First Homer of the Season: Kevin Fagan (freshman, Stetson) picked a good time to go deep for the first time in 2013. Fagan homered in the fifth inning of the Waynesboro Generals’ 6-3 win over Strasburg that clinched the 2013 Valley League title for Waynesboro.
It wasn’t only Fagan’s first homer in VBL play, but the calendar year. The Freshman All-American hit .275 with 25 RBI, but didn’t hit a long ball in his college season.
“I was looking first-pitch fastball because they were feeding me fastballs all night. I got a really good pitch to drive, and it felt good,” Fagan said.
Mazeika’s Insurance: Patrick Mazeika (freshman, Stetson) came to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning with Waynesboro leading Strasburg, 4-3.
The Express had cut what had been a 4-0 lead to a single run, and the Generals could certainly use some insurance with a VBL title on the line.
Here’s how Mazeika described his at bat, which resulted in a two-run single that propelled the Generals to their 6-3 win:
“I was definitely taking the first pitch. He had been a little wild. He threw the first pitch in there, and I battled to a 2-2 count, took a hack at a 2-1 pitch, just missed that. He came back with a fastball. I was real surprised. I tried to let it get deep just because I was thinking he might try to get a changeup in there.
“I got the fastball up and away and took it up the middle.
“As it was going, I was thinking, This kid has already robbed me once this weekend, he’s not getting this one. It snuck through there, and it feels pretty good.”
Dogpile: Sean Buchholz (junior, Southern Miss) is a fan of post-championship dogpiles, and then he isn’t
“That was my first time being on the very bottom, and I can say I don’t want to do that again,” said Buchholz, who recorded the save in the series clincher with two scoreless innings of work in which he struck out four Strasburg hitters, including the final two that he faced.
After seeing video of the dogpile, Buchholz said “it seemed like it went on a lot longer when I was in there than what it looked like on video.”
Two words hint as to why: Sikes Orvis.
“Sikes Orvis over there, big fellow, tackled me, and everyone else just piled on right after that,” Buchholz said.
“I couldn’t breathe for a little while, but it’s worth it,” Buchholz said.
Winning It All for Waynesboro: It meant a lot to Generals players to win the Valley League title for their hosts for the summer in Waynesboro.
“The community itself is awesome. Everybody in Waynesboro is just very lovely people. It’s very good to get this win and do it for them,” Buchholz said.
Playoff MVP Corey Armentrout (sophomore, Bridgewater) said it was great to be able to repay Generals fans for their season-long support.
“They come out and support us so much, from little stuff like food after the games to fan support that we have playing ballgames. Even the stuff just out and about in Waynesboro, people saying, You play for the Generals, hey, we love you guys. It’s great being able to take that back home and show them how much their support means,” Armentrout said.
More online at www.WaynesboroGenerals.net.
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Chris Graham
