Staunton’s Baxter among Valley League honorees

Item by Chris Graham
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It wasn’t a surprise at all Staunton pitcher Lance Baxter was among the first weekly honorees in the Valley League.

Baxter was feted as one of the league’s pitchers of the week after his June 5 no-hitter versus Waynesboro. The South Alabama product struck out seven and walked one in the 2-0 win over the Generals.

Others honored included:

– Fauquier pitcher Shawn Griffth (George Mason), who holds the early league lead with three saves after closing out four of Fauquier’s five victories in the first week of the season. The righty allowed just three baserunners on one hit and two walks in 5 1/3 innings over his four relief appearances.

– Fauquier first baseman Ryan Gauck (Marist), who is hitting .556 (15-for-27) with three runs scored, two doubles, a triple, four RBIs, a walk, and a steal. Gauck leads the league in batting average, on-base percentage (.586), and hits while ranking fifth with a .704 slugging percentage. His efforts helped the Gators get off to a 5-2 start in the first week.

– Haymarket first baseman Tripp Swann (Samford), who hit .458 (11-for-24) last week with seven runs scored, six doubles, one home run, six RBIs, and five walks. Swann shares the league lead with 20 total bases and ranks second in batting average, second with an .833 slugging percentage, second with a .567 on-base percentage, tied for third in hits, first in doubles, and tied for second in runs. Swann helped Haymarket to a 4-3 mark in the first week.

– Winchester first baseman Tyler Townsend (Florida International), who shares the league lead with three home runs, nine RBIs, and 20 total bases after an impressive first week of the season. He hit .360 (9-for-25) with four runs, two doubles, three walks, and two hit by pitches. Townsend is also third with an .800 slugging percentage after aiding the Royals to a 5-3 opening week.