Friday is get-down-to-business time for the Waynesboro Generals, who open their season on the road at Rockbridge. Thursday was a break from the preparations for the 2011 Valley League season for several members of the team who helped Wenonah Elementary School with its annual Field Day.

“We’re just playing around with the kids, just having a good time,” said Michael Davis, a catcher from Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn. (more…)

Story by Jenny Hypes
jenny.hypes@emu.edu

Wednesday was Lunch with the Generals Day at the newest, busiest restaurant in town, Chick-fil-A.

Fans showed up to get their baseballs signed and to take pictures with the Waynesboro Generals. 

First-year player Jon Clinard of Austin Peay was among the Generals out for the event.

“This is our first time coming out to meet the fans,” said Clinard, an infielder who is hitting .240 with 17 RBI in 33 games. “Waynesboro is great, the community is very welcoming and supportive. They have treated us well.”

Clinard has been with the team all season. Jarryd Summers, a pitcher from West Virginia University, has been with the team for about two and a half weeks.

“I was planning to take the summer off, but then I got a call from the coach and decided to come on down and play,” said Summers, who is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, for Waynesboro this summer.

Summers was not the only new team member out at the Chick-fil-A today. Catcher Haskell Fink has been with the team for about three weeks now.

“I decided to come after I got the call because I knew it was a good league,” said Fink, another Austin Peay product who is hitting .250 in six games played this summer.

Bethany Shelton, head of PR at the local Chick-fil-A, was there to see how it all unfolded.

“We saw Harrisonburg Chick-fil-A do it with their team the Turks, and we saw how fun it was. The boys just really enjoyed it, and it brought a good crowd, so we thought we would do the same,” Shelton said.

Shelton would like to make the Lunch with the Generals Day into an annual event.

“It’s a good way to advertise for not only us, but them also. Like today they have a game, so meeting the fans this afternoon is a good way to let them know about the game this evening,” Shelton said.

Trio share book, experiences with students at Berkeley Glenn

Story by Jenny Hypes
jenny.hypes@emu.edu
 

Never give up when things get rough. That was the moral of the story in the book Wilma Unlimited, read by three members of the Waynesboro Generals baseball team to a group of fourth- and fifth-grade students at Berkeley Glenn Elementary School.

The players, who are being hosted by the Brian and Diane Lundstrom family, came in bright and early Thursday morning to read and talk to the students. The story that they shared was about Wilma Rudolph, who was a three-time gold medalist in track, born prematurely and stricken with polio at a young age.

Coming in and reading to the children is not something the guys had to do, Mark Lamm, a junior at Vanderbilt, said.

“It’s a good cause. This was a good story, and it gives these kids a chance to hear it from someone else other than their teacher. We thought it would be good to do something to give back,” Lamm said.

After the book was read, the students had a short discussion about the meaning of the book. When giving other examples about rough times and not giving up, Diane Lundstrom, a teacher at BGES, turned to the Generals and said, “I’m sure these boys have had a hard game every now and then.”

Michael Reed, a sophomore at LSU, replied, “Story of my life!”

Following that discussion, the children were given an opportunity to ask the Generals questions about baseball, the main one being, “How fast do you pitch? Lamm answered, “We all pitch right around 90 mph, which is faster than most people drive.”

A look of astonishment came across the children’s faces as they tried to think of something else to ask.

To show their appreciation for the players coming in and talking to them, each of the children made a card, complete with a picture of a flaming baseball, for the Generals. In return the men gave a little more of their time to answer some more questions about baseball and sign the hats, bats and baseballs the kids had brought in. They also awarded all nine children with passes to get into any General game for free.

Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
 

The Waynesboro Generals have made contributions to the high-school baseball programs at Waynesboro, Wilson Memorial and Stuarts Draft as part of an ongoing commitment to benefit local youth baseball.

“When we bought the Generals, we wanted to be a community-oriented-type venture,” said Dave Gauldin, who purchased the team with Jim Critzer earlier this year, at an event at Waynesboro High School where the Generals owners presented a check for $500 to Mel Morris, the school’s athletics director.

The team has also contributed $500 each to the baseball programs at SDHS and WMHS.