Strasburg’s John Gray (Wofford) and Evan Garcia (South Florida State) combined on a no-hitter Wednesday to pitch the Express to the Valley Baseball League championship with a 5-2 victory over the Charlottesville Tom Sox.
Gray carried the no-hitter into the eighth inning before Garcia was summoned to the mound. Gray pitched seven-plus innings and allowed one earned run. He struck out seven and walked one. Garcia got the save with two scoreless innings. He struck out four and walked three.
The Express struck in the bottom of the first when Jake McCarter (High Point) delivered a bases-loaded double to put the home team up 2-0.
The Tom Sox tallied in the top of the seventh to trail 2-1 but Landon Beaver gave the Express the cushion they needed with a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, making the score 5-1.
McCarter finished 2-for-4 while Beaver was 1-for-3. Brady Boles (Panola) was 2-for-3 out of the leadoff spot, walked twice and scored two runs.