The Valley Baseball League has announced its traveling All-Star roster for the inaugural Southern Collegiate Showcase in Kannapolis, N.C.
The Southern Collegiate Showcase will feature the Southern Collegiate Baseball League, Valley Baseball League, Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, Sunbelt League and Florida Collegiate Summer League in a weekend event that will allow both fans and scouts to see some of the best baseball talent in the Southeast. The event will be held July 15-16 at Intimidators Stadium- the home of the Kannapolis Intimidators, a Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
The coaching staff will include Harrisonburg’s Bob Wease, Strasburg’s Butch Barnes, Purcellville’s Brett Fuller, Staunton’s George Laase, and Waynesboro’s Matt Williams.
While the regular Valley League All-Star Game guarantees at least one pitching and positional selection for every team and weighs that summer’s stats more heavily, for the Showcase the league sought to pick the best possible roster to both compete for three wins and highlight the VBL’s future professional prospects for the many scouts expected to be in attendance.
The coaching staff selected three catchers- Harrisonburg’s Tony Beam (Texas-San Antonio), Charlottesville’s Brandon Johnson (Richmond) and New Market’s Jake Washer (East Carolina)- and 16 pitchers as part of the 30-man squad.
The roster also reflects some of the great versatility in the Valley this summer. Purcellville’s Trevin Esquerra (Loyola Marymount) has played both first base and third base this season, and University of Tennessee outfielders Jay Charleston (Staunton) and Luc Lipcius (Front Royal) can also play infield. Strasburg slugger Brandon Quaranta (Philadelphia U) has a perfect 0.00 ERA in four relief appearances, and starting pitchers Deacon Medders (Staunton, Alabama) and Rick Spiers (Charlottesville, Randolph-Macon) lead their team in at least one major hitting category. These players set the VBL team up well should emergency roster situations arise over the course of 27+ innings in two days.
The Valley League is slated to open up the Showcase against the SCBL at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and play three games over two days.
2017 VBL SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE SHOWCASE ROSTER
LHP: Joshua Andrews, Front Royal, Grand Canyon University
LHP: Joe Burris, Charlottesville, Christopher Newport University
RHP: Chris Farish, Harrisonburg, Wake Forest University
RHP: Davis Kirkpatrick, Harrisonburg, East Carolina University
RHP: Conner Loeprich, Waynesboro, St. Mary’s College
RHP: Deacon Medders, Staunton, University of Alabama
RHP: Nate Pawelczyk, New Market, Winthrop University
RHP: Zach Peek, Strasburg, Winthrop University
LHP: Andrew Perez, Waynesboro, University of South Florida
RHP: Keven Pimentel, New Market, University of Tampa
RHP: Daniel Rivero, Staunton, University of Miami
RHP: Evan Sperling, Charlottesville, University of Virginia
RHP: Rick Spiers, Charlottesville, Randolph-Macon College
LHP: Grant Stewart, Harrisonburg, Florida State University
RHP: Thomas Sutera, Purcellville, Siena College
RHP: Daniel Tolano, Waynesboro, Tennessee Wesleyan College
C: Tony Beam, Harrisonburg, Texas-San Antonio
C: Brandon Johnson, Charlottesville, University of Richmond
C: Jake Washer, New Market, East Carolina University
1B: Vinnie Pasquantino, Charlottesville, Old Dominion University
1B/3B: Trevin Esquerra, Purcellville, Loyola Marymount University
2B: Mike Wielansky, Charlottesville, College of Wooster
SS: Cash Gladfelter, Woodstock, Shippensburg University
SS: Antwaun Tucker, Staunton, Longwood University
3B: Brendan Venter, Harrisonburg, Auburn University
OF: Ty Andrus, Harrisonburg, Wingate University
OF: Jay Charleston, Staunton, University of Tennessee
OF: Luc Lipcius, Front Royal, University of Tennessee
OF: Brandon Quaranta, Strasburg, Philadelphia University
OF: Cody Wilson, Winchester, Florida Atlantic University
Head Coach: Bob Wease
Assistant Coaches: Butch Barnes, Brett Fuller, George Laase, Matt Williams
Share
Contributors
