CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)- The bid to repeat as Valley League Baseball Champions has come to an end for the Charlottesville Tom Sox. 

The defending champions fell to the Northern Division-winning Strasburg Express 5-2 in the decisive third game of the championship series Wednesday night in Strasburg.  Despite a dramatic walk off win in Game 2, the Tom Sox lost the series 2-1, finishing the season 24-20.

In looking back on the season, it is impossible to ignore the weather.  Several instances of torrential rain and a lengthy heat wave in mid-June that saw frighteningly regular triple digit temperatures shuffled the schedule for the Sox around quite a bit.   

Lack of pitching depth also cost the squad, giving up leads in the late innings of games in which the offense played enough of a part to keep the contest competitive.   

There were plenty of standouts both on the mound and at the plate.

James Nunnalee (Virginia) and Andrew Mannelly (Wofford) were the squad’s best two hitters, and excelled at getting on base, both topping 40%.  Nunnalee slashed .375 while Mannelly chipped in at .333.  Kyle Langley (James Madison) and Jackson Sirois (Maryland) were the team’s most reliable regular contributors, with Langley reaching .274 average with 40 hits, and Sirois hitting .273 with 35 knocks.

 Two stellar relievers, Trevor Booton (Auburn) and Jason Ban (Davidson) were strong in 10+ appearances each. Booton pitched to a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings pitched, and Ban notched seven saves at an ERA clip of 3.18.   

The team rebounded well following the all-star series and rocketed through the playoffs with plenty of momentum, beating the Waynesboro Generals, Culpepper Cavaliers, and Staunton Braves to win the right to face Strasburg.  But the Express, who put up 29 runs in two meetings with the Sox in the regular season, proved to be too much to handle.