseman with another sharp ground ball that the diving third baseman was only able to get a glove on. This brought in another run for the Generals. Joey Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) singled to center to drive in another run and put runners at the corners. And after a walk to load the bases, the Generals were unable to bring any more runs in. The score after three complete innings was 11-6.
A fourth inning Bryson Worrell home run to deep right center field continued the journey back for the Gens. They had just done a nice job in the top of the fourth at putting up their first zero, and Worrell pulled them just a bit closer with his second homer of the season. The score was now 11-7.
The River Bandits didn’t allow this comeback attempt without putting up a fight of their own. They scored three runs in the next two offensive frames. The score in the fifth came on a wild pitch to move the runners into position, and a passed ball to allow the runner to score. The two runs in the top of the sixth both came with two out in the inning. A single started things with one out. Another single down the right field line put the River Bandits in good shape, but when the runner tried stretching the single into a double, Bryson Worrell delivered a laser beam from right to put out the runner. The Generals had two outs with a runner on third. A two out walk to the lead-off hitter Willie Escala would prove to be costly. A double off the bat of Tomas Sanchez brought in both runners. The score now read 14-7 in favor of the River Bandits.
The Generals were faced with that same question of whether to pack it in, or make a come back late in the ball game. And again, the Generals had a quick answer to that question. Wes Clarke doubled to lead off the inning. Kobe Lopez walked to put runners at first and second. A fielder’s choice put runners at the corners, but not for long. Worrell would steal second base to put both runners in scoring position. After Jackson Tate got hit by a pitch to load the bases, Connor Norby (East Carolina) singled to center field to bring in two more runs. The score after six complete read 14-9.
The score would stay that way until the bottom of the ninth. The Generals needed five runs to stay alive in the game. A triple over the right fielder’s head got things started from Connor Norby. Joey Kinker walked to put runners at the corners. A single through the left side by Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) got the scoring started. The River Bandits then got two straight outs with runners at the corners. The Generals still trailed by four runs in the ninth. Kobe Lopez got the chain back up and moving with a single to right center field to bring in Kinker. Back to back walks would bring in a run and put the tying run at second base. Jackson Tate singled to center to bring in both Lopez and Worrell to tie the game at 14. The Generals had successfully come all the way back to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth with 5 runs in what could have been their final frame.
Instead, the game would go two extra innings. A lead off walk of Wes Clarke and a wild pitch soon after put a man on second base with nobody out. Kobe Lopez would drop down a bunt that turned into an infield single. Runners at the corners with nobody out. They elected to intentionally walk the next batter to give themselves a force at any base. A shallow pop fly wasn’t able to bring a run in and would give the River Bandits their first out of the inning with a double play ball capable at getting them out of the inning. The River Bandits elected to play their middle infielders back to try to turn the double play. The only problem with that was that the batter at the plate was Jackson Tate who has great speed. In order for Woodstock to turn a double play, Jackson would have to smoke a ground ball. The River Bandits got the ground ball they were looking for from Tate, but it was softly hit and took the shortstop away from second base. Tate used his great speed to beat out the throw at first by a wide margin and the Generals walked the game off in the bottom of the 11th.
Key Performers for Woodstock:
Tomas Sanchez: 4-7, 2 2B, 4 RBI, SB, 2 R
Andrew Puglielli: 3-7, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
Caleb Ward: 3-5, 2B, RBI, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 2-6, 2 2B, RBI, 3 R
Kobe Lopez (Florida International): 4-6, 2 2B, RBI, 3 R
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 2-3, 3B, 2 RBI, R
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 3-6, SB, R, 2 RBI including walk-off FC RBI
McLain Harris (Young Harris College): W (1-1), 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
The Generals (11-7) will be back on the road on Wednesday night when they take on the Staunton Braves for the first time at John Moxie Stadium at Gypsy Hill Park. First pitch set for 7:30 pm.
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.
Turks Win 5th Straight Over Generals
After the Gens jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, it was all Harrisonburg for the final 8 innings of the ball game.
The Generals came out swinging in the top of the first. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) led the game off with a double down the right field line. After Seth Cannady (Florida International) was hit by a pitch, Wes Clarke (South Carolina) hit a double that looked extremely similar to Lopez’s double. That scored Kobe and put runners at second and third with just one out. The Generals wouldn’t be able to scratch another run across in the inning. Little did they know, they would struggle to get a chance as good as that one for the rest of the game.
The Turks evened the score in the 4th after starter Zach Kirby (East Tennessee State) lost the feel for the strike zone for just a moment. A single and a walk put runners at first and second. A couple of wild pitches moved runners around the base paths and helped one score. Kirby did a nice job at limiting the Turks to just one run, and the score remained tied after four innings.
The Turks would threaten again in the fifth when they got runners to second and third with nobody out in the inning. A couple of strikeouts and a runner cut down at the plate on a ball that got away from the catcher allowed Kirby to get out of the inning unscathed. The righty from ETSU went five strong innings to give his team a good chance to win the game.
The Turks ultimately pulled ahead in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runs. A double got things started for the Turks offense. A single brought the runner around third with a play at the plate available. The throw from the centerfielder was a bit wild and got away from the catcher which allowed the runner to get all the way to third base without a throw. The next batter did his job with a sacrifice fly to right to move the score to 3-1 in favor of the Turks.
The starter for the Turks, Jacob Ferris went 7.2 innings of solid work. He struck out nine Gens while only allowing the first inning run. His performance, along with his first start earlier in the week, was enough for Ferris to grab VBL Player of the Week honors.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
Jacob Ferris: W (3-0), 7.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Brandon Stephens: SV (1), 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
McCann Mellett: 2-3, RBI
Josh Madole: 2-4, R
Nick Zona: 2-3, RBI
Immanuel Wilder: 1-3, 2B, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Zach Kirby (East Tennessee State): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 2-3
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 1-3, 2B, RBI
Santiago Garcia (Alabama State): 2-4, 2B
The Generals (9-7) will be back on the road Sunday night vs the Front Royal Cardinals at Bing Crosby Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 pm.
Gens Drop Extra Inning Contest to Charlottesville
A late miscue gave Charlottesville an extra out to work with in the top of the 10th and the Tom Sox didn’t waste the opportunity.
In what turned out to be an absolute pitcher’s duel, the Generals were only able to muster up six hits in their 10 offensive frames. The pitching staff for the Gens had another great outing, striking out a combined 13 hitters and walking zero on the night.
First for starter, Deven Judy (Gannon U). Judy gave the Gens a strong five innings, scattering five hits and four strikeouts. The one run the Tom Sox got off of Judy was in the fourth. The Tom Sox got three of their five hits off of Deven in that inning. Back-to-back singles with one out in the inning put runners at first and second. After a strikeout, Dan Harwood delivered a sharply hit single up the middle to bring in the runner from second.
The score would stay at 1-0 until the bottom of the eighth inning, mostly thanks to Joe Acosta (East Tennessee State). Acosta went three strong innings where he only allowed one hit and struck out five. His fastball was up to 94 miles per hour on the gun with a wicked slider to go along with his heater. He kept the game intact for his entire three innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, Santiago Garcia (Alabama State) was down 1-2 in the count when he drilled one deep into the Waynesboro night for a game tying homer. The score was 1-1 with nobody out in the eighth. However, a lot of credit has to be given to the five Charlottesville arms that kept the Generals off balance all night.
In the 10th inning, the Tom Sox would get a man on to start the inning with a leadoff single. After a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout, the Generals looked in good shape to get out of the inning when a grounder was hit to third base. However, a botched play put runners at the corners and gave the Tom Sox another chance to drive in the go-ahead run. They wouldn’t waste their opportunity as Thomas Francisco came up with his third hit of the game to put the Tom Sox in front for good.
Key Performers for Charlottesville:
Devin Hemenway: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
David Yourke: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Cole McNamee: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Alaska Abney: SV (1), 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Thomas Francisco: 3-5, 2B, RBI
Dan Harwood: 2-4, RBI
Ramon Garza: 2-4, 2B
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Deven Judy (Gannon U): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Joe Acosta (East Tennessee State): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Santiago Garcia (Alabama State): 1-4, HR (1)
The Generals (9-6) will be back in action Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Ballpark when they take on the Harrisonburg Turks. The Turks are winners of their last four. First pitch set for 7:30 pm.
Generals Take Down Braves With Stellar Offense
The Generals exploded Saturday night for 13 runs on 15 hits to take down one of the top teams in the South Division by a score of 13-5.
The scoring didn’t start until the third inning, but once the seal was broken, runs came in bunches. The top of the third belonged to the Braves as they tallied their first run. After they loaded the bases after two singles and a walk, Eli Davis hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to get the Braves out in front.
The Generals would then bat around in the bottom half of the inning to regain the lead. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) would start things with a one-out single. His college teammate, Seth Cannady (Florida International) would also single. Elijah Quiceno (Gannon U) would hit a double down the left field line to bring in Lopez. Wes Clarke (South Carolina) would follow it up with a double of his own to bring in Cannady. Jackson Tate (Alabama) would drive one deep to right for a sacrifice fly to bring in Quiceno and allow Clarke to move into third base. Santiago Garcia (Alabama St) drilled a single in to centerfield to keep the line moving. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) would pick up his first hit in a Generals uniform and would move into second base as the centerfielder tried to throw out Garcia at third base. After a dropped third strike, all the Braves needed to do to stop the bleeding was a throw from the catcher to first base. The throw was a wild one from the catcher and that allowed Garcia to score the final run of the inning. In total, the third inning saw the Gens score five runs on six hits and a Braves error to take the lead 5-1.
The scoring would halt again until the bottom of the 6th. The Generals got back on the scoreboard in a big way. Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) would start things with a single. After a Kobe Lopez walk and a Seth Cannady single, the bases were loaded with nobody out. Elijah Quiceno would come up huge again, this time with a bases clearing double into left center. But the scoring wasn’t done there. Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) got a pinch-hit opportunity and took the most of it by smoking a sinking liner into right field. It was enough to bring in Quiceno from second base for the final run of the inning. The Generals scored four runs to make the score 9-1.
The Braves would bounce back in the top of the 7th. They scored two off of reliever Zach Blankenship (Valdosta St) after not having much success of the lefty. Ryan McCarty would start things off with a lead-off triple to left center. He would be followed up nicely by newly-inserted Chet Moore, who drilled a double to right center. Chet would later come in to score on an RBI groundout. After 7 innings, the score would sit at 9-3.
The Gens would add some much needed insurance in the bottom of the 8th. They would score four runs, mostly off of RBI bases loaded walks to get the score to 13-3. But the Braves would score 2 runs in the top of the 9th to pull the score a bit closer, but that’s all they could muster. 13-5 was the final score.
Key Performers for Staunton:
Devon Adams: 2-2, BB, R
Chet Moore: 1-2, 2B, RBI, 2 R
Kent Rooklin: 1-4, RBI, BB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Elijah Quiceno (Gannon): 2-5, 2 2B, 5 RBI
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 3-4, 2B, RBI
Seth Cannady (Florida International): 2-5, RBI, 2 R
Santi Garcia (Alabama St): 2-3, RBI, R
Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast): 2-4, R, RBI
Bryson Worrell (East Carolina): 2-4, R, RBI
The win moved the Generals to 6-3 while the loss dropped the Braves to 9-4. The Generals will be back in action on Sunday when they welcome the New Market Rebels for a double header tomorrow afternoon starting at 4 pm at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field.
Generals Neutralize Cannons
The Generals blasted three home runs in the five-run fifth inning on the road in Purcellville to blow the game open and improve their record to 5-2.
Waynesboro got things started right from the start with a two run inning in the top of the first. After a double play ball turned by the Cannons, there was nobody on and two out in the inning. Joe Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) would start things with a walk. Wes Clarke (South Carolina) would walk as well to put runners at first and second. Jackson Tate (Alabama) would deliver the big blow with a double scorched down the left field line to bring in both Kinker and Clarke. The double marked Jackson’s 4th of the year and also gave him his 4th and 5th RBI of the summer.
The Generals would wait until the fourth inning to strike again, this time just for one run. Santiago Garcia (Alabama State) would start things with a single. Two batters later, the cannons would commit an error, a category they dubiously lead the league in. After a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) would drive in Garcia with a sacrifice fly to deep center field. The Gens would have the lead with a 3-0 mark after three and a half innings.
The Cannons would respond with their first run in the bottom of the fourth. To this point, the starter for the Gens, Eric Sapp (Gannon University) was dealing with not much resistance. However, when Sapp barely missed with a very close 2-2 count pitch, Jose Aquino would make the most of his opportunity. He blasted a solo shot to straight away left field to make the score 3-1 after four complete innings.
The Generals saw Aquino having fun with his homer in the fourth and wanted to have some fun of their own. Seth Cannady (Florida International) would start things out with a sharp single to left. Two batters later, Wes Clarke would unload on a ball to center that drilled off the press box in straight away centerfield. It was the second homer for Clarke on the season, and to that point, he had the only two home runs the Generals had hit this summer. Fans were still settling back into their seats when Jackson Tate would hit a deep drive to left centerfield. After the ball hit off the concrete warning track at Fireman’s Field in Purcellville, the sky high bounce provided Jackson with some time to motor around the bases. He would eventually use his top level speed to come all the way around for an inside-the-park home run to tally his first of the summer, and the first homer for the Generals by someone not named Wes Clarke. Santi Garcia would keep the line moving with a single. If two homers in the inning wasn’t enough, Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) would hammer a high deep drive right down the right field line. After a few moments of suspense in waiting for the umpire’s decision of whether it was fair or foul, Cady was allowed to continue his trot around the bases to record his first homer of the season. The score after all this was said and done in the fifth inning was 8-1.
The Cannons would add a run in the bottom of the sixth and another in the bottom of the ninth to make the score 8-3, but the game was never really in doubt after the power display in the fifth. The win would improve the Generals to 5-2 and would drop the Cannons to 1-7.
Key Performers for Purcellville:
Jose Aquino: 4-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
Michael Brewer: 2-4, 2B, RBI
Kyle Hayes: 2-4, 2B, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 1-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
Santiago Garcia (Alabama State): 3-4, 2 R
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 2-5, 2B, HR (1), 3 RBI
Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State): 1-5, HR (1), 2 RBI
Eric Sapp (Gannon University): 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Waynesboro will be back in action on Wednesday when they welcome the Front Royal Cardinals to Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field for a 7 pm game.
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.
