6/13/2007 – News Virginian
Written By ROBERT SISK rsisk@newsvirginian.com Waynesboro, VA. Even a quick moving thunderstorm couldn’t extinguish Harrisonburg’s hot bats on Tuesday night. The Turks traveled to Kate Collins field looking to steal away first place in the Valley League from Waynesboro, and they succeeded winning 8-2. "We got a long way to go still," said Turk skipper Bob Wease. The match up went late into the night after a one-hour lightning delay sent both teams into the dugout. It would take nearly four and a half hours for the game to be decided. Despite a quick start that saw Waynesboro’s Pat Irvine hit a booming solo blast over the right field fence in the first inning, the Generals were never able to get their defense or offense going. They committed five errors while only recording four hits. "I think we didn’t play a good game," said Generals coach Lawrence Nesselrodt. "But we are still trying to adjust." Turk pitcher Jim Kennedy took the win and struck out four. Bryan Bokowy took the loss. The Generals loaded the bases twice in the game, once in the first and again in the ninth, but were un-able to take advantage of it. "We haven’t executed with the bases loaded and that’s something we need to work on," Nesselrodt said. The Turks started their scoring onslaught in the second inning, after a Sammy Lee single plated Brett Stewart and a Travis Peep RBI single scored Justin Brauer. Lee finished the night 2-for-5 with two singles and two RBI. The natural fireworks started in the sixth inning, but after play resumed the Turks scored four more runs, including three in the eighth inning. The Generals second run of the game came in the bottom of the ninth, when Thomas Nelson was sent home on a sacrifice fly from Kurt Davidson. Tuesday night’s game was the first of ten straight for the Generals, including a four game home stint. The Generals will host Covington today at 7:30 p.m.