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

Turks Come up Short but Welcome New Pitcher

Written by Kaelyn Spickler
Turks Staff Writer

Harrisonburg, VA. – Last night’s game did not start out how the Harrisonburg Turks had hoped due to the Covington Lumberjacks early 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Turks held the Lumberjacks to just those three runs for the remainder of the game with a final score 3-1.

Austin Koehn, a senior from UNC Greensboro, started at the mound for the Turks, giving up four hits in the top of the first which lead to the Lumberjacks’ three runs. After the fourth hit, Koehn found his groove and struck out the final two batters. In the top of the second inning, Koehn only allowed one hit and struck out the following batter to balance it out. In his six innings pitched, Koehn struck out five batters.

 

 

Making his Turks debut in the top of the seventh inning was pitcher Jack Roberts from Elon University. Roberts stepped up, struck out two batters in the final three innings, and left feeling good about his performance. “(My debut) went pretty well. I thought I filled up the zone, let me defense play a little bit, and got out of some jams, so I kept us in the game which is all I could do,” Roberts said following the game. Coach Wease agrees with Roberts. “Jack Roberts did a super job tonight coming in the seventh inning and throwing three innings. Shutout baseball- that’s what we needed,” Wease said.

On the offensive side, the Turks struggled to find the pitch they wanted. Lumberjacks pitcher Riley Davis struck out seven of our batters during his seven innings, and Cody Woodring struck out three in his two innings. The Turks battled all nine innings raking in five hits.

In the bottom of the first, McCann Mellett is first to step up to the plate and knocks out a single to leftfield. In the bottom of the fourth, the Turks add a pair of hits from their first three batters. Third baseman Zach Budzik hits a single, first baseman Josh Madole advances to first base off fielder’s choice, and leftfielder Jed Bryant hits another single which allows Madole to advance to third base off an error in the outfield. Madole crosses the plate to put the Turks on the scoreboard. “You have

to mentally prepare for each pitch and stick to that approach, so you have to wait for that pitch that you’ve decided. That plays a role in every single pitch and determines success,” Madole said.

The Turks remain optimistic despite their 2-4 record. Coach Wease assures the team will be okay heading into the second week, and for the remainder, of the season. “We have 36 more ball games to go. We will turn it around. Anything can happen,” Wease said.

The Turks will be on the road tonight as they take on the Staunton Braves at 7:00 p.m., and tomorrow night where they will face Waynesboro. Fans can catch the Turks back in action at Veterans Memorial Park on Monday at 7:30 p.m.