W: Trey Gill (1-0)
L: Tyler Redding (1-2)
S: Shawn O’Neill (4)
In what is becoming a familiar pattern for Harrisonburg, the Turks (9-3) did the majority of their damage early on Thursday night as Harrisonburg outshined the visiting Lumberjacks in an 11-5 victory.
With a furious pace from the game’s first pitch, Harrisonburg quickly added to their opening 1-0 lead by tacking on another five runs in the second inning. Covington (3-7) came back with four runs of their own in the top of the third, but Harrisonburg responded with another three runs to keep the game out of reach. Highlighted amongst the offensive maelstrom was AJ Murray’s solo home run shot in the bottom of the third.
Third baseman Jake Roberts and catcher Eric Mason also showed off their prowess at the plate tonight. Mason and Roberts combined to hit 6/9 with three RBI.
Tyler Redding took the loss for visiting Covington. Redding was charged with nine runs, three of which were unearned, before being replaced by reliever Tyler Petsch, who pitched through the end of the 7th inning. Petsch was highly effective for the Lumberjacks, firing six strikeouts and allowing just one run after the initial onslaught.
Trey Cochran-Gill earned his first decision of the season after allowing five runs in six innings. Shawn O’Neill closed out the game by striking out four of the final nine batters, earning his fourth save of the summer. He now leads the league in saves.