7/14/05

Winchester Posts 7-5 Win By MARCUS HELTON Daily News-Record The look on Bob Wease’s face told the entire maddening tale. The Harrisonburg Turks’ manager had just seen his team commit six errors – including a costly one in the top of the ninth inning—in a 7-5 Valley League loss to Winchester, a game that typified the Turks’ defensive struggles this season. "We had a chance," Wease said. "We just couldn’t make the plays when it counted." Wease said his team has to play small ball, especially with the losses of two of its top hitters, Clint Robinson (Troy) and Scott Cousins (San Francisco) to hand injuries. "We have to scrap," Wease said. "We don’t have anybody that can consistently hit the ball out of the ballpark. The first three runs, we gave them; errors throwing the ball around the park, and we couldn’t field two bunts. We’re very frustrated." Winchester improved to 14-17; the Turks fell to 16-14. Turks pitcher Shawn Benson (Yavapai) got the start on the mound, allowing just one earned run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings. He committed two errors, however, and his team didn’t offer much more help. The biggest miscue of all, though, came in the final inning. With the Royals batting with one out, Winchester’s Lucas Jones (Lynchburg) hit a sharp grounder at Turks shortstop Brett Munster (California), who sat back and waited on the ball instead of coming in for it. He couldn’t field the ball cleanly and Jones reached first base, helping the Royals’ comeback gain momentum. Winchester scored four runs in the frame to take a 7-3 lead. The Turks scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to edge closer, but Munster flied out to second base to end the game. Munster led the Turks offensively, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run. Lucas DeLong (San Francisco) added two RBIs for Harrisonburg. Winchester 002 001 004 — 7 7 1 Harrisonburg 000 201 002 — 5 10 6 Alas, Bryant (7), Yant (8), Bachman (9) and Belcher, Benson, Dawson (8), Carroll (9) and Sluder. W— Yant (2-2) L— Dawson (1-4). S- Bachman (1).