2019 Regular Season Recap
The Generals put together their best regular season since the team was created in 1935. They finished with the best record in the league of 31-11. After starting the year 6-5, the Gens won 25 out of their last 31 games. They had three separate winning streaks of at least five games. Those three streaks include the last five games of the regular season that the Gens were able to win. They enter the playoffs hot at the right time.
Offensively, the Gens put up a .285 batting average with just under 100 doubles and 41 long balls. A big contributor in those categories was Wes Clarke (Forest, VA | South Carolina). Wes finished fifth in the league in hitting with a .364 batting average. He led the team in doubles with 14 and home runs with six. Other key players in getting the batting average up to that high number of .285 were Connor Norby (Kernersville, NC | East Carolina) with a .333 batting average with 4 triples and 4 homers, Jack Murphy (Orinda, CA | St. Mary’s) with a .314 batting average with 11 doubles, three home runs, and 25 RBI, and finally, Gunner Peterson (Salem, WI | Illinois St.) with a .321 batting average with three home runs. The team didn’t just sit around and wait for extra base hits either. They were able to steal 65 bases. Jackson Tate (Pike Road, AL | Alabama) stole 12 to lead the team. Kobe Lopez (Orlando, FL | Florida International) stole 11 bases to follow up Tate. Finally, Bryson Worrell (Sims, NC | East Carolina) stole eight to round out the top three. With all these extra base hits and stolen bases, it should come as no surprise that the team averaged right around eight runs per game. The top five run scorers on the team were Kobe Lopez with 37, Wes Clarke with 33, Jackson Tate with 32, Connor Norby with 31, and Jack Murphy and Joey Kinker (North Port, FL | Florida Gulf Coast) tied with 30. The people with the highest amount of runs driven in looks pretty similar to the people that have scored the most runs. Top five RBI men were Jackson Tate with 31, Wes Clarke with 29, Jack Murphy with 25, Kobe Lopez with 23, and Eli Quiceno (Berryville, VA | Gannon University) with 21. Finally, the Gens organization wants to thank our top five guys in games played. These guys brought it every night for the team and never complained once. Kobe Lopez and Joey Kinker with 40 games played, Jackson Tate and Jack Murphy with 38 games played, Wes Clarke with 37, and Ethan Cady (Soddy Daisy, TN | East Tennessee State) with 32.
Those offensive numbers were phenomenal considering the team’s pitching was so dominant. There were some nights where the pitching had to carry the load, and this team could do it with starters or a suffocating bullpen. Our top 5 pitchers for wins include Deven Judy (Belle Vernon, PA | Gannon University), Zach Kirby (Upland, CA | East Tennessee State), Zach Blankenship (Fleming Island, FL | Valdosta St), Luke Short (Los Gatos, CA | St. Mary’s), and Tyler Shuck (Cape Coral, FL | Florida Gulf Coast). The five-man tie for the team lead in wins saw them get three wins. As for the suffocating bullpen, the team picked up a total of nine saves. McLain Harris (Griffin, GA | Young Harris Col) led the team with three, Christian Edwards (Hartselle, AL | Jacksonville State) had two, and a host of players with one apiece. They include Nick Zegna (Newark, DE | George Mason), Christian Dearman (Pembroke Pines, FL | Florida International), Jan Figueroa (Trujillo Alto, PR | Florida International), and Matt Mercer (Chattanooga, TN | East Tennessee State). The team’s ERA was 3.72 and the total amount of runs given up per game sat at just 4.70. The top five players in ERA for the team were Christian Dearman with a 0.45 ERA, McLain Harris with a 0.85 ERA, Luke Short with a 2.18, Jan Figueroa with a 2.82 ERA, and Deven Judy with a 3.21. The staff was able to strike out a little over nine per game to take pressure off the defense. The top five strikeout men were McLain Harris with 31, Zach Kirby with 29, Deven Judy and Daniel Casto (Olive Branch, MS | Memphis) with 27, and Tyler Shuck and Luke Short with 26.
With the playoffs set, let’s look at how the Generals fared against the possible opponents from both divisions.
#2 Seed in the South: Charlottesville Tom Sox
The Gens were 4-2 against their rivals from just down I-64. However, the Generals won their last four decisions against the Tom Sox. The last time the Tom Sox were victorious over the Gens, it took 10 innings on June 21st. The Tom Sox scored an unearned run in the 10th to win by a score of 2-1. That moved the season series to 2-0 in favor of the Tom Sox. However, the Generals rattled off four straight wins to win the season series. That included three consecutive games for the Generals from July 4th to July 8th.
#3 Seed in the South: Covington Lumberjacks
The Gens were 5-1 against the Jacks on the season. The one victory that the Jacks had against the Gens came on June 4th. They also had a very good opportunity to win a back end of a double header vs. the Gens on July 18th, but the Gens mounted a comeback from three runs down in the top of the sixth of a seven inning game with five runs to win the game 5-4.
#4 Seed in the South: Staunton Braves
The rivalry was a bit one-sided in the regular season. The Gens won all six matchups between the two teams. The Braves had a very good chance on June 26th. The bases were empty in the ninth with two outs in the inning and they were leading by three runs at their home ball park. However, the Gens mounted a comeback that was highlighted by a game-tying 3-run homer by Joey Kinker to tie it up. The Gens would eventually win in the 10th.
#1 Seed in the North: Strasburg Express
The Gens were 3-0 against the North division’s top team. This includes the 17-4 victory in Strasburg on the final day of the regular season for the Gens to clinch the best win-loss record in team history. The other two matchups between the teams saw the Gens winning by a margin of four runs each time.
#2 Seed in the North: Woodstock River Bandits
The Gens finished 2-1 against the River Bandits this season. The two wins they had against Woodstock were both high-scoring affairs. The Gens took the first matchup 20-10 in Woodstock. They mounted a five run comeback in the ninth to tie and eventually win the game in the 11th inning in the second matchup. Finally, the River Bandits came up with a victory against the Gens in Woodstock.
#3 Seed in the North: New Market Rebels
The Gens lost the season series 2-1 to the Rebels this season. The Rebels were only one of two teams in the entire Valley League that had a winning record vs the Generals. The Gens took the opening game in New Market on June 6th by a score of 13-5. But The Rebels swept a double header at Kate Collins Field on June 16th. The Rebels took both games by one run. The first game finished at 5-4 and the second finished at 2-1.
#4 Seed in the North: Winchester Royals
The Winchester Royals were the other of the two teams that had winning records vs. the Gens this summer. The first matchup on June 27th saw the Gens pick up their one win over Winchester with a 10-6 score. A go-ahead 3-run homer by Ethan Cady in the bottom of the 5th would prove to be the game-winner. However, the Royals took the next two games of the series. The first was at Waynesboro that they connected on a couple homers to win 9-6. The other was in Winchester when they shut out the Gens 4-0. That marked the only time the Gens were shutout on the season.
Now that the scene is set, it’s time to enjoy some playoff baseball in the Valley League! Game One of the first series against the Staunton Braves is Sunday, July 28th, at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field at 7 PM. The Gens are looking for their 7th VBL Championship and first since 2014.
Gens Take Advantage of 17 Free Passes to Route Cardinals
In a game that the Front Royal pitching staff gave up 12 walks and 5 hit batsmen, the Generals put up 19 runs to win the season series over the Front Royal Cardinals.
Front Royal got on the scoreboard first with a run in the very first frame. After the first batter of the game was retired, the Cards put two on with a walk and an error. Dylan Menhennett brought one of the runners in with a two out double to put Front Royal on top 1-0.
The Gens would respond with three runs in the bottom of the second and wouldn’t surrender the lead the rest of the night. The rally started with a one out walk to Gunner Peterson (Illinois State). After Peterson stole second, Brad Burckel (Houston) doubled into the left centerfield gap to bring in Peterson to tie the game at one. The very next pitch, Connor Norby (East Carolina) unloaded on his first homer of the summer to put the Gens out in front by two.
Luke Short (St. Mary’s) pitched out of his long relief role and flourished once again. He held the Cards at bay over his four innings of work. He allowed just one hit and one unearned run in his time on the mound. He scattered four strikeouts in as many innings. This helped Luke pick up his second win of the season to move his personal record to two wins and no losses.
The bottom of the third is when the game finally broke open for Waynesboro. The first five batters of the inning were either walked or hit by a pitch. Eli Quiceno (Gannon U) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in a run, and Gunner Peterson followed with a walk to bring in another run. Jackson Tate (Alabama) hit into a fielder’s choice to pick up the third run of the inning. Brad Burckel would be responsible for the last three runs brought in with his triple to right center for two more RBI and later scoring on a wild pitch. After three innings, the Gens led 9-1.
A third consecutive inning saw the Generals scoring runs. In the fourth, Waynesboro was able to tack on two more runs. Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) continued his hot hitting with a single to right. Wes Clarke (South Carolina) followed with a double to send Jack to third. Eli Quiceno came up with an infield single to bring in Murphy, but the throw to first was as wild as it was late. This allowed Clarke to score from second. The score after four innings was 11-1 in favor of Waynesboro.
The Cards would take advantage of an error with two outs in the fifth to score another run. After the error, Matt Cooper drove in a run with a double. This brought the score to 11-2 after five complete innings. However, the Gens would score eight runs over their final three frames to make things a bit ugly.
In the sixth, the Cards would load the bases with walks and hit by pitches. Jackson Greene (Florida State) ripped a single to right to drive in two runs and put runners at the corners. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) drove in a run next with a fly ball to centerfield that the center fielder dropped. After a walk to Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) loaded the bases, an RBI walk was dished out to Santiago Garcia (Alabama State) to make the score 15-2.
In the seventh, the Gens added three more. Jackson Tate led things off with his team-leading fourth home run. Brad Burckel followed the homer with his third hit of the night. After the two hits, the Cards went back to dishing out free bases. Norby was hit by a pitch, Greene was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Worrell brought in a run with a bases loaded walk. A double play ball brought in another run but the inning ended directly after with a strikeout.
The Cards tried to make things close in the top of the eighth with five runs in the frame, but the score was still 18-7. The Generals added another run in the bottom of the eighth to bring the score to its final place of 19-7. The run in the eighth was courtesy of Jackson Tate once again. He tripled down the line in right. The throw from the cutoff man was a high one that got out of play. That allowed Tate to come home for the score.
Key Performers for Front Royal:
Trey Fields: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Tre Dabney: 1-4, 3B, R
Dylan Menhennett: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Jose Hernandez: 2-3, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Brad Burckel (Houston): 3-4, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 4 R
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 2-5, HR (4), 3B, 2 RBI, 4 R
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, 3 R
Luke Short (St. Mary’s): W (2-0), 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
The Generals (17-8) are back in action on July 4th when they play the first of three straight games with the second place Charlottesville Tom Sox. First pitch at C-Ville Weekly Ballpark is set for 5 pm.
Home Runs Help Gens To Their 6th Straight Win
Ethan Cady and Wes Clarke each hit their team-leading third home run of the year to help the Gens take down the Staunton Braves on the road Saturday night.
Staunton jumped out to a one run lead in the bottom of the first. A walk and a hit-by-pitch with one out in the inning set the stage for Devon Moore to hit a single up the middle that scored the runner from second. They would hold the lead for a half inning before relinquishing it for the rest of the game.
The Gens responded with a vengeance in the top of the second. After retiring the first two hitters of the inning, things got started with a single to left by Jackson Tate (Alabama). The next batter was Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State). He would fall behind in the count, 0-2. However, the next pitch was over the heart of the plate and Ethan didn’t miss it. He cranked a high fly ball that banged off the sponsorship wall above the out field wall in John Moxie Stadium for his third home run of the season. This put Ethan alone for the team lead in homers over a number of players that had hit two. It put the Gens up 2-1, but the weren’t finished yet. Jackson Greene (Florida State) singled after the homer and moved to second on a walk to Connor Norby (East Carolina). Kobe Lopez (Florida International) came up with another single that drove in Greene, but when the centerfielder whiffed the ball, Norby came all the way around to score. The score after the top of the second was 4-1 in favor of the Gens.
The Gens wouldn’t wait long to score again. After starter Deven Judy (Gannon U) worked out of a bit of a jam in the bottom of the second, Eli Quiceno (Gannon U) hit the first of his two doubles to get things off and running in the third. The very next batter was Wes Clarke (South Carolina). He hit an absolute no doubter to left center field to continue the fireworks. That was his third of the season, which tied himself with Cady once again. Cady had held the team lead in homers for a total of one inning. The score was now 6-1.
The fourth inning would make the third consecutive inning that the Gens scored. Again, they would do their damage after the first two hitters of the inning were retired. A two-out single by Joey Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) brought up Eli Quiceno. Eli put a charge into one that had the crowd thinking it was a third consecutive inning with a homer for Waynesboro. Instead, the ball banged off the wall and Eli was able to pull into second base with an RBI double. The score after the top of the fourth was 7-1.
The Braves would mount a bit of a comeback with three unanswered runs. They scored one in the fourth and two in the seventh. In the fourth, a walk and two singles loaded the bases for Staunton with one out in the inning. A ground out would score a run and put runners at second and third, but Judy escaped further damage. Judy also got into a bases loaded jam in the fifth, but a couple of strikeouts got him out of the inning and finished his night after five innings. In the seventh, the inning got started with an error on the Waynesboro third baseman. A single by Logan Worley put runners at first and second. Duncan Pastore ripped a double past the diving third baseman to bring in the runner from second. A sacrifice fly by Jacob Selden brought in another run but really settled in Luke Short (St. Mary’s). Luke had already pitched a clean 6th before having just a little trouble in the sixth. After the sacrifice fly gave Waynesboro their first out, Short proceeded to strikeout two more batters to finish the inning. He was able to punch out four in just two innings. The score after seven complete innings had the Gens on top by three, 7-4.
The Generals were able to add some insurance runs in the top of the ninth to put things out of reach for the Braves. But just before that in the bottom of the eighth, Christian Edwards (Jacksonville State) put up an immaculate inning. He threw 9 pitches, 9 strikes, and recorded 3 punch outs. The craziest part of the immaculate inning was that Edwards threw only fastballs. He was bringing the gas and Staunton couldn’t catch up with it. He also went on to strikeout three more in his second inning of work to pick up his first save of the season. Jackson Tate was hit by at pitch and made Staunton pay for it. He stole second and then third all within a matter of four pitches. With a drawn in infield, Jackson Greene hit a chopper to the shortstop. The shortstop tried to throw out Tate at home, but was late in doing so. An RBI fielder’s choice for Jackson Greene put the first run of the inning on the board. Connor Norby got hit by a pitch and Kobe Lopez walked to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed the other runner to come in to put the score at 9-4. That score ended up being the final as the Gens won their sixth in a row and also moved their record vs the Staunton Braves to 4-0 on the season.
Key Performers for Staunton:
Logan Worley: 2-5, R
Duncan Pastore: 1-4, 2B, RBI
Mitchell Guerrieri: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State): 2-4, 3B, HR (3), 2 RBI, R
Elijah Quiceno (Gannon University): 2-6, 2 2B, RBI, R
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 1-3, HR (3), 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
Deven Judy (Gannon University): W (1-0), 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
Christian Edwards (Jacksonville State): SV (1), 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (First Inning- “Immaculate Inning”)
The Generals (15-7) will be back in action on the road on Sunday night. They’ll travel to Woodstock to take on the River Bandits. The two games with Woodstock have both lasted over four hours, had at least 32 combined hits, and at least 29 combined runs. So Sunday night promises to be a fireworks display a little bit before July. First pitch is set for 7 pm.
Gens Bounce Back Against Front Royal
After only scoring two runs in their last 19 innings of play, the Generals responded with 10 runs and a victory on the road over the Front Royal Cardinals at Bing Crosby Stadium.
The Gens jumped out to an early lead with four runs in the second inning. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) battled his way on first with a lead off walk. Two batters later Jackson Tate (Alabama) sent a 1-0 pitch over the scoreboard in left center field with an absolute moonshot. It was high enough and long enough for Jackson’s second homer of the summer. Waynesboro wasn’t done there. Santiago Garcia (Alabama State) was hit with the very next pitch. After being moved to second base on a ground out, Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) joined Garcia on base by drawing a walk. This brought Seth Cannady (Florida International) to the plate. He drilled a single to left field in a situation that looked like would load the bases. However, the ball was hit so hard that it caromed off the left fielder to allow Garcia to score, Proffitt to go to third, and Cannady to motor in to second base. Proffitt scored a few pitches later on a wild pitch to put the fourth run of the inning on the board for the Generals. Going to the bottom of the second, the Generals led 4-0.
The Cardinals would respond right away. Tre Dabney was hit with the very first pitch of the inning to make his way down to first. After a wild pitch moved him to second, he would come around to score on a swinging bunt and a subsequent error by the Generals pitcher. It also allowed the hitter Baggett to get all the way to third base. Baggett then scored on a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 4-2. After a two out walk, the Cardinals scored again on a double by Mason Nadeau. The score after two complete innings was 4-3 in favor of the Generals.
In the third inning, the Generals would get things started off of an error made by the Cardinals third baseman with one out in the inning. After a strikeout, back-to-back walks to Santiago Garcia and Connor Norby (East Carolina) loaded the bases with two outs. Christian Proffitt drove in a run the easy way by drawing a bases loaded walk. The score after 3 complete innings had the Gens on top 5-3.
A stellar relief appearance by Luke Short (St. Mary’s) kept the Cardinals at bay and allowed the Gens to open up their lead a bit. Short picked up his first win of the summer by going four innings, scattering two hits and two walks, and also picking up six strikeouts. The score was 4-3 when he came in. When he left, the score was 10-3.
In the sixth, Wes Clarke (South Carolina) was hit with a pitch to put a runner on first base with two outs in the inning. Wes moved to second base thanks to some awesome base running decisions. He read a ball in the dirt and took off for second immediately to allow himself to slide in safely at second base. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) drilled a single to center to drive in Clarke. The score after six complete read Waynesboro 6- Cardinals 3.
In the seventh, the Gens broke it open a bit with four more runs. Jackson Tate worked his way on with a walk. Santiago Garcia then sent one to the warning track for what should have been ruled a hit. Unfortunately for Santi, they ruled it an error on the left fielder. Runners ended up at the corners with nobody out. Connor Norby delivered a sharply hit single to centerfield to allow Jackson Tate to score. Once reaching second base, Garcia was pinch run for by Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s). On a single by Christian Proffitt, Murphy was thrown out trying to score for out number one. After a fly out gave the Cardinals their second out, Christian Proffitt stole second base. He, along with Connor Norby, was brought in on the very next pitch by Wes Clarke. Clarke moved in to second base on the throw that tried to get Proffitt at the plate. Clarke moved up to third on a wild pitch. That made it a little easier to score on Kobe Lopez’s second RBI single of the night. That got the score to 10-3.
The Cards would get a rally going in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings to make things a bit interesting. They scored 3 runs in the final two frames, but Alex Tyson (Valdosta State) would come in to clean up the mess. The final score was 10-6.
Key Performers for Front Royal:
David Willis: 2-4, HR
Phineas Pratt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Peter Schuldt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Kobe Lopez (Florida International): 2-6, 2 RBI
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 R
Luke Short (St. Mary’s): W (1-0), 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast): 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI
The Generals (10-7) will be back in action on Monday night in a make-up game with the Covington Lumberjacks. The Generals will play their third game in a row on the road. First pitch is set for 7 pm at Casey Field.
Pair of Gaels Heading to Waynesboro
Waynesboro, Virginia
Saint Mary’s College will continue their long partnership with the Waynesboro Generals this summer when they send two more Gaels across country for some Valley League Baseball action. Saint Mary’s is located in Moraga, California and athletically, they compete in the West Coast Conference. The partnership has been a prosperous one for both sides, as summer ball has helped players with their development as well as helping the Generals win games. Names like Conner Loeprich, Patrick O’Shea and Nathan Schneider are names that come to mind. This year Waynesboro will welcome in Jack Murphy and Luke Short.
Jack Murphy – Outfielder
Jack Murphy is the 6’2 195 pound sophomore from Alamo, California. He is a graduate of Monte Vista High School. Jack comes to Waynesboro after playing in the West Coast League last year for the Portland Pickles, who finished with a league-best 37-17 record. Jack will look to bring his winning ways to Virginia this summer. When he comes, he’ll be looking to build on what has been a solid year. After only receiving 20 at-bats in his freshman campaign, Jack has hit .350 in his 60 at-bats this season. He’s mixed in five doubles, 11 RBI and 10 runs over that span. Welcome to Waynesboro, Jack Murphy!
Luke Short – Left-Handed Pitcher
Luke Short is the 6-0 180 pound freshman from Los Gatos, California and Los Gatos High School. Luke will be chomping at the bit for some game action as he red-shirted in his true freshman year this year. The left-hander was ranked the 34th best pitcher in the very large state of California by PerfectGame. Before arriving at Saint Mary’s, Luke played most recently for Aggies Baseball Upperclass. Scouting reports on Luke all talk about his loose arm action, athletic delivery, and his effectiveness on both right-handed and left-handed hitters. Luke will look to get himself into great shape to make the most of his collegiate career with a good summer with the Generals. Welcome to Waynesboro, Luke Short!
