The Shadow
COVINGTON, Va. (VR) — The Lumberjacks stayed within striking distance through six innings before the Charlottesville Tom Sox broke the game open with a seven-run finish Friday night at Casey Field, handing the Jacks a 9-2 Valley Baseball League loss.
Charlottesville scored once in the second on an RBI single by Lucas Ream and added another run in the third on Tommy Landsnes’ RBI single for a 2-0 lead. The Lumberjacks answered in the fourth when Darrius Brown lined an RBI single to center, scoring Dariel Castillo to trim the deficit to 2-1.
Luke Richards kept Covington in the game with a solid start, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked three while throwing 103 pitches.
The game turned in the seventh after Richards exited. Aiden Harris blasted a grand slam to left field, capping a four-run inning that pushed Charlottesville’s lead to 6-1. Covington got one run back in the bottom half when Peter Crespo drove in Jan Oquendo with a groundout, cutting the margin to 6-2.
The Tom Sox added three more runs in the ninth. Bryce Neely delivered an RBI single before Grayson McCollum followed with a two-run double to complete the scoring. Covington finished with two runs on four hits and committed two errors, while Charlottesville totaled nine runs on eight hits with two errors.
Oquendo led the Lumberjacks at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Castillo doubled and scored a run, while Brown finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base. Crespo added an RBI, and Jose Alfonso drew a walk and stole a base.
Carlos Manzueta (0.1 IP), Mason Reid (1.0 IP) and Daniel Perruc (1.2 IP) worked in relief. Manzueta was charged with four earned runs as Charlottesville seized control in the seventh. Richards (0-3) took the loss for the Lumberjacks.
