Offensive Explosion Propels Turks 7-6
Written By: Adam Cherry
Player/Intern, LaSalle
The popcorn was popping, and the hot dogs were being rolled at scenic Linco Field. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky and the sun was setting just behind the snack bar. It was just a picturesque night in Waynesboro, Virginia as the Harrisonburg Turks were fighting head to head against the Waynesboro Generals. The Turks come into the night riding a two game winning streak with victories over northern division Strasburg and southern division Staunton.
The Turks looked to continue their winning streak by sending Ben Parr, the tall left-hander out of Georgia Tech, to the mound. Parr’s opposition on the mound for Waynesboro was Jeff Shank.
The bats were quiet at the beginning of the game until Thomas Spitz (Wingate) was able to turn on a 1-0 fastball that cleared the 325 sign in left field to start the top of the third for the Turks. Spitz’s home run gave the Turks a 1-0 lead after the top of the third.
The power surge for the Turks continued into the fourth inning as Jesse Baker (UTSA) crushed a home run into the trees in left center field to increase the Turks lead to 2-0.
Ben Parr was cruising until the fifth inning. The Generals were finally able to scratch off a few runs. Dan Neff was able to start the General rally in the fifth inning after hitting a line drive that fell in center field. The ball bounced off a tall patch of grass and ricocheted out of the reach of Spitz in center field advancing Neff to second. Tyler Orris was able to work a walk to put runner on first and second. Mike Marcinko was the fourth hitter of the inning and he laced a line drive into the right center gap scoring Neff from second. Marcinko was hustling out of the box and was able to slide into second base, avoiding the diving Turks shortstop. Edward Vazquez hit a long fly ball that was just out of the reach of Eric Kalbfleisch (UNCG) in left field scoring Orris and Marcinko. David Vandercook continued his hot hitting in the game as he lined a 3-2 fastball into right field. Baker was able to field the ball off of one bounce and fired a strike to home plate. Vazquez was just able to slide under the tag to increase the Generals lead to 4-2. The hit from Vazquez chased Parr from the game. Turks manager Bob Wease decided to bring in the lanky right-hander Boone Mokry (UTSA) to finish the inning.
Thomas Smith (Georgia Tech) was able to start the sixth inning off for the Turks by hitting a ground ball up the middle for a single. Matt Rose (Georgia State) followed Smith and hit a ground ball that got through the hole between the shortstop and third basemen for a single, putting runners on first and second with
no one out. Eric Kalbfleisch worked a great at bat after seeing six pitches from Shank and received a walk. That set the table for Brandon Gold (Georgia Tech) who hit a ground ball through a hole in the infield scoring Smith from third. Gold would be the last hitter that Shank would face.
The Generals manager decided to bring in Jordan Harmon. Harmon was able to strike out the first batter he faced on six pitches. The Turks offensive attack did not end though. Luke Czajkowski was able to flare a ball into right field scoring Rose from third; tying the game at four. Harmon was able to get the next two Turk hitters out to end the attack.
Thomas Spitz started the seventh inning off with a single over the third basemen’s head. Thomas Smith was the next hitter in the inning and he crushed the first pitch he saw into left field for a double. Matt Rose continued his hot hitting and hit a hard ground ball through the infield scoring Spitz and Smith giving the Turks a two run lead.
Two errors helped propel the Generals to get two quick base runners in the bottom of the seventh. A wild pitch with one out allowed the runners to move into scoring position.
The Turks decided to bring in Tyler Brown (Wingate) out of the bullpen to relieve Mokry. Brown walked the first batter he saw to load the bases for Mike McClellan. McClellan was able to hit a hard ground ball up the middle to score the two General runs tying the game at six.
In the top of the eighth inning the Generals went to their bullpen again and brought in Will Lowman. Mitch Matulia (UTSA) was able to start the Turks rally as he hit a hard ground ball through the infield. Steven McClean (Baylor) was able to bunt Matulia to second base. Thomas Spitz was able to score Matulia from second after the center fielder dropped the ball. The center fielders error helped give the Turks a one run lead, 7-6.
The Turks were able to prevail over the Generals tonight. The Turks are now 7-5 and the Generals fall to 10-2. Tyler Brown was able to pitch 2.1 innings to get the win while Will Lowman gets the loss for the Generals.