Kaelyn Spickler
Turks Staff Writer

After a lightning delay held the game up until 8:00 p.m., the Harrisonburg Turks came out strong in the first inning with three immediate outs in the first half inning followed by a big offensive half, yet the team fell to the Charlottesville Tom Sox, 11-8.

Last night on the mound, the Turks first saw Eli Ellington of Gulf Coast CC. In his four innings, Ellington struck out eight batters, holding the Tom Sox to four hits. Liam McDonnell of JMU stepped up next in the top of the fifth and struck out three batters in the little over four innings he pitched. Alex Hoppe of UNC Greensboro closed out for the Turks coming in during the top of the ninth and striking out one batter.

In the bottom of the first inning, the Turks capitalized on their hits and walks. Right fielder, Aaron Levy is steps up to the plate with the bases loaded. He gets a free pass to bring in the shortstop Nick Zona, on base from his single. Up next, second baseman Jack Roberts is put out but will bring in third baseman Cole McNamee. To bring in the other two runners Jed Bryant, the left fielder, and Levy, center-fielder Immanuel Wilder hits a single. The score is 4-0 at the end of the first inning.

The Tom Sox see action in the top of the third where they put three runs up on the scoreboard. In the top of the fourth an additional run is scored for the Tom Sox, but they are just warming up. In the top of the sixth inning, the Tom Sox score a two-run home run to put them in the lead 6-4. The Tom Sox will score in the top of the seventh and top of the eighth to make the score 8-4 going into the bottom of the eighth.

The Turks, due for some runs, attempt to close their deficit. Bryant hits a double to center-field, and pinch-hitter Austin Lynch is hit by a pitch to join Bryant as a runner. Catcher Harry Brown steps up to the plate and knocks the ball out of the park for his first home run of the season, bringing in Bryant and Lynch as well. The Turks are now only down by one.

The Tom Sox weren’t ready to put down their bats as they had an additional three runs left in them off their final four hits. The Turks battle with their last chance to take the lead but are only able to bring in Zona off of Levy’s single.

The final score is 11-8 leading the Turks’ record to fall to 12-13. The team remains hopeful and positive going into their game tonight against the Woodstock Lumberjacks here at Veterans Memorial Park. Game time is 7:30 p.m.