We couldn’t quite get through all three “play-in” games last night, but we did finish two of them….

First of all,  the Staunton Braves won their 9th game in a row, defeating the Harrisonburg Turks, 3-1, in Staunton. Austin Edens led the way at the plate by going 3-4, with 2 runs scored, an RBI, and a solo home run. Sam Vincenzo earned the win with 6 shutout innings, and Devin Gould finished the 8th and 9th innings to earn the save. Shane Billings and Erik Garcia each got on base twice for the Turks. Matt Hartman was saddled with the loss, even though he threw 7 solid innings (a few too many walks, I suppose). The Braves are now seeded #1 in the South, and the Turks #2.

Secondly, Woodstock continued their run of good baseball when the Bandits defeated the Winchester Royals, 5-3, in 10 innings. This places the Bandits in the final playoff spot, ready to play #1 seed Front Royal. Woodstock scored twice in the 10th inning- one on Erven Roper’s single that scored Collin Nyenhuis, and the second when Justin Woods scored on Joey Aiola’s single. Hunter Morgan earned the win in relief, while John Barr got the loss. Hayden Platt had a big 2-run home run for the Royals in the 4th inning. The North playoffs are ready to roll: #1 Front Royal vs #4 Woodstock, and #2 Strasburg vs #3 Aldie.

Third, the play-in game between Charlottesville and Covington has been suspended because of bad weather, with the Lumberjacks holding a 4-0 lead in the top of the 6th inning. The game, hopefully, will be finished tonight, and the playoffs will begin Wednesday evening.