Kaelyn Spickler
Turks Staff Writer

Harrisonburg, VA- After being away from Veterans Memorial Park for over a week, the Harrisonburg Turks were ready to be back at home and take on the Staunton Braves last night. The Turks, however, couldn’t pick up their deficit and lost 6-1.

The stadium was packed, and Turks’ fans were ready to be back and cheer on their team. We would like to thank Massanutten Regional Library and WVPT for sponsoring us and bringing in kids the in our community and their families to watch the Turks.

Eli Ellington of Gulf Coast CC started on the mound for the Turks and pitched three innings striking out five batters. Branden Kunz of Pitt CC followed and made his first appearance on the mound at Eagle Field. Kunz struck out two batters in two innings. Jacob Edwards of UNC Ashville came in during the top of the sixth and pitched 1.1 innings. Alex Hoppe of UNC Greensboro finished out and struck out four batters in his 2.2 innings, ending the game with three Braves’ up, three down.

The Turks struggled to get going offensively with five hits and one run. The Turks saw a single from second baseman McCann Mellett to start off the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the third, shortstop Nick Zona walks and is brought in by left fielder Jed Bryant’s single. RJ Schreck, the right fielder, hits a single in the bottom of the fifth and Bryant will follow suit in the bottom of the sixth. Zona will hit the fifth hit and fifth single of the game in the bottom of the eighth. A total of six Turks runners are left stranded.

Meanwhile, the Braves continued getting on base and got on the board early with a run in the top of the first and top of the second. The top of the fourth was the Braves’ big inning, scoring three runs, and picking up an additional run in the top of the eighth.

The Turks will be back in action tonight for a double-header against the Covington Lumberjacks. The first game will begin at 6:00 p.m., and the second will follow shortly after. Come out for an evening full of baseball!