Purcellville Cannons vs. Harrisonburg Turks – 7/11/2023 – By: Lauren Fulton
The Cannons took a trip down to Harrisonburg, VA, to take on the Turks for their first double-header of this week. The Cannons will have a series of double-headers this week, due to the many weather cancellations and various other factors that canceled games throughout this season. Unfortunately for the Cannons, they lost both games for this evening’s matchup.
Game 1:
Our starting pitcher for the evening was Jaxson Dalena, (SO; Shippensburg University), who pitched for 3 innings, giving up 7 hits, 3 walks, and gave up 4 runs during his time on the mound. He also had 2 strikeouts on the evening, helping his defense gain a few crucial outs. Our next pitcher was Zach Mizrahi, (SO; Tallahassee Community College), who pitched for 4 innings, allowing just 2 hits, with 3 walks. Mizrahi also had 5 strikeouts on the evening, proving how quickly he was able to make the necessary adjustments to succeed on the mound. Our final pitcher for the evening was Andrew Washington, (SR; Georgia Gwinnett College), who pitched for the last inning, and allowed 2 walks and 1 base hit in the international tiebreaker, ending the game in a walk-off win by the Harrisonburg Turks.
Brady Drawbaugh, (SR; Mt. St. Mary’s University) went 2 for 3 on the game with 2 RBIs, which greatly helped his team gain some momentum heading into extra innings. Justin Acal, (SR; University of Pittsburgh), also had a clutch moment at the plate hitting his first home run as a Cannon, and tying the score in the bottom of the 7th inning, to send the Cannons into an international tiebreaker. Jose Torres, (SR; University of Louisiana Lafayette), also had a clutch hit in the top of the 8th inning, to give the Cannons the lead by scoring a much-needed base hit in left-center to put the score at 5-4.
Our defense for the night started with Brendan Roney, (JR; Florida International University), behind the plate as our catcher, Jackson Micheels, (JR; University of Purdue Fort Wayne) at first base, Brayden Caskey, (JR; Arkansas State University) at second base, Justin Acal at shortstop, and Keegan Knuston, (SO; San Jacinto College North) at third base. Our outfields for game one were Jo Eichelberger, (JR; Jackson State University) in left field, Mikey Brinton, (JR; University of Arkansas Fort Smith) in center field, and Brady Drawbaugh in right field. The defense had 2 errors on the evening, keeping themselves in a stable enough position to make it a competitive game.
Game 2:
Our starting pitcher for the evening was Seth Sumner, (SR; Cal State Fullerton), who pitched for 4 innings, allowing 5 hits, 5 walks, and allowed 6 runs to score during his time on the mound. Sumner also had 5 strikeouts on the evening, which helped relieve his defense for a certain amount of time, before Alberto McCarthy, (SR; Erskine College), came in for first relief. McCarthy pitched for 0.2 innings, giving up 2 hits, and 1 walk, with no earned runs allowed during his short time on the field. Up next out of the bullpen Matthew Reuscher, (JR; Elgin Community College), who pitched for 0.1 innings, giving up 1 hit, 3 walks, and 2 runs during his time on the mound. Our final pitcher for the evening was Max Villamizar, (SO; University of Miami St. Thomas), who pitched for 1 inning, giving up 1 walk with 1 strikeout. The Turks ended up winning 8-0, sweeping the double-header series against the Cannons.
Unfortunately, the Cannons didn’t score a single hit against the Turks in the second game, so there isn’t much to comment on offensively.
Catching for the Cannons in the second game was newcomer Jack McDonald, (SR; Wilmington University), playing first base was Jackson Micheels, at second base was Justin Acal, at shortstop was Caleb Stewart, (JR; Georgia State University), and finishing off the infield at third base was Keegan Knuston. Our outfielders for the evening began with Jaxson Dalena in left field, Mikey Brinton in center field, and finishing off the defense for the second game was Brady Drawbaugh in right field. The defense once again made two errors on the evening, which unfortunately didn’t help the Cannons in the long run.
The boys will return back to Fireman’s Field tomorrow evening to take on the Woodstock River Bandits in yet another double-header! The first game is set to start at 4:30 pm, and the second game will begin at 7:00 pm. Both games will be 7 innings long, so we hope y’all will be able to make the journey out to see the boys at least once tomorrow!