CULPEPER – Charlottesville pitchers Chase Stryker (Coastal Carolina) and Caden Ferraro (Blinn) combined to limit the Culpeper Cavaliers to one run on three hits Saturday night as the Tom Sox evened the South Division series with an 8-1 victory.
Stryker pitched 5.1 innings to earn the win, allowing one run on one hit. He struck out six and walked six. Ferraro pitched the final 3.2 innings to get the save. He allowed no runs on two hits while striking out seven and walking two.
The Tom Sox took the lead with three runs in the second inning and pulled away for the win. With one out in the second, Nick Parham (East Carolina) and Dean Mihos (Coastal Carolina) hit back-to-back singles, Jack McMullan (Liberty) followed with a three-run home to give the Tom Sox the lead.
Charlottesville added three more runs in the fourth inning on another three-run blast, this one by Robbie Lavey (George Washington) to take a 6-0 lead.
Christian Reyna (Messiah) put Culpeper on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a run-scoring single, but the Tom Sox put the game away with two more runs in the sixth inning. Colby Wallace (East Carolina) plated a run in the sixth with a single for the Sox and Ferraro drove in a run with a sac fly for the final 8-1 margin.
Lavey finished 3-for-4 for the Sox with two runs scored and three RBIs. Wallace was 2-for-5 with a run batted in and McMullan was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
Reyna had two of Culpeper’s three base hits. Dominic Ottone (Columbus State) tossed three shutout innings for the Cavs. He struck out four and did not allow a base hit.
Game 3 of the series will be played Sunday night at Charlottesville H.S. with the winner advancing to play Purcellville for the VBL title.