Written By Jackson Campbell
Broadcast Intern

WINCHESTER, VA — For the third consecutive night, the Turks struck first on the road as they grabbed two runs off of a Greg Popatak walk and a fielder’s choice single from catcher Mason George. And despite the fact that the hits would keep coming all night (10 total) the Royals would hold the Turks off the scoreboard the rest of the game.

Turks pitcher Donte Lindsay (Bethune-Cookman) got his first start this summer, and limited Winchester to two hits and one unearned run. Through five, he recorded six strikeouts and flashed his athleticism and defensive prowess on multiple occasions, rushing down the third base side to snag a ground ball before spinning around and unleashing a laser to first base.

The offense was unable to help Lindsay beyond the first inning, stranding 14 baserunners, and the Royals finally took advantage of the opening in the bottom of the sixth inning. Down 2-1, the first three batters walked, allowing JJ Shaffer (Auburn) and Derek Gibree (St. Leo) to bring them all home. Shaffer and Gibree also scored, brought home by a wild throw to second that landed in centerfield, and a pitch over the head of Mason George.

The seventh inning looked promising for a Turks comeback following three straight singles by George, Trevor Denton, and Jason Serchay to lead off the inning. But the rally fell flat with all three of them left on base, the third time Monday night that Harrisonburg left the bases loaded.

Georgia Tech’s Patrick Wiseman made his second appearance of the season for Harrisonburg replacing Lindsay in the six, and took the loss. He allowed two hits and struck out two in two innings. Donnie Sellers came out of the bullpen in the eighth and flashed his blazing fastball, shutting down all three Royals batters.
Despite four errors and all the men left on base, the offense still showed signs of being potent. An outing with 10 hits will likely not result in just two runs scored again, and three players had multi-hit nights. Mason George and Jonathan Pryor had two hits apiece and raised their averages to .300 and .364 respectively.

Harrisonburg (5-4) will look to bounce back against the Woodstock River Bandits (3-6) on Wednesday night, 8:00 at Central High School.