All Things Valley League

Rockbridge Also Names New Coach

Completing the trifecta, as Dick Vitale would say, the Rockbridge Rapids have also named a new coach, joining the New Market Rebels and Waynesboro Generals. This story appeared on the Valley League website on September 29th.

LEXINGTON, Va. - The Rockbridge Rapids announced Tuesday that Greg Keaton has signed on to be its manager in 2010.

Keaton, currently an assistant baseball coach at the University of South Carolina-Sumter, has extensive collegiate coaching experience.

Prior to his experience at USC-Sumter, the Logan, W. Va. native DII schools West Virginia State University and Davis & Elkins College in addition to several West Virginia high schools.

Keaton graduated from both Marshall University and West Virginia Tech.

"We are really pleased to have someone like Greg on board," Rockbridge General Manager Ken Newman said.  "He has college and summer ball experience and has an extensive network with college coaches and players.  He will be able to recruit some top-quality college players and we expect the 2010 Rapids to be very competitive."

Keaton's most recent summer position was coaching for the Battle Creek (Mich.) Bombers in the Northwoods Collegiate League this past last summer.  "We were very successful in the Northwoods and it was a great experience," Keaton said. "I want to coach closer to home and this Rockbridge expansion situation is ideal for me."

Rockbridge completed its first season in the 12-team Valley League this past summer. The Rapids finished fourth in the four-team South Division with a 9-33 record.

Keaton was part of a USC-Sumter staff that led the Fireants to a 52-11 record and a JUCO Regional championship in just their second year of play.

Newman and Keaton stressed that they are especially looking for players who have something to prove and have a strong baseball work ethic. "We want kids who want to play every day and know the Valley League is a great showcase opportunity for them," Keaton said.

The Rapids' 2010 season begins on June 4th and most of the players will be selected and signed to contracts while they play fall baseball for their colleges. 

New Market Names New Coach

The following is a news release sent by Austin Gisriel of the New Market Rebels:

New Market, VA—September 29, 2009  The New Market Rebels are pleased to announce that Corey Paluga has been named Head Coach for the 2010 season.  The Head Assistant under Lucas Jones during the 2009 season, Paluga is currently the Head Assistant Coach at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken , New Jersey .

“We always attempt to hire from within the Rebel family to ensure continuity.” says New Market Rebels’ President and General Manager, Bruce Alger. “Corey brings continuity, character, and a sound baseball background to the Rebel organization.”

“When Bruce called, I was very honored and flattered that he considered me a qualified individual to handle such an important position for the organization and for the town of New Market ,” says Paluga.  “After a great experience last summer, it wasn't a tough decision to accept the position.”

Paluga, who played and coached at Lynchburg College , has already started recruiting players and hopes “to have some familiar faces back in 2010.”

“Corey is one of my closest friends in this profession, and he was a large part of our playoff run last summer.  I have nothing but confidence in him,” says Lucas Jones.

Calling it a “tough decision,” Jones declined an offer to return for 2010, citing the fact that he intends to pursue a coaching position in Division I baseball, and it would not be fair to the Rebel organization to divide his attention.

“I certainly owe the town of New Market , Bruce Alger, and the entire organization extreme gratitude for the opportunity to coach the 2009 Rebels team.  I have built positive, lifelong relationships that extend past the diamond, and I have nothing but positives as I reflect on my experiences in New Market,” says Jones.

“We wanted to bring back Lucas for the 2010 season,” notes Alger, “but we were happy to extend the offer to Corey to be our head coach, and we’re even happier that he accepted.”

Waynesboro Names New Head Coach

At the end of the 2009 Valley League season, Interim Head Coach Derek McDaniel made it clear that he would not put his hat in the ring for the head coaching position of the Waynesboro Generals.

Tuesday afternoon, Team Caretaker Jerry Carter got his man: Davis & Elkin's head coach Ronnie Palmer.

Palmer, a 1999 grad of Davis & Elkins, has been the head coach of the Senators for the past two seasons. Previously, he was the head baseball coach and Athletic Director of Salem Community College in Carneys Point, New Jersey. Coach Palmer's squad finished at 9-39 in his first season at Elkins, but improved by 15 games in season two, ending with a record of 24-31. The Division II squad has most of their players returning for year three, and have added a few more arms for this spring, so a larger improvement is expected.

Coach Palmer played at Hagerstown Community College for his freshman and sophomore seasons (1995-96), and transferred to Davis & Elkins for his junior and senior years (1997-98). The head coach of the Senators in 1997-98 was none other than former Waynesboro head coach Lawrence Nesselrodt. 

Palmer is ready for this new challenge. "I want to give the kids the best experience they can have, while making sure that the team gets involved in the Waynesboro community," he said. "Obviously, you want to win a championship, but coaching is not just about winning games." He described himself as a coach who will adapt his coaching style to whatever lineup is available, as his Senators team led the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in sacrifice hits and finished 3rd or 4th in stolen bases in 2009. His Salem team, conversely, was near the top of its league in home runs at his previous coaching stop.

The recruiting duties will be shared by former Coach Nesselrodt and new Coach Palmer, and the team is still in the process of filling out the coaching staff. Both Coach McDaniel and Coach John Cullen will continue to be involved with the Generals in the future if they wish, and Palmer hopes to have his Elkins assistant coach, Jimmy Mullins, join the staff for the summer as well.

Caretaker Carter is thrilled to have Coach Palmer on board, saying, "I am ecstatic to have someone who cares about what we're doing as much as I do, as well as someone who understands baseball both inside and outside the lines as much as Ronnie Palmer."

Richardson Sells the Bandits

In the second change of ownership in the Valley League in two years, Stu Richardson, the founder of the Woodstock River Bandits, has sold the team to Jim Yates.

Yates, who lives in Rappahannock County, will have Richardson as a consultant for the upcoming season. In another change, Jerry Walters will relinquish the general manager duties of the team to Robert "Porky" Bowman.

In a Tommy Keeler article in the Northern Virginia Daily, Richardson said, "It's been great. I like to think we took the franchise and made it into one of the better ones in the league. I really hope the town stays on board with the team and it keeps on going. New Market just celebrated their 40th year as a franchise and it would be great if Woodstock would one day be able to do the same. I think having a Valley League team is great for the community. Every small town would love to have a franchise like this."

Welcome to the league, Mr. Yates, and thank you for all you've done, Mr. Richardson!

To see the entire article, click here.

Two Exhibitions Tonight!

Tonight is your first chance to watch some Valley League action!

Both the New Market Rebels and the Waynesboro Generals have scheduled exhibitions this evening, barring rain.

The Rebels will play the RCBL New Market Shockers at 7:30 at Rebel Field, and the Generals will play the RCBL Stuarts Draft Diamond Backs at 7:00 at Fishburne Military Park at Kate Collins Field. (The RCBL is the Rockingham County Baseball League- an adult baseball league in the Valley. As a side note, ATVL played for two seasons in now-defunct Grottoes, and two for the Clover Hill Bucks.)

Come on out and support your VBL team!

Winchester Roster Available

As our second-to-last team roster posting, the Winchester Royals are available! (It's been there for quite a while now- it's just taken me some time to get to it!)

The list:

       Adam Adkins       LHP........U of Tennessee
      Jordan Ballard      IB.........................VMI
      Nate Bayuk      LHP........Boston College
      Matt Brazis      RHP.........Boston College
      Timmy Cross      OF.................W. Michigan
      Greg Desantis      3B/SS.......Long Island U
      Julian Diaz      RHP..........Long Island U
      Aaron Dudley      C/IB.................Toledo U
      David Fallon III      OF....................St.Johns
      Bryan Garcia      RHP........................FIU
       Kevin Garcia      IB/3B.........Montevallo U
      Matt Gerbe      RHP... ..........U of Michigan
       Kevin Griffin      C...................Potomac.St
      Ben Hammer      OF/LHP............Toledo U
       David Tyler Jones      C...............Long Island U
      Zach Keen      INF/OF..................Ohio U
      Robert Maddox      IB.....................Ohio U
       Jorge Marban      RHP........................FIU
      Jake Mclouth      C................U of Michigan
       Byron Mendenhall      RHP................R.Macon U
      Brett Mollenhaver      2B...................Radford U
      Gabe Ortiz      2B/SS.............Vanderbilt U
       Bobby Rauh      OF...............Daytona St.
       Stephan Rivera      RHP.................St.Johns U
      Steven Sabins      INF...................Okla. St
      Grant Simotes      SS.............W.Michigan
      Brandon Sinnery      RHP..............U of Michigan
       Davis Spiro      OF...............U of Michigan
       Brett Stackhouse      LHP..........Gardner Webb U
      Jorden Steranka      Ib/3B.................Penn St.
       Aerik Taylor      RHP..............Radford U
      Micharl Vargas      2B/OF......................FIU
      Brad Wehmeyer      3B/RHP.............W.Michigan
      Corey Williams      LHP...............Vanderbilt U
       Gary Wilson      SS................Tennessee U
      Matt Zahel      RHP...................Toledo U
      Brad Zapenas      SS.........Boston College

Returners are Jordan Ballard, Aaron Dudley, Matt Gerbe, Kevin Griffin, and Grant Simotes. The most important returner, though, is head coach John Lowery. Winchester will most likely have another excellent team!

Covington Names Head Coach

The Covington Lumberjacks have moved to replace the departed Andy Chalot with VMI assistant coach James Conrad. Conrad is a 2007 graduate of Lafayette. He played one season of professional baseball in Traverse City of the Frontier League.

Congratulations on the new gig, and welcome to the Valley League!

(Chris Graham over at the Augusta Free Press has covered the hiring as well- click here to see it!)

Haymarket Roster Available

The Haymarket Senators have released their 2009 roster!

The team is:

              Mark Andrews (Soph.)       LHP - Bryant University
              Michael Brogan (Jr.)      LHP - Appalachian State Univ
              Joe Conforti (Jr.)      OF - Wagner College
              Steve Corbett (Fr.)      RHP - So Connecticut St Univ
              Michael Demma (Jr.)      1B - Fla. Institute of Tech.
              TJ Ferguson (Fr.)      RHP - Franklin Pierce Univ.
              Colin Flaherty (Fr.)      C - VMI
              Steve Forster (Jr.)      RHP - St. John's University
              Sean Fream (Fr.)      RHP - Kennesaw State Univ.
              Sam Greenberg (Fr.)      INF - So Connecticut St Univ
              Greg Hopkins (Soph.)      3B - St. John's University
              Kevin Johnson (Jr.)      RHP - Univ of Western Florida
              Mark Kuzma (Fr.)      LHP - Lemoyne College
              Tom La Stella (Soph.)      INF - Coastal Carolina Univ.
              Andrew Lawrence (Soph.)      OF - Boston College
              Jack Leathersich (Fr.)      LHP - Univ of Mass Lowell
              Kris Mengle (Jr.)      RHP - George Mason University
              Ryan Mikalsen (Soph.)      LHP - University of Conneticut
              Wayne Miller (Jr.)      OF - Samford University
              Taylor Motter (Fr.)      SS - Coastal Carolina Univ.
              Eval Noell (So)      C - Coastal Carolina Univ
              Dallas Nunes (Fr.)      RHP - Univ of Mass Lowell
              Trevor Rutkowski (Jr.)      INF - Niagara University
              Grant Sasser (Soph)      LHP - NC State University
              Cameron Scales (Fr.)      OF - Elon Univeristy
              Zeth Stone (Fr.)      INF - Elon University
              Matt Suschak (Soph.)      RHP - Toldeo University
              Jim Vahalik (Soph.)      C - Toldeo University

The returners are Joe Conforti (one of the MVPs of the All-Star game last season), Andrew Lawrence, Grant Sasser, and Wayne Miller. Time will tell, of course, but it looks like a solid squad!

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!