All Things Valley League

Koshansky, Cherry on the Move

Two former Valley Leaguers who have played in the major leagues, Joe Koshansky (Staunton 02-03) and Rocky Cherry (Harrisonburg 01), found themselves on the move this week.

First of all, Koshansky, who was even named the Rockies' #29 prospect by Baseball America, was cut loose by Colorado, only to be snapped up on waivers by the Texas Rangers. He was assigned to minor league camp. Joe has done nothing but hit at the minor league level, putting up 286/369/541 numbers in 5 seasons, with 146 doubles, 133 home runs, and 487 RBI. He has batted 50 times at the major league level.

Secondly, Rocky (who has one of the best names ever) signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox after being released by the New York Mets. Cherry has gone 19-14, 3.74, with 9 saves, a 1.27 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9 and 8.4 K/9 in 6 minor league seasons (and 361 innings). He's pitched 48 1/3 innings in the majors, going 1-4, 5.77, with 1 save and a 1.66 WHIP.

Congrats to both for landing on their feet... I imagine we haven't heard the last of them at the major league level!

Waynesboro Roster Available

In continuing the series on available rosters, Waynesboro is up next.

Waynesboro does not have as many returners as some other teams, like Luray and Fauquier, but the squad looks strong nonetheless.

Returners, and 2008 stats, are:

• Ryan Adams, 1B/P, from Elon: 264/437/336 in 135 at-bats

• Mark Dvoroznak, OF, from West Virginia: 300/406/329 in 140 at-bats

• Chris Enourato, OF/P, from West Virginia: 248/352/295 in 105 at-bats; 0-0, 2.77, in 13 innings

• Kaleb Fleck, P, from Pitt-Johnstown: 1-2, 1.80, with 2 saves, 31 K's in 25 innings. ATVL named Kaleb the #8 reliever in the league.

• Rhett Stafford, OF/C, from Marshall: 217/308/377 in 69 at-bats

The team also has four players coming from Auburn, and multiples from Kent State, Belmont, Central Florida... of course, the rosters will change dramatically before the season...

Luray Roster Available

By the looks of things, this doesn't bode well for the rest of the Valley League.

Why? The Luray Wranglers, fresh off their second Valley League championship in three years, are returning many crucial pieces of their championship squad from a year ago.

The returners, plus 2008 stats, are:

• Andrew Armstrong, LHP, from Ohio State (via Turner Ashby): 4-0, 4.54, 37 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings

• Jeff Jefferson, OF, from Liberty: 307/365/490 in 192 at-bats. ATVL named Jeff the #11 hitter in the league in '08.

•  Cory Johnson, C, from Warner Southern: 215/282/374 in 107 at-bats

• Alex Koronis, RHP, from Tampa (via Miami): 4-1, 3.03, 46 K's in 32 2/3 innings

• CJ Lauriello, Inf, from Bethune-Cookman: 284/372/385 in 109 at-bats

• Drew Rucinski, RHP, from Ohio State: 5-1, 1.13, 59 K's in 55 2/3 innings. ATVL named Drew the #1 starting pitcher in the league in '08!

• AJ Wirnsberger, 3B, from Georgia Southern: 379/438/586 in 29 at-bats

• Josh Wright, IF, from Old Dominion: 232/323/293 in 82 at-bats

Additionally, Tyler Truxell, a lefty from William & Mary is on the roster. Tyler pitched for the Staunton Braves in both 2007 and 2008.

Two other interesting names (not that they aren't ALL interesting, of course):

• Daniel Bowman, OF, from Coastal Carolina: Daniel is a Turner Ashby grad.

• Tyler Bream, 3B, from Liberty: Tyler's dad is none other than Sid. Yeah, that Sid Bream. (Do you instantly have the image pop into your head of the slide into home, just ahead of Barry Bonds' throw?)

This, folks, looks like a tough team. Of course, some of these players might be drafted or chase other opportunities, but right now Luray looks stacked!

Checking in with the Oklahoma City Stars

Owner/Coach Bob Wease and the Harrisonburg Turks have a direct pipeline to Oklahoma City's program. They have had many players from OKC over the past few years play in the 'Burg.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a team dominate like Oklahoma City does year after year- if you don't believe me, check out their stats page.

Anyway, through 33 games, the Stars are 30-3. As a team, they're hitting 379/473/708, with a team ERA of 2.76, with 305 strikeouts in 251 innings. Now that's dominance.

Anyway, here is how a few former Turks are doing so far:

• Sammy Lee (07): 427/524/667 in 117 at-bats, with a 20/15 BB/K ratio

• BJ Wheeler (07-08): 418/511/836 in 110 at-bats, with a 18/22 BB/K ratio

• Landon Camp (08): 325/403/570 in 114 at-bats, with a 13/23 BB/K ratio

• David Mann (08): 301/398/544 in 103 at-bats, with a 16/30 BB/K ratio

• Garrett Parker (07-08): 4-0, 3.00, with a 0.93 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9, and 12.0 K/9 in 42 innings

• Ashur Tolliver (07): 6-1, 3.14, with a 1.07 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, and 9.6 K/9 in 43 innings

Will the major leagues come calling?

#6 Reliever: Shawn Griffith, Fauquier

Back on the horse, so to speak.

Our #6 reliever was the last arm out of the bullpen in Fauquier- George Mason's Shawn Griffith.

Griffith, while leading the league with 13 saves, was tough to hit all year. He ended up 2-0, 1.77, with a 0.985 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9, 11.9 K/9, and .160 opponent's batting average in 20 1/3 innings. The 27 strikeouts in those 20 1/3 innings looks particularly strong.

Shawn spent his first two college seasons at St. Petersburg College, where statistics were unavailable. For his junior year, he transferred to George Mason, where he went 2-1, 6.06, with a 1.26 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9, and 8.3 K/9 in 35 2/3 innings. (That ERA is awfully high for such a low WHIP- that would indicate that he pitched much better than that ERA suggests. Looks like some bad luck!)

This year, Shawn is off to an excellent start back at Mason. He's 1-0, 1.89, with a 1.42 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, and 9.5 K/9 in 19 innings.

Well done, Shawn!

More Kipps Family Travels

Anna Kipps is an uber-New Market Rebels, and baseball in general, fan. She sent me the following report of a game she attended over the weekend. I'll have to speak to Anna about these chocolate chip cookies... JLL

So, on this lovely Saturday, my siblings Lizzy and Andrew and I decided to drive down to Lynchburg to catch a double header of the Lynchburg College Hornets vs. The Randolph Macon College Yellow Jackets.  It really was a great day for baseball.  The temperature was in the 50s, but the sun was bright and warm.

The games were very entertaining.  The first game was 7 innings, and Lynchburg shut out Randolph Macon 7-0.  The game was only about 1 hour and 20 minutes long!  The second game was more competitive, and I thought the Yellow Jackets would have a chance, but Lynchburg again pulled out the win with a score of 8-3.

Our reasons for going to the game, besides of course to enjoy some baseball, was to check out the new coaches for the 2009 New Market Rebels.  Lucas Jones, the assistant coach for Randolph Macon, is going to be the head coach, while Corey Paluga, the assistant for Lynchburg, is going to be the assistant coach for New Market this year.   We also had the added benefit of getting to see the former Rebel catcher Ryan Litz (who went 2-3 for Lynchburg in game 2!) and the 2002 championship-winning Rebel head coach Ray Hedrick, who is now the head coach at Randolph Macon.

After the game we enjoyed saying "hi" to Coach Hedrick, who surprisingly remembered us.  We also got to chat with Lucas Jones and Corey Paluga.  They are both looking forward to spending the summer in New Market.  Some of their anticipation might be due to the fact that they'll get to eat lots of my chocolate chip cookies once they get here, but I think they're also excited to get in and coach some baseball and to learn what its like to be a part of the Rebel family! 

Ryan Litz at bat


Corey Paluga coaching first


Lucas Jones on the field


A bee who was sitting next to us while watching the game. We couldn't decide if it was rooting for the yellow jackets or the hornets!

- Anna Kipps

Valley League Day at EMU

On a wonderfully warm and sunny Wednesday of last week, I was able to attend a few innings of Randolph Macon's game at Eastern Mennonite University. This was significant because of a few of the participants' connection with our beloved Valley League. Some pictures:

    Former Waynesboro General (08) Greg Meleski


Mark Mace, the very first Rockbridge Rapids coach, and current EMU coach


Lucas Jones, the incoming New Market Rebels coach


One last one of Meleski, left, with teammate Kevin Davis

Crimmel Shuts Down St. Peter's

A few days ago, former Valley Leaguer Kevin Crimmel (Front Royal 07-08) pitched an excellent game against St. Peter's. The Villanova Wildcat threw 7 innings, allowing only 3 hits, 1 run (earned), 1 walk, and striking out 3.

The 6-2 lefty ran his record to 2-1, 3.86, with 18 strikeouts in 21 innings. Well done, Kevin!

(As a side note, former Woodstock River Bandit Josh Eidell is also throwing well for the Wildcats: he's 0-0, 1.23, with 1 save and 8 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.)

Wimmers Named National Player of the Week

On March 13, Alex Wimmers (Luray 08) took the mound against Pitt in West Palm Beach, Florida. He ended up throwing a game that was not unlike his dominating performance against Covington in the 2008 Valley League Finals, as he went the distance, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs (earned), 2 walks, and striking out a whopping 16 batters. Ohio State won the game easily, 20-3.

Three days later, Wimmers was named the Louisville Slugger Player of the Week for the performance.

On the year, Alex is 3-0, 2.52, with a 1.44 WHIP, 4.7 BB/9, and 11.9 K/9. Congratulations, Alex!

To see ATVL's writeup on Alex's summer league season, click here.

Nidiffer on a Tear

I am convinced that the Valley League helps develop players. This may seem like an obvious statement, but not everyone has good numbers or even a positive experience. (Of course, it would be impossible for the league to be all things for all players.)

Marcus Nidiffer, as a freshman at Kentucky, received 6 at-bats. As a sophomore, he hit 216/280/405 in 116 at-bats. Then, the Valley. For Covington in 2008, he hit 305/440/649 with 13 home runs in 131 at-bats. So would Marcus carry over his success from the Lumberjacks back to the Wildcats?

Early indications would be a resounding yes. So far back in school, Marcus is hitting 420/508/680 in 50 at-bats. He's also controlling the strike zone better, as he has a 9/10 BB/K ratio.

It could be any number of factors that have enabled Marcus to take off like this. It could be maturity, a better weight training program, more sleep, maybe even an easier schedule (not likely- they've played LSU three times). Or, it could be a summer of sustained success swinging a wooden bat.

Keep it up, Marcus!