WP: Morton (2-2)- 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
LP: Terzi (0-3)- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
S: Herbelin (4)
HARRISONBURG, Va., July 22, 2015 – The Turks jumped out to an early lead in a wire-to-wire 7-4 victory over the New Market Rebels on a beautiful Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Park.
Shane Billings got things going right out of the gate with leadoff double in the bottom of the first. Joe Lytle and Tyler Straub followed with back-to-back singles, giving the Turks a 1-0 lead right away. Then, a fielder’s choice by Jesse Baker and a single by Jared Baker scored two more to bring the lead to 3-0.
With the win, the Turks move to 28-11 on the season and retain their two-game lead over the Staunton Braves who beat the Charlottesville Tom Sox 6-2. The New Market Rebels fall to 15-23 and 13 games back of the Turks in the VBL South division.
Harrisonburg starting pitcher Kale Morton put together his best start of the season. The lefty gave up seven hits, but did well to limit the damage to only two runs (both earned) while striking out five. Tanner Shelton was the first to get the call in the bullpen and subsequently gave up two runs (both earned) on three hits and three walks in 1.2 innings. Patrick Herbelin was brought in to escape a two-out bases loaded jam in the 8th and did just that with a 6-3 groundout. He went on the pitch a scoreless 9th to earn the save.
The Turks extend their lead with one run in the 2nd inning and three runs in the 6th to bring their run total to seven.
Billings (2-for-4, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI), Lytle (3-for-4, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI), Straub (2-for-5, 2 RBI) and Jared Baker (2-for-5, 1 run scored, 1 RBI) all made major contributions for the Turks at the plate.
To their credit, the Rebels fought back with two runs in the 4th and two runs in the 8th, but were unable to complete the comeback attempt.
Thatcher Coleman (1-for-4) filled the stat sheet for the Rebels with one walk, two strikeouts, two runs scored, and one run batted in. Kevin Woodall also put in a solid night of work, going 3-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and one RBI.
New Market starting pitcher Mickey Terzi struggled through 5 innings on the mound. The Wallingford, Connecticut native allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk conceded. Three relievers were needed to complete the final three innings of the game for the away team.
The Turks return to action tomorrow night when they travel to Charlottesville to take on the Tom Sox at 7 p.m. James Ziemba is the probable pitcher. Go Turks!