Wednesday, July 20, 2022
John Breeden
Harrisonburg, VA
The Harrisonburg Turks defeated the Waynesboro Generals 5-1 in the south division leaders clash Tuesday night at Kate Collins Field.
The Turks (23-12) now lead the south division by half a game over the Generals (24-14) and have clinched a top three playoff spot.
“We treat every game like it’s just another game for the Turks,” shortstop Seaver King said. “It’s a good team win … the three runs aren’t just me, it’s all of us put together.”
Starting on the mound for the sixth time this season was Wingate’s Mitch Farris.
The Turks didn’t waste any time as third baseman Christian Ficca (Georgetown) notched his 17th RBI of the season in the top of the first — scoring right fielder T.J. Williams (Notre Dame) on a single.
Harrisonburg would go scoreless in its next four innings at the plate. “I felt really good today, just [being] simple at the plate,” Ficca said. “They say hitting is a really contagious thing, I’m hitting right after Mikey … he’s smoking everything [and] gets his bat on. That’s a big confidence booster for me coming up to the plate after him.”
The Turks were in a tough spot in the bottom of the fifth as the bases were loaded with one out. Farris walked Garrett Howe (Samford) forcing the game-tying run home — but a quick strikeout and a groundout got Harrisonburg out of the inning.
After missing last night’s game, shortstop King (Wingate) returned and launched a solo home run to left field in the top of the sixth. “I was a little rusty in the beginning,” King said. “Once the sun went down I was seeing the ball a little better. The guys were supportive of me and that was the key to the game.”
Ficca found success at the plate again in the top of the sixth, collecting his second RBI of the game by driving in the first baseman Mikey Rosario (Miami) on a single. Ficca scored the third run of the inning off an RBI double from designated hitter Brady Gumpf (Notre Dame).
Harrisonburg added some insurance in the top of the ninth as Williams scored on a stolen base.
“We did exactly what we needed to do,” Ficca said. “Everything we kind of expected but exactly what we wanted to do tonight.”
Farris earned his fourth win of the season on the mound after pitching five innings, allowing one run, and ringing up three batters. Jake DeLisi (North Carolina A&T) flung a strikeout and didn’t allow any runs in two innings pitched. JMU’s Sean Culkin came in for the save and secured the win after three quick outs.
The Turks return home to host the Covington Lumberjacks Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. They travel to Charlottesville to face the Tom Sox at 7 p.m. With six games remaining in the regular season, King believes it’s not going to take much for the Turks to come out on top of the division.