Charlottesville Tom Sox at Woodstock River Bandits

Recap

By Maddie McNamee

TOM SOX COME FROM BEHIND, DEFEAT RIVER BANDITS 7-4

The Charlottesville Tom Sox defeated the Woodstock River Bandits 7-4 on Wednesday night, officially clinching a winning season and playoff spot for the third consecutive year. Trailing 4-0 entering the seventh inning, the Tom Sox’s remarkable comeback is a reflective representation of the unceasing excitement of the entirety of the Tom Sox season.

Thomas Francisco (East Carolina) extended his hit streak to 19 games with a single in his first at-bat of the game, extending his franchise record. The game marked Francisco’s first day back from the Southern Collegiate Showcase in Cary, North Carolina.

Francisco’s hit streak was the peak of the action for the Tom Sox in the beginning of the game, but the same cannot be said for the River Bandits who enjoyed a majority of their success in the first five frames. Lael Lockhart hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the second, followed by a single by Andrew Puglielli. Austin Bates hit a sacrifice fly for the first out, but it scored Lockhart. The inning ended with one run scored off of Charlottesville starter Maddison Furman (VCU).

The River Bandits continued their impressive offense in the bottom of the third. Jaylon Deshazier singled and then stole second with no outs, then William Escala followed with a double to score Deshazier. Lockhart tallied his second hit of the night with an RBI single to score Escala. Furman gave up two runs on two hits and one error in the third.

Peyton Glavine (Auburn) went in to pitch the fifth for the Tom Sox. Woodstock’s Aidan Nagle hit a two-out single and stole second, then Caleb Ward hit an RBI single to stretch the score to 4-0, giving Glavine his first run given up of the season.

Glavine’s pitching was impeccable the rest of the game, as he did not give up a hit through his next three innings. On the night, he pitched four complete innings in only his third appearance as a Tom Sox player.

The ‘Sox finally got the offense rolling in the 7^th inning. Christian Hlinka (Virginia) got things started with leadoff single in the top of the inning. Walker Imwalle (Davidson) mirrored the action with a single to advance Hlinka to third. Still with no outs, Brock Edge (Florida) hit an RBI double to get the ‘Sox on the board, scoring Hlinka. Alex Fedje-Johnson (Davidson) kept the line moving with an RBI double to score Hlinka and Imwalle and make the score 4-3. Now only down by one run, the Tom Sox tied it up with an RBI single from Virginia’s Cayman Richardson, which scored Edge. Richardson attempted to extend his hit into a double but was called out at second, ending the inning.

To no surprise, Francisco led off the 8^th inning with a single, with Hlinka following with another single to advance Francisco to third. Dan Harwood (Wooster) then upped the driving action and hit a 3-run home run to center field to secure the lead for the ‘Sox. The home run was Harwood’s third of the season.

Glavine pitched a scoreless 8^th for Charlottesville to lock down the win for the night, bringing his record to 2-0. Alaska Abney (Coastal Carolina) pitched a perfect, 1-2-3 ninth for the ‘Sox and ended the game at 7-4.

The Tom Sox are off on Thursday (July 18), but the team is back in action at home on Friday against Harrisonburg. Friday is also Mascots for a Cure night, with proceeds going to fight childhood cancer. First pitch is at 7 p.m. at C-VILLE Weekly Ballpark.