WP: Walter Borkovich- 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K.
LP: Kale Morton- 4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.
HARRISONBURG, Va., June 10, 2015 – The Harrisonburg Turks dropped their second game of the season by a score of 6-2 to the Staunton Braves on Tuesday night at Veterans Memorial Park.
The Turks struggled in the field, accumulating four errors as they dropped to 3-2 on the season. The Staunton Braves stayed unbeaten and on top of the Valley Baseball League South division, moving their record to 4-0 thanks to seven hits and five drawn walks.
Braves starting pitcher Walter Borkovich was the star of the night, scattering two runs and four hits over eight solid innings all while fanning eight. The eight strikeouts tie Strasburg’s Brock Hunter and Front Royal’s Patrick Coffin for most K’s in a single game this season.
Five different Braves had at least one hit in the contest led by designated hitter Kevin Abraham who went 2-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk. Kameron Gellinger also tallied two hits, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Steven McLean had the best night from the plate for the home team, going 2-for-4 with a run scored boosting his batting average to .438 on the year. Tripp Shelton added a run scored and an RBI-double in a 1-for-4 performance. Joe Lytle accounted for the other RBI, ripping a two-out triple to left field in the third.
Kale Morton started and pitched four innings in which he gave up five runs (none earned) on five hits, two walks and struck out four. Marc Stewart, Jared Datoc and Eric Yankey threw five innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts as a unit.
William Kinney led off the 2nd inning with a single and advanced to second when Josh Smith got hit by a pitch. An error by Esthay in left field loaded the bases and the Braves capitalized two batters later when Andy Szamski doubled to left to give the Braves an early 2-0 lead.
The Braves extended their run total to six over the next few innings by scoring one on a fielding error in the third, two in the fourth thanks to a throwing error and an RBI single by Kurtis Brown, and one more with a Abraham RBI single in the fifth. All but one run, including all five charged to Morton, were unearned.
Following a single by McLean with one down in the third inning, Tripp Shelton reached base on a fielder’s choice. The next batter, Joe Lytle, would drive him home with a triple to left field for a team-leading sixth RBI on the season.
A two-out double high off of the right field fence by Shelton would score McLean from first, giving the Turks their second and final run of the night.
The Turks begin a six-game road trip tomorrow night against the Covington Lumberjacks at 7 p.m. Our next home game is Thursday June, 18 when Covington makes their first trip to Harrisonburg of the 2015 season.