Written by Jackson Campbell
Broadcast Intern
COVINGTON, VA – After a disappointing loss at home Wednesday night, the Turks got right back on track with a 5-3 win against the Lumberjacks behind eight innings of work from Corey Childress (5-2), and a couple of timely hits from Jake Kusz. Most of the offense in this game came early, as there was not a run scored between the fourth and eighth innings thanks to Childress and the relief effort of Chris Miranda-Carr (Eastern New Mexico) for Covington.

Kusz started things off for the Turks at a packed Casey Field, bringing home Tanner Dofflemyer in the second inning after Dofflemyer settled for a double after missing a home run by about 15 feet. Kusz picked up a double of his own in the eighth, further pressuring the Lumberjacks in a tight game.

The big inning of the night for Harrisonburg was the third, when Andrew Moritz led off with a single, followed by walks of Bryan Arias and Jonathan Pryor to load the bases. Trevor Craport brought two home with a single, and Pryor would also come in to score on a catcher’s interference call later in the inning.

Miranda-Carr did a nice job putting a halt to the Turks bats, using his slider to great effectiveness, striking out six in three innings, including fanning the side in the fourth.

Javoni Thomas (Lindsey Wilson) and Bruce Strickland (Felician) were responsible for the Lumberjacks runs on Thursday night, and Strickland’s RBI double threatened the Turks late. It came in the bottom of the ninth inning, and when Jason Polgano (Felician) came in to pinch hit, he represented the tying run with two outs. Patrick Wiseman got him to strike out to end the game, solidifying the Turks outstanding pitching performance.

The Turks (22-10) are on the road again Friday night in Winchester to face the Royals (18-14), and will return home to Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday night to face the Charlottesville TomSox (10-22).