WP: Lindsay (2-0)- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
LP: Jiminez (1-1)- 6 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
S: Brown (4)
HARRISONBURG, Va., July 10, 2015 – Behind excellent pitching and a balanced attack at the plate, the Harrisonburg Turks defeated the Strasburg Express 3-1 on Friday night at Veterans Memorial Park.
The Turks took an early lead in the bottom of the first following Joe Lytle’s two-out single. The Yukon, Oklahoma native went first to third on a single to right by Tyler Straub. Then, when the throw from behind the plate soared into centerfield on Straub’s stolen base attempt, Lytle raced home to give the Turks a 1-0 lead.
Donte Lindsay made his first start of the season on the mound and did all that could possibly be asked of him. The Bethune-Cookman junior struck out two and scattered three hits over five scoreless innings. Patrick Wiseman threw two scoreless in relief and was followed by Tyler Brown who allowed one run in two innings.
The Turks doubled their lead in the 4th inning when Erik Garcia doubled home Straub from second base. The hit was Garcia’s second RBI double and third extra base hit in the last two nights. The Turks’ final run came in the 6th with Tripp Shelton’s RBI single to score Jared Baker.
Harrisonburg’s 12-hit barrage was impressive as well. Shane Billings, Lytle, Straub, Garcia and Shelton all collected two hits with seven total Turks tallying at least one.
Jorge Jiminez employed a bend, but don’t break mentality. The Philadelphia native gave up 11 hits but did well to limit the damage to only three runs over six innings. The bullpen did well to keep the Express in the bullpen as Danny Rafferty kept the Turks scoreless over two innings.
Strasburg attempted a comeback in the 8th, starting a two-out rally that saw one run score but in the end it just wasn’t enough.
Donovan May, Bradley Dixon and Drew Johnson made up the top of the lineup for the Express and they each tallied two hits. The rest of the lineup, however, only had two hits combined.
The Turks take to the road tomorrow evening to take on the Charles Town Cannons (12-18) at 7 p.m.