Friday, July 1, 2022
Shelton Moss
Harrisonburg, Va.

Highlighted by a three-hit performance from Jaylon Lee, the Harrisonburg Turks took down Waynesboro 7-1 in a divisional clash on Friday evening at Veterans Memorial Park.

Lee (James Madison) helped the Harrisonburg offense break through in the third inning, earning a hustle double to left center field that drove in Carlos Perez (Miami). Later in the frame, Michael Rosario (Miami) and Christian Ficca (Georgetown) drew consecutive walks with the bases loaded, extending the Turks’ lead to 3-0.

On the pitching side, the Turks were buoyed by a fantastic start from Andrew Williams (Georgetown), who tossed six scoreless innings while scattering five hits and striking out four against a Generals team that came with the highest-scoring offense in the Valley League.

In the fifth inning, Rosario supplied the longest-hit ball of the night, depositing a home run over the right field wall to give Harrisonburg a 4-0 advantage.

The Turks were able to continue the offensive barrage in the sixth: after Lee doubled with one out, Sam Schner (Florida Tech) drove in his teammate with a sacrifice fly to left field, making it a 5-0 ballgame. For the evening, Lee was 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI.

Turks’ reliever Jake Wolf (UNC Greensboro) pitched out of a huge jam in the seventh inning. With one run already in and two more runners on base, Wolf struck out Waynesboro’s Matt Ruiz to end the threat. The right-hander fanned three Generals’ hitters in the inning.

Harrisonburg was able to tack on two runs in the seventh, thanks to an RBI fielder’s choice from Christian Ficca, as well as a throwing error by Generals’ catcher Miguel Useche, who airmailed a throw to second, allowing T.J. Williams (Notre Dame) to score from third.

Sean Culkin (James Madison) earned the save for the Turks, tossing two scoreless innings in relief to close out the ballgame. Harrisonburg was able to strand nine runners on base, while also outhitting the visitors 9-7.