07/27/2009 – Turks Tidbits
Written By Matt Wojay
James Madison University Intern
Luray , Va- The Turks lost a tough game tonight in Luray 8-6. The Turks had a promising lead going into the bottom of the eighth, but a grand slam by D.J. Hicks gutted the Turks, and they never recovered.
The Turks seemed to be in control of the contest getting out to a 5-0 lead by the end of the third inning. Raymond Quinones set the tone for the Turks in the top of the third by getting a lead off double. Then later in the inning Thomas Nichols drove him home with a shot down to first that the first baseman could not handle to make it 1-0. Shaun Cooper made it 2-0 when got an RBI single that drove in Nichols. Evan Stehle also picked up an RBI when he drove in Mike Schwartz after grounding out to second to make it 3-0. The Turks kept the runs coming when Daniel Heatwole stepped up and got an RBI single to left field that drove in Jack Posey to make it 4-0, and it became 5-0 when the left fielder made an errant throw on the play to home plate resulting in Cooper scoring, and Heatwole going to second.
After Luray cut the lead to 5-4 by the end of the sixth inning, Stehle gave the Turks an insurance run in the seventh by driving in Posey to make it 6-4 giving him his second RBI on the night.
Garrett Parker started on the mound for the Turks tonight, and gave his team a gutsy performance by going six innings. In those six innings he struck out six batters, and only gave up four hits.
Joey Munoz pitched the seventh inning as he came in relief for Parker. Munoz struck out two of the three batters he faced, and worked himself out of trouble in the inning, and preserved the two run lead for the Turks going into the eighth.
Unfortunately the lead did not last, and the Turks fell to their rivals in the end in a game that they probably should have won.
The Turks are back in action tomorrow night on the road at 7:30 against another division opponent the Woodstock River Bandits. Both of these teams are currently fighting for one of the two wildcard spots for the playoffs. So, tomorrow’s game has a strong chance of deciding both team’s playoff hopes, especially since the Turks just have three games left after tomorrow, and Woodstock two. The Turks will be back at home, JMU’s Long Field Mauck Stadium, on Wednesday, July 29th @ 5:00 p.m.