Harrisonburg Turks

Member of the Valley Baseball League and NACSB.

  • 1955 VBL Champions
  • 1958 VBL Champions
  • 1959 VBL Champions
  • 1962 VBL Champions
  • 1964 VBL Champions
  • 1969 VBL Champions
  • 1970 VBL Champions
  • 1971 VBL Champions
  • 1977 VBL Champions
  • 1991 VBL Champions
  • 2000 VBL Champions
  • 2012 VBL Champions
  • 2023 VBL Champions

Generals Shut Out Turks 7-0

Written By Nathan Rishell
Staff Writer

Harrisonburg, VA – Wednesday night, the Harrisonburg Turks faced the Waynesboro Generals for the second time this season. Rain threatened to postpone the contest, but the fans would not have to wait to find out if the Turks would fare any better than they did during their home opener, where the Generals triumphed 6-4.

The Turks relied on the speed of center fielder Ty Andrus in the first, who recorded two putouts before leading off batting for Harrisonburg. Averaging 0.364 this season, Andrus had a fly out to left field but failed to record a hit, as did the rest of the Turks.

The second inning was not a good one for the Turks, who had two errors resulting in Waynesboro scoring a preventable run. There was early cause for concern for Harrisonburg as a sliding runner collided into third baseman Brenton Sanders, who limped away from the encounter.

Sanders’s error during the third inning allowed another run for the Generals, whose third out could not come quickly enough for Harrisonburg as they attempted to defend against three men on base. Sanders made contact at the plate to rectify his mistake at the bottom of the inning, but a diving fielding effort and quick throw to first by the General’s second baseman negated his attempt.

After the Turks failed to record a run at the bottom of the third, Waynesboro took advantage of sloppy fielding by extending the lead to 4-0, before ending another turn at bat with a man on base.

The Turks subbed Cade Bullinger for Zak Devermann at the top of the fifth, hoping to stifle the General’s productivity at-bat going into the second half of the contest. The pitching change proved a prudent decision by Head Coach Bob Wease, as Waynesboro headed to the dugout with no hits or runs recorded. The Turks continued to struggle at bat, heading into the sixth without a single hit on the night.

Although Bullinger did give up a handful of hits, improved fielding by the Turks kept the score line intact at the top of the sixth. An error by the General’s first baseman allowed Brenton Sanders to reach first, before right fielder Hunter Seay recorded the first hit for the Turks, leaving two men on base, but productivity at the plate ended there.

The Turks began the seventh inning with their fifth error of the night, as a sub-par throw to first resulted in a missed catch and a man on base. Ensuing hits saw the Generals extend the lead to 5 before Andrew Robinson’s put out sent Waynesboro to the dugout.

After the Turks recorded no hits, Waynesboro’s McClain Bradley used punishing speed to advance to third on a triple before completing his trip to home base on a single by Parker Philipps. After another hit by the Generals, the Turks stopped play to sub Jacob Ramos on as pitcher.

Down 6-0, Ramos faced a difficult task, as the Turks gave up another run to the speedy centerfielder Malik Stephens as the score-line stretched to 7-0. Ty Andrus made contact on hard grounder to right field in an attempt to prevent the third out, but quick reactions from the General’s defense sent the Turks to the dugout.

After an uneventful top of the ninth, the Turks began the inning with designated hitter Joe Lytle in efforts to avoid the shutout. Although Lytle was unsuccessful, Bryan Arias advanced to first on a walk, but the Turks recorded their second and third outs on the next play.

The Turks will remain at home for the next two evenings in games against Strasburg and Covington, as they look to snap their three-game losing streak.