The Staunton Braves gave up five runs in the top of the seventh inning which untimely led to their downfall as they lost 10-9 to the Harrisonburg Turks Wednesday night.
The night started out well for the Braves, after Jay Charleston hit a double he was able to steal third base and was then able to score after a wild pitch from Turks pitcher Carter Bach. The very next pitch Braves Austin Edens would hit one out of the park to give the Braves and early 2-0 led in the bottom of the first.
The Harrisonburg Turks were able to get a run back in the top of the second after Luke Nussman scored the unearned run cutting the Braves lead to 2-1. In the bottom of the second Kevin Dobbs brought Payton Robertson home to build the Braves lead back to two runs with the score being 3-1 after the second inning.
Hunter Seay for the Turks would get the first of his five RBI’S in the top of the fourth when he drove Luke Nussman home on a single making the score 3-2 Braves. The Braves would answer however, in the bottom of the fourth with two runs of their own. Colton Cross would have a sacrifice fly to right field that would bring Robertson in for the run and after a Max Wood single Henry Kreienbaum would cross the plate to give the Braves a 5-2 advantage.
In the bottom of the fifth the Braves missed out on several opportunities to make their lead even bigger. With the bases loaded and no outs, Robertson was walked bringing in the Braves sixth run of the night. The next three Braves batters would however all record outs leaving the bases loaded. That would later haunt Staunton.
The sixth inning saw more runs scored by both teams with the Turks getting their lone run of the inning off of another Hunter Seay single. The Braves would bring in two runs in the bottom half of the inning after Edens double lead to a Charleston score and Brendan Cutting notched an RBI single brining Edens home.
The seventh inning was where things began to unravel for the Braves. Ty Andrus started off the inning for the Turks with a single and two batters later was brought home by a Joe Lytle double. After a Bryan Arias single, Braves pitcher Aaron Eppard threw a wild pitch which led to a Lytle scoring. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Seay came up clutch again for Harrisonburg with a three run double which would tie the game at 8-8.
In the bottom of the eighth the Braves gave their fans some hope that they were not going to blow their final home game of the regular season when they retook the lead. Richard Miller would hit an RBI single that would see Charleston once again cross the plate for the Braves giving Staunton a 9-8 lead going into the ninth.
In the top of the ninth with two on and two outs Elliot Cary drove the tying run home with a big double. After a Lytle walk the bases were loaded and another wild pitch from the Braves, this one by pitcher Max Wood would give the Turks the go ahead run and after a Braves three up three down bottom of the ninth Harrisonburg would complete their rally.
Harrisonburg was led by Seay who had four hits and brought in five RBI’S. The Turks winning pitcher was Dominic Diaz (1-0). The Braves major contributors at the plate were Edens who had two hits and two RBI’S and Charleston who had three hits. Braves Derek Duffy (1-3) was given the loss.
The Braves (19-22) wrap up their regular season tomorrow night when they travel to Charlottesville (31-10) Thursday.
Story by Seth Megginson
Share
