Written by Nathan Rishell
Staff Writer

Harrisonburg, VA – Father’s Day is a cause for celebration of those who serve as mentors in the lives of impressionable youth looking for guidance. Head Coach Bob Wease has substituted as a father figure for countless young men over the last several years, and the Harrisonburg Turks are honored to mention the induction of seven former players into this years MLB Draft: Ben Brezeale, Trever Caport, Donnie Sellers, Jonathon Pryor, James Ziemba, Kameron Esthay, and Robert Delgado.

Sunday evening’s showdown against the Staunton Braves was the perfect evening’s entertainment on a beautiful summer day that boasted a drastic increase in fan attendance after a rainy streak of games.

The audience was pleased to see Tucker McCoy, a Spotswood High School alum and current JMU varsity baseball player starting as pitcher. The Turks hosted “Pack and the Pews Youth Sunday” which allowed youth group members free admission accompanied by their pastor.

Payton Robertson put the Braves on the board in the first inning after threatening to steal bases since his arrival on first. The Turks would trail until the bottom of the second, where Kyle McCann blasted one out of the park to send himself and teammate Greg Popatak home to regain the lead with a score of 2-1.

The Turk’s lead was quickly negated in the following inning by Henry Kreienbaum, a JMU Duke who extended the lead to 5-1 against his collegiate teammate Tucker McCoy via a grand slam.

The Turks fought for the rest of the evening to chip away at a lead that progressed to 7-2 for the Braves, but were unsuccessful until the bottom of the ninth, where Andrew Llewellyn pulled one back for Harrisonburg. Despite three men left on base when the last batter for the

Turks stepped up to the plate, the Braves were capable of completing the last three strikes, leaving the home team hopeful for better luck against their next opponent, the New Market Rebels on Tuesday night at home.