Winchester Advances To Championship Series

Generals Force Game 3

Four runs in the third were enough for Waynesboro as the Generals shut down the Tom Sox, 5-1, to force a third and deciding game in their series. Game 3 will be played on Monday in Waynesboro.

Sam Guth (Coastal Alabama) walked to lead off the third inning and Ben Geary (Florence-Darlington Tech) followed with a single. Nick April-Gath (Florida Southwestern), Jonah St. Antoine (Florida Gulf Coast) and Jake Meuller (UNC-Greensboro) then produced consecutive run-scoring singles to put the Generals up 3-0. A sac fly by Connor O’Sullivan (Rollins) made it 4-0.

That was more than enough for Generals’ starter Sean Costello (Pace) who pitched eight innings and allowed just one run on eight hits. Costello struck out seven batters and walked one. Chase Booth (Roanoke) allowed a pair of hits in the ninth but avoided further damage to earn the save.

For the Tom Sox, Tommy Landses (Ball State) had three hits and Grayson McCollum (Kennesaw State) added two base hits.

Tom Sox relievers Nolan Bethel (Kennesaw State) and Chris Fortunato (Stevenson) combined for seven shutout innings, but the Charlottesville hitters were unable to mount a comeback.

Royals Advance to Championship Series

Winchester defeated Strasburg 5-3 on Sunday, sweeping their series to advance to the VBL Championship round.

After Strasburg took the lead with a run in the first, the Royals moved ahead with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth.

A double by Ian Kaiser (West Chester) tied the score in the fifth and Winchester took the lead, courtesy of a Strasburg error,

The Royals padded the lead in the sixth with a two-run homer by JP Williams (Shenandoah) making the score 4-1.

Royals’ starter Tyler Oaks (Western Carolina) provided a solid outing, pitching four innings and allowed just one unearned run on three hits. Luke Hogue (Northwest Shoals) followed with three shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out three.

Kaiser and Bodie Pullen (Richmond) each had two hits for Winchester.

For the Express, Caden Haywood (Western Carolina) finished 3-for-4.