Thursday, July 14, 2022
John Breeden
Harrisonburg, VA

The Harrisonburg Turks racked up 13 runs — including seven in the fourth inning — to defeat the Covington Lumberjacks 13-8 Wednesday night at Casey Field. The win moves them to 19-11 this season and 9-5 on the road. The Turks have won all four of their trips to Covington this season.

The Lumberjacks struck first in the bottom of the second when Cole Ketzner (South Alabama) hit a solo home run.

The Turks tied it up in the top of the third after Mitch Farris (Wingate) scored an unearned run on a Covington fielding error.

The top of the fourth was when the Turks kicked in high gear. Sam Schner (Florida Tech) walked with the bases loaded forcing Christian Ficca (Georgetown) home to score. Farris cleared the bases when he hit a three-RBI triple. He later scored an unearned run on another Covington fielding error. Seaver King (Wingate) scored on an RBI double from Michael Rosario (Miami)while Rosario scored on a stolen base for the seventh run of the inning.

Harrisonburg wouldn’t stop there as Jaylon Lee (EMU) scored in the top of the fifth off a ground rule double from Matthew Mamatas (Georgia Southwestern St). Carlos Perez (Miami) scored unearned while King drove in two more runs on an RBI double. The Turks were up 12-1 after the inning.

The Lumberjacks didn’t go quietly as they scored seven runs in the last five innings — including three in the seventh.

The Turks’ 13th run of the game came in the top of the ninth when Brady Gumpf (Notre Dame) drove in Brenden Vern (Central Florida) on an RBI single.

The Turks won 13-8 and pitcher Matthew Gainer (West Virginia) earned his first win of the season — pitching five innings for one strikeout and only allowing two runs. 

The Turks return home Friday night to face the Charlottesville Tom Sox at 7:30 p.m. They travel
to New Market for a doubleheader Saturday at 5 p.m.