Written By Daniel Ware
Turks Staff Writer

HARRISONBURG, Va.—Greg Popatak’s two-run shot in the second inning was all the Turks needed as they dominated the Woodstock River Bandits 14-0 at Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday night.

Following a leadoff walk by Trevor Craport (Georgia Tech) in the bottom of the second, Popatak (George Mason) crushed the second pitch he saw over the fence in right field to give the Turks a 2-0 lead.

Starting on the mound for the Turks was Malik Jones (Georgia Gwinnet College), who needed no further assistance from the Turks offense the rest of the night. The right-hander allowed just one hit—a single in the second inning—over six shutout innings. The win improved his record to 3-1 and lowered his ERA from 0.82 to 0.53 in 17 innings of work this season.

It was a game in which the Turks offense could do no wrong, as they scored at least one run in six of the eight innings they came up to bat. Nine out of 13 Turks batters had at least one RBI in the game, led by Ty Comer’s three. Strangely, Comer (Ferrum) recorded all of his RBIs without getting a single hit—two groundouts and a bases-loaded walk.

Shortstop Tripp Shelton (UNCG) led off the Turks’ five-run eighth inning with a single through the left side. The base hit extended his hitting streak to 17 games, during which he has struck out just five times and has seven multi-hit games.

Patrick Wiseman (Georgia Tech) and Chris Farish (Wake Forest) combined to throw three scoreless, hitless innings in relief of Jones. Wiseman pitched the seventh and eighth—striking out two with one walk—while Farish closed the ninth.

Jonathan Pryor’s (Wake Forest) 1-for-2 night raised his batting average to .407, now first in the league.

Outfielder Andrew Moritz (UNCG) hit his first double of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning. A recent call-up, Moritz is 2-for-7 with one RBI for the Turks.

Jake Kusz (UNCG) also recorded his first double of the season ,with his coming as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. Prior to tonight’s game, Kusz was batting .059 (2-for-34).

The Turks (21-9) enter the All-Star Break with a one game lead in the south division over the Waynesboro Generals (19-9). The Valley League All-Star Game begins Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. at Veteran’s Memorial Park. Gates open at 3:00 p.m.

The Turks return to regular season play on Tuesday July 12 on the road against the Waynesboro Generals.