Valley League elects new leaders
Dave Biery and Jim Phillips, two long-time officers of the Valley Baseball League, are stepping down. Biery, who has served as League president since 1985, will be retiring from his post after the 2012 season. Don Lemish, the former athletics director at James Madison University and current commissioner of the Rockingham County Baseball League, will be taking his place. Lemish will serve as assistant to the president for the upcoming season.
“It’s been a great adventure,” says Biery, who cites the expansion of the league from six to 12 teams as a major accomplishment of his tenure because it doubled the opportunity for college players to improve their skills. He also views the change of the league’s status from profit to nonprofit as another significant achievement of his presidency. Continue reading “Valley League elects new leaders” »
Valley League releases 2012 schedule
Waynesboro opens the 2012 Valley League season with a home game with rival Staunton on Friday, June 1, at 7 p.m.
The Valley League released the 2012 schedule on Monday. The 12-team league will be broken up into two six-team divisions. In 2011, there were three four-team divisions.
The Generals will meet the Staunton Braves eight times – with home games on June 1, June 14, July 13 and July 20 and road games on June 7, June 13, June 27 and July 14.
Waynesboro took nine of the 10 games in the season series with Staunton in 2011 en route to winning the South Division championship.
2012 Valley League Schedule
| Date | Status | Away | Home |
| Fri, June 1 | 7:00 | Strasburg | Luray |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Rockbridge | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | Covington | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | Haymarket | |
| Sat, June 2 | 7:00 | Haymarket | Luray |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Waynesboro | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Strasburg | Woodstock | |
| Sun, June 3 | 6:00 | Strasburg | Haymarket |
| 7:00 | Luray | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | Woodstock | |
| Mon, June 4 | 7:15 | VBL Meeting | |
| Tue, June 5 | 7:00 | Woodstock | Luray |
| 7:00 | Strasburg | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Covington | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Staunton | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | Haymarket | |
| Wed, June 6 | 7:00 | Strasburg | Winchester |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Luray | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Covington | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Haymarket | Woodstock | |
| Thur, June 7 | 6:30 | Luray | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Haymarket | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Covington | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | Woodstock | |
| Fri, June 8 | 6:30 | Woodstock | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Rockbridge | |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Covington | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Luray | Haymarket | |
| Sat, June 9 | 6:30 | Haymarket | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Covington | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | Woodstock | |
| Sun, June 10 | 6:30 | Front Royal | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Haymarket | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Covington | |
| 7:30 | New Market | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Luray | Woodstock | |
| Mon, June 11 | Rain Date | ||
| Tue, June 12 | 6:30 | Winchester | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Staunton | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Woodstock | Haymarket | |
| Wed, June 13 | 7:00 | Covington | Rockbridge |
| 7:00 | Strasburg | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | Haymarket | Front Royal | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Luray | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | Staunton | |
| Thurs, June 14 | 6:30 | Luray | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Haymarket | |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | Covington | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | New Market | |
| Fri, June 15 | 7:00 | Haymarket | Luray |
| 7:30 | Strasburg | Woodstock | |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Front Royal | |
| 7:30 | New Market | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | Staunton | |
| 7:00 | Waynesboro | Covington | |
| Sat, June 16 | 7:00 | Luray | Winchester |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Rockbridge | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Strasburg | Haymarket | |
| Sun, June 17 | 6:00 | Winchester | Haymarket |
| 6:30 | Front Royal | Strasburg | |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Covington | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Staunton | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | Harrisonburg | |
| Mon, June 18 | Rain Date | ||
| Tues, June 19 | 7:00 | Strasburg | Winchester |
| 7:00 | Luray | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Waynesboro | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Haymarket | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Covington | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | Staunton | |
| Wed, June 20 | 6:30 | Rockbridge | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Covington | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | Staunton | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | Haymarket | |
| Thurs, June 21 | 7:00 | Luray | Rockbridge |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Haymarket | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Strasburg | Staunton | |
| Fri, June 22 | 6:30 | Waynesboro | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | New Market | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Luray | |
| 7:30 | Covington | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | Haymarket | |
| Sat, June 23 | 7:00 | Front Royal | Rockbridge |
| 7:00 | New Market | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | Luray | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Strasburg | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Haymarket | Staunton | |
| Sun, June 24 | 6:00 | Waynesboro | Haymarket |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Covington | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Strasburg | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Woodstock | New Market | |
| Mon, June 25 | Rain Date | ||
| Tues, June 26 | 6:30 | New Market | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Haymarket | Covington | |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Rockbridge | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Winchester | |
| 7:30 | Luray | Harrisonburg | |
| Wed, June 27 | 7:00 | Haymarket | Front Royal |
| 7:00 | Strasburg | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | Woodstock | |
| Thurs, June 28 | 6:30 | Woodstock | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Rockbridge | |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | Covington | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | New Market | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Luray | Haymarket | |
| Fri, June 29 | 6:30 | Haymarket | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Luray | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Covington | Staunton | |
| Sat, June 30 | 7:00 | Haymarket | Winchester |
| 7:00 | Strasburg | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Covington | |
| 7:30 | New Market | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Luray | Woodstock | |
| Sun, July 1 | 6:00 | Woodstock | Haymarket |
| 6:30 | Winchester | Strasburg | |
| 7:00 | Luray | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Waynesboro | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Covington | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Staunton | Harrisonburg | |
| Mon, July 2 | 7:00 | Covington | Front Royal |
| 7:00 | Strasburg | Rockbridge | |
| 7:00 | Waynesboro | Winchester | |
| 7:30 | Haymarket | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Luray | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Woodstock | Staunton | |
| Tues, July 3 | 6:00 | Covington | Winchester |
| 6:30 | Staunton | Strasburg | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Luray | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | New Market | Haymarket | |
| Wed, July 4 | No Games Scheduled | ||
| Thurs, July 5 | 6:30 | Harrisonburg | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Haymarket | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Luray | Covington | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Winchester | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | New Market | Woodstock | |
| Fri, July 6 | 7:00 | Haymarket | Rockbridge |
| 7:00 | Strasburg | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Luray | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | New Market | |
| Sat, July 7 | 6:30 | Covington | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Waynesboro | Luray | |
| 7:30 | Staunton | Haymarket | |
| 7:30 | Woodstock | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | New Market | |
| Sun, July 8 | 7:30 | VBL All-Star Game | |
| At Front Royal | |||
| Mon, July 9 | Rain Date | ||
| Tues, July 10 | Rain Date | ||
| Wed, July 11 | 7:00 | Waynesboro | Front Royal |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Luray | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Covington | Haymarket | |
| 7:30 | Strasburg | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | Woodstock | |
| Thurs, July 12 | 7:00 | Luray | Winchester |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Strasburg | Haymarket | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | Harrisonburg | |
| Fri, July 13 | 6:30 | Woodstock | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | New Market | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Waynesboro | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | Haymarket | |
| Sat, July 14 | 6:30 | Luray | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Haymarket | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Covington | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | Staunton | |
| Sun, July 15 | 7:00 | Haymarket | Luray |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | Waynesboro | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Strasburg | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | Staunton | |
| Mon, July 16 | Rain Date | ||
| Tues, July 17 | 6:30 | Front Royal | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Covington | Rockbridge | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | Haymarket | |
| 7:30 | Staunton | New Market | |
| Wed, July 18 | 7:00 | Strasburg | Winchester |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Luray | |
| 7:00 | New Market | Covington | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | Woodstock | Haymarket | |
| 7:30 | Staunton | Harrisonburg | |
| Thurs, July 19 | 6:30 | Winchester | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Luray | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Waynesboro | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Haymarket | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Covington | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Harrisonburg | Staunton | |
| Fri, July 20 | 7:00 | Strasburg | Luray |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Covington | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | Front Royal | Haymarket | |
| 7:30 | Winchester | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | Rockbridge | New Market | |
| Sat, July 21 | 6:30 | Woodstock | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Front Royal | Winchester | |
| 7:00 | Staunton | Rockbridge | |
| 7:00 | Covington | Waynesboro | |
| 7:30 | New Market | Harrisonburg | |
| 7:30 | Luray | Haymarket | |
| Sun, July 22 | 6:30 | Haymarket | Strasburg |
| 7:00 | Winchester | Luray | |
| 7:00 | Woodstock | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Harrisonburg | Rockbridge | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | New Market | |
| 7:30 | Covington | Staunton | |
| Mon, July 23 | 7:00 | Haymarket | Winchester |
| 7:00 | Strasburg | Front Royal | |
| 7:00 | Rockbridge | Covington | |
| 7:30 | Luray | Woodstock | |
| 7:30 | New Market | Staunton | |
| 7:30 | Waynesboro | Harrisonburg | |
The AFP on WREL: Baseball fever
AFP editor Chris Graham talks sports on WREL’s “Online with Jim Bresnahan.” Today’s podcast focuses on sports – and begins with a look at the stretch drive in the Valley League. Is Harrisonburg, ranked #6 in the country in summer baseball, the clear team to beat? Chris thinks so, but also thinks that anything can happen in the final weeks of the summer season.
The attention then shifts to big-league baseball and the NFL. The big question of the day being – will we have an NFL season in 2011?
The AFP on WREL: Around the diamond
AFP editor Chris Graham talks baseball – Valley League, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles – on WREL-1450AM’s “Online with JIm Bresnahan.”
The AFP on WREL: World Series or bust
AFP editor Chris Graham talks sports with WREL-1450AM’s “Online with Jim Bresnahan.”
The segment is baseball-intense, for good reason. #1 UVa. is in Omaha aiming for the school’s first College World Series crown. Can the Cavs do it?
A tour around the Valley League wraps us up. The big question in the Valley: Can we get a game in with all the rain we’ve had of late?
Safe at Home now available as e-book
The New Market Rebels of the Valley Baseball League are pleased to announce that Safe at Home: A Season in the Valley, a non-fiction work about the 2009 Rebels’s squad, is now available as an e-book.
“I’m excited about offering Safe at Home in this format,” says author Austin Gisriel. “Publishing is changing rapidly and it is important for authors to change with it in order to offer their readers the best experience possible.”
Safe at Home is available for the Kindle, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony, and Kobo readers among others and the book may be ordered through the Kindle Store or Smashwords.com. Amazon offers a free Kindle application for your PC, Mac, iPhone, Blackberry, iPad, Android, or Windows 7 phone. The e-book retails for $2.99.
Each chapter contains a link to the Safe at Home on-line photo album where Melissa Dodge’s outstanding photographs that appeared in the printed version may be viewed in full color.
The book was printed in paperback form by Augusta Free Press Publishing LLC, the parent company of AugustaFreePress.com.
Gisriel’s next e-publishing project also involves the Valley League. A 30 year retrospective tentatively entitled “The Glorious Summer,” the lengthy article focuses on the 1981 season in which New Market and the Winchester Royals battled for the Valley League crown. The Rebels boasted three future major leaguers that year in Tom Browning, John Kruk, and Dan Pasqua, but it was Winchester that had the season of a lifetime. Plans currently call for this e-article to be offered at no charge.
Chris Graham joins ‘Baseball in the Valley’ podcast
Chris Graham was a guest on the debut installment of “Baseball in the Valley,” a podcast hosted by Austin Gisriel covering Valley League Baseball.
“Baseball in the Valley” is broadcast live on Blog Talk Radio on Thursdays at 6 p.m. You can access archived podcasts at www.blogtalkradio.com/seamheads .
Graham, play-by-play broadcaster for the Waynesboro Generals, will be a regular guest on the summer podcast series.
Gisriel is the author of A Season in the Valley, a book chronicling a season behind the scenes with the Valley League’s New Market Rebels. A Season in the Valley was published in 2010 by Augusta Free Press Publishing.
The 2011 Valley League season begins Thursday, June 2. The Generals open play on Friday, June 3, on the road at Rockbridge. Waynesboro’s home opener is Saturday, June 4, against Covington.
More information about the Generals is online at www.WaynesboroGenerals.com.
Three Generals named to All-Valley teams
Taylor Sandeur and Drew Turocy were first-team All-Valley League selections, and Cody Hudson was named to the All-Valley second team, in selections announced on Saturday.
Sandefur was dominant on the mound for Waynesboro in 2010, going 7-0 in 13 appearances, including eight starts, with a 2.26 ERA. Sandefur, a 6-2, 245-pound freshman from Western Carolina, had 60 strikeouts in 59 and two-thirds innings pitched and allowed opposing hitters to bat just .215 on the season.
Turocy, a 6-3, 190-pound junior centerfielder from Akron, led the Generals in batting average at .370 with a home run and 31 RBIs. Turocy also had eight stolen bases in 10 attempts and seven outfield assists.
Hudson, a 5-11, 183-pound freshman leftfielder from Austin Peay, hit .303 with 24 RBI, a team-high 36 runs scored and 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts.
A notable omission from the All-Valley teams was Waynesboro third baseman Grant Fillipitch, who led the team with six home runs, 34 RBI and a .497 slugging percentage while hitting .302 on the season.
Named first-team All-Valley League at third base was Mike Garza from Woodstock (.388, 3 HR, 30 RBI), and named to the second-team at third base was Brant Jones (.356, 5 HR, 34 RBI).
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Keywords: waynesboro virginia, waynesboro generals
Cards drop Waynesboro, 9-3, end Generals’ season
Front Royal got to Waynesboro starter Chastin Akers early and cruised to a 9-3 win in the deciding Game 3 of the teams’ first-round Valley League playoff series on Saturday night.
The Generals trailed 2-0 after one, but had a chance in the third to make it a game when a two-out walk to Chase Worthington loaded the bases for T.J. Kuban. Kuban flied out to deep right to leave the bases loaded, and Front Royal seized control with a threespot in the bottom of the third that knocked out Akers (1-1).
Waynesboro left 12 runners on base for the game.
First-team All-Valley outfielder Drew Turocy had three hits for Waynesboro.
The loss ends Waynesboro’s 2010 season.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Generals win, force deciding game in playoff series
Tim Leather had a rocky top of the first in his first start of the season, but after getting out of the bases-loaded, one-out jam with no damage, Leather was dominant, pitching seven scoreless innings to push Waynesboro to a 4-3 win over Front Royal in Game 2 of the teams’ first-round playoff series Friday night.
The win means there will be a deciding Game 3 Saturday night in Front Royal. First pitch in Bing Crosby Stadium is at 7:30 p.m.
Leather (1-0) also had to work his way out of a second-and-third, one-out situation in the third, striking out Cardinals’ cleanup hitter James Roche and getting Pete Greskoff to fly out to right. The Generals then put up a threespot in the bottom of the third, getting a leadoff single by Colin Harrington, a base on balls issued by Front Royal starter Ricky Ott (2-3) to Cody Hudson, and a wild RBI single by Grant Fillipitch that scored Harrington from second. On that play, Cards’ centerfielder Will Walsh tried to throw Hudson out at third base, but the ball hit Hudson on his slide into the bag and got away from third baseman Steve Rogers. Hudson scored, and Rogers’ throw home also got away from catcher Andy Drexel, allowing Fillipitch to advance to third, where he scored when Drew Turocy hit a sacrifice fly to left.
The Generals made it 4-0 in the fourth on another sac-fly RBI, this one off the bat of Harrington, scoring designated hitter Haskell Fink.
Leather handed a 4-0 lead to the bullpen in the eighth, but Front Royal got to the first man out of the pen, Zach McElroy, getting back-to-back doubles by Roche and Greskoff and an RBI groundout by A.J. Albee to make it 4-3 Waynesboro. Mark Lamm got the final two outs of the eighth, then closer Andrew Blackwell pitched a scoreless ninth, getting Matt Holland to fly out to Hudson in left to end it.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Keywords: waynesboro virginia, front royal virginia
Generals-Cards Game 2 pushed back another night
Heavy rain creating poor field conditions have once again delayed Game 2 of the Waynesboro-Front Royal first-round Valley League playoff series.
The game will be completed on Friday at 7 p.m. at Mathers Park at Kate Collins Field. The contest had gotten under way on Wednesday night, but was put into a delay with the score at 0-0 in the top of the second inning.
Heavy rain on Wednesday had pushed the completion of the game to Thursday at 7 p.m. Heavy rains in the Waynesboro area Thursday afternoon, with more in the forecast for the evening and night hours, forced the additional delay.
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Keywords: waynesboro virginia, front royal virginia
The AFP on WREL: News and politics on tap
Posted by afp on June 24, 2011 · Leave a Comment
The segment begins with coverage of the announcement tour of State Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, who is running for re-election in the 24th House District this fall. The discussion then turns to sports, specifically #1 UVa.’s must-win game against South Carolina in the College World Series. Can the Cavs overcome the challenge from last year’s national champions?
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with afp on wrel, chris graham, college baseball, college world series, jim bresnahan, uva. baseball, valley league