Mitchell Matulia’s bases-clearing, go-ahead double capped a 6-5 comeback win for the Harrisonburg Turks over the league-leading Front Royal Cardinals on Friday night.
The Turks entered the eighth inning trailing 5-2, but an Eric Kalbfleisch RBI groundout with the bases loaded cut the lead to 5-3. Thomas Spitz walked to reload the bases and then Matulia crushed a ball to the left center field fence that gave the lead to Harrisonburg.
Relief pitcher Logan Onda came on in the seventh inning and earned his team-leading fifth win of the year. He threw three scorless frames, allowing just one run and two walks. Veterans Memorial Park erupted in cheers when he struck out pinch hitter Josh Kiem to end the game.
Front Royal had built their lead from home runs by Shell McCain in the third and Stefan Van Horn in the sixth. Despite the power hitting, the Cardinals were outhit by Harrisonburg 11-6.
With the win, Harrisonburg improves to 22-12 and moves into a tie with Front Royal (23-13) for first place in the league. The Turks will host the Woodstock River Bandits in their next game on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.
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