Generals Announce 2022 Coaching Staff
The Waynesboro Generals are welcoming back the 2019 Maynard “Mo” Weber Manager of the Year, Zac Cole, for his third season as the head coach in Waynesboro. Cole returns coming off of a 2021 campaign that saw the Generals come up just one series shy of a VBL title.
Cole is a familiar face around the league as he coached the New Market Rebels including a championship run in his third and final year at the helm in 2018. Outside of coaching Cole also played for the Generals during the 2004 season.
Cole is currently the pitching coach at the College of Central Florida in his second season for the Patriots.
Making the trip from the College of Central Florida with Cole will be Jason Rose. Rose is currently the hitting coach for the Patriots in his first season with the program.
Prior to working with the Patriots, Rose spent time working in the Toronto Blue Jays organization including serving as the Video Associate for the Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons in 2019.
Brandon Matthews will also be joining the coaching staff for the 2022 campaign. Matthews returns to Waynesboro after spending the 2019 season as a hitting consultant for the team. He also was on the coaching staff along with Cole for the Rebels 2018 VBL Championship run.
Matthews currently operates Swing Angry LLC which he started in 2017 that is currently located in Aulander, NC.
Justin Barr will join the coaching staff for the 2022 season. Barr is currently attending the University of Akron and is an infielder for the Zips.
Before transferring to Akron, Barr attended Andrew College in Cuthbert, Georgia. While there Barr played under Zac Cole.
The final member of the 2022 coaching staff is Brady Jones. Jones returns to Waynesboro after playing for the Generals last season as a relief pitcher. Jones currently attends East Tennessee State University. The Woodstock, Georgia native is set to graduate with a degree in kinesiology.
The Generals will open the 2022 campaign at home as they host the Staunton Braves on Friday, June 3 at 7 p.m.
Kentucky Wildcats Roar Into Waynesboro
Waynesboro, Virginia
Three Kentucky Wildcats will be roaring into Waynesboro, Virginia this summer. The SEC-member school will be sending right-handed pitcher Wyatt Hudepohl, right-handed pitcher Seth Logue and infielder Jace Felker.
Wyatt Hudepohl – Right-Handed Pitcher
A native of Mason, Ohio, the 6’4 220-pound freshman came to Kentucky as a highly-touted recruit. Hudepohl was ranked the 166th best incoming freshman by Perfect Game and the 2nd best overall prospect in the state of Ohio. Upon completion of the 2021 season, Hudepohl threw 20.2 innings for the Wildcats with a 5.23 ERA while striking out 11.
Seth Logue – Right-Handed Pitcher
A native of Mason, Ohio, the 6’1 185-pound freshman came to Kentucky as a highly-touted recruit. Logue was ranked the 473rd best incoming freshman by Perfect Game and the 7th best overall prospect in the state of Ohio. Upon completion of the 2021 season, Logue threw 14.0 innings for the Wildcats with a 6.43 ERA while striking out 24.
Jace Felker – Infielder
A native of Princeton, Kentucky, the 6’2 185-pound sophomore will be heading to the University of Kentucky way of Rend Lake College in the fall of 2021. Felker just completed an impressive sophomore campaign at Rend Lake where he hit .414 on the season with 9 doubles, 3 triples, 10 home runs and 55 RBI’s.
Pasco-Hernando State Leaders Join Generals
Waynesboro, Virginia
Three leaders of the Pasco-Hernando State College Bobcats will make the trek to Waynesboro, Virginia this summer. Those players will be infielder Jackson Ross, outfielder Kyle Murphy and right-handed pitcher Justin Stewart.
Jackson Ross – Infielder
A native of Lakeland, Florida, the 6’1 205-pound sophomore just finished an impressive season at Pasco-Hernando State College and will now head to Florida Atlantic University next fall. Ross finished the season with a .346 batting average, 16 doubles, 5 triples, 9 home runs and 59 RBI’s while going a perfect 17 of 17 on stolen bases.
Kyle Murphy – Outfielder
A native of New Port Richey, Florida, the 6’1 210-pound freshman lit up the stat sheet for the Bobcats this spring. Murphy finished with a .341 batting average, 18 doubles, 4 triples, 11 home runs and 56 RBI’s with an astonishing 41 stolen bases in 47 attempts for the Bobcats.
Justin Stewart – Right-Handed Pitcher
A native of Bartow, Florida, the 6’2 225-pound sophomore came to Pasco-Hernando State College after time at the University of South Florida and the College of Central Florida. Stewart plans to attend Southeastern University next fall after throwing 63.1 innings for the Bobcats this spring. Stewart finished with a 5.54 ERA, 5-3 record and 72 strikeouts over 16 appearances and 12 starts.
Trio of Eagles Heading to Waynesboro
Waynesboro, Virginia
Three Florida Gulf Coast Eagles will be making their way from sunny Fort Myers, Florida to Waynesboro, Virginia this summer. Those Eagles will be corner-infielder Alejandro Figueredo, outfielder/left-handed pitcher Stephen Wilmer and left-handed pitcher Mason Miller.
Alejandro Figueredo – Corner-Infielder
A native of Sucre, Venezuela, the 6’3 225-pound sophomore came to Florida Gulf Coast way of Seminole State College where he appeared in all but one of the teams 26 games where he batted a team best .402 with a team-high 14 doubles, five home runs and 31 RBI’s. Figueredo finished the 2021 season with FGCU with a .260 batting average, 6 doubles, 5 homers and 26 RBI’s.
Stephen Wilmer – Outfielder/Left-Handed Pitcher
A native of Sarasota, Florida, the 5’9 200-pound sophomore came to Florida Gulf Coast way of Pasco-Hernando State College where he started in all 27 of the team’s games, while batting .423 with 9 doubles, a triple, 4 homers, 31 RBI’s, 44 hits and a team-high 32 runs in 2020. Wilmer finished the 2021 season with FGCU second on the team in hitting, cranking out a .326 average with 11 doubles, a triple, 6 homers, 24 RBIs & 35 runs scored.
Mason Miller – Left-Handed Pitcher
A native of Odessa, Florida, the 6’3 205-pound freshman came to Florida Gulf Coast after being named one of the Class of 2020’s Top Impact Players by Perfect Game. Miller was also ranked the 36th overall best player in the 2020 class in Florida by Prep Baseball Report, the sixth-ranked pitcher in the state in the class of 2020, the 21st-best pitcher in the country in the 2020 class and the 193rd overall player in the country. Upon completion of the 2021 season, Miller made 12 appearances with 4 starts while limiting opponents to a .216 batting average with 17 strikeouts over 22 innings pitched.
Clarke Homers and Gens Win 6-1
The Generals’ offense was relentless in their 6-1 win over the Turks on Saturday night. They scored in five of their nine offensive frames with nine hits.
Scoring started in the second inning for the Gens. They loaded the bases thanks to a hit-by-pitch, a walk, and a Seth Cannady (Florida International) single. Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring in Santiago Garcia (Alabama St) for the first run of the game. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) kept the line moving with his RBI single to bring in Wes Clarke (South Carolina) to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Generals.
The Gens would get back on the scoreboard in the 4th when Wes Clarke hit his first homer of the season on the second pitch of the inning. He blistered the ball over the right-center field wall for the first home run hit by a General this season.
In the 5th, the Generals would get on the board again. Elijah Quiceno (Gannon U) drilled a one-out double and was brought in on the very next pitch. Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) singled to put the Gens up 4-0.
The 6th inning got off to a slow start with the first two batters being retired, but when Christian Proffitt drew a two-out walk, the Gens would put together a nice two out rally. Kobe Lopez would follow up with his second single of the night, Joe Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) would load the bases with a walk, and Elijah Quiceno drew a bases loaded walk to bring in Proffitt. This made the score 5-0 after six complete innings
The 7th inning would make it four straight innings that the Gens would push one run across. They did their damage with two outs in the inning just as they had done in the 6th. This time it was Wes Clarke with a two-out double. He would move to third on a wild pitch and then come in to score on a Seth Cannady single to make the score 6-0.
The Turks would add a run in the bottom of the 9th to make it 6-1, but for Harrisonburg it was a story of missed opportunities. They pumped out seven hits, they were walked seven times, and they also had one hit batsman. Not only did they just get runners on, they also got them into scoring position plenty of times. They stole two bases and only struck out four times as a team. They just could never come up with that situational hit, so a ton of credit has to go to the pitching staff for working through pressure packed situations all night.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
Travis Reifsnider: 2-2, BB, HBP
McCann Mellett: 1-3, RBI, SB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Kobe Lopez (FIU): 2-4, RBI, BB
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 2-3, 2B, HR, RBI, 3 R
Seth Cannady (FIU): 2-4, RBI
Alex Tyson (Valdosta St): 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB
Bailey Wimberley (Memphis): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
The Generals are back in action Sunday night when they welcome the Purcellville Cannons to Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field. First pitch is set for 7 pm.
Generals Unveil Schedule for Summer 2019
The Valley Baseball League and its teams have finalized the schedule for the Summer of 2019. For the Generals, they’ll open up the season on May 31st at Kate Collins Field when they take on the Southern Division Regular Season Champion Covington Lumberjacks.
Other interesting dates and storylines to follow this summer:
- Thursday, June 6th
- New Head Coach of the Gens Zac Cole will return to New Market for the first time since winning the Rebels the 2018 VBL Championship.
- Friday, June 7th
- The Gens will return to the site of their final game of the 2018 playoffs when they travel to Charlottesville to take on the South Division champion TomSox team that eliminated them from the playoffs.
- Sunday, June 23rd
- The Gens will return to Bing Crosby Stadium to take on the Front Royal Cardinals. The last time the Gens were there, they were celebrating Tyler Bielamowicz’s 14 strikeout, no-hit masterpiece.
- Tuesday, June 25th
- Waynesboro will welcome back to Kate Collins field their former skipper, Mike Bocock, that brought home the VBL Championships in 2013 & 2014. Bocock is now the head coach of the Woodstock River Bandits.
- Wednesday, June 26th
- The Gens will return to Staunton for the first time since eliminating the Braves from the playoffs on the last day of the regular season.
- Thursday, July 18th – Thursday, July 25th.
- The final week of the season will likely clear up any questions many may have about the Southern Division playoff race. That week will see the Gens finishing the season with 5 out of their last 6 games against Southern Division opponents, including 2 against the Harrisonburg Turks.
The Gens will look to improve on their 24-18 record from a year ago. To see the full schedule of the Generals, visit waynesborogenerals.net/schedule.
Mundy Grand Slam Lifts Jacks Over Generals
Thursday night at Casey Field in Covington saw the Generals run into the offensive powerhouse of the Lumberjacks. The Jacks pounded out 8 runs that included a 5 run 4th inning.
Things looked very promising early on for Waynesboro. They managed to score 2 in the very first frame. Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary) led off the game with a hit-by-pitch. Dylan Cloonan (Miami) followed with a walk to get runners to first and second for the league’s leading hitter in Chase Cheek (Duke). He didn’t disappoint, sharply singling through the right side to bring home Wrighte and moving Cloonan to third. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) then rolled into a fielder’s choice for the second run of the inning.
Covington would tie things right back up after scoring two in the first as well. After a two out walk, Tyler Hill hit a rocket over the left field fence to tie the game. The 3 and 4 hitters in the Covington lineup would prove to be a problem all night long.
The Generals would get back in front with a run in both the 3rd and 4th inning. In the 3rd, Andrew Orzel hit a single with a man already out in the inning. He was immediately followed by an Alex Brait (FGCU) RBI double. The Gens had moved back in front 3-2. In the 4th, the Jacks had two men out when they hit Dylan Cloonan to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Chase Cheek came up again and had a swinging bunt down the 3rd baseline that the pitcher ended up airmailing into right to score an unearned run for Waynesboro. The score was 4-2 and Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) had settled in after surrendering the homer in the first.
Covington got two men on to start the inning via the walk and a single. When the next batter laid down a sacrifice bunt, Bielo also airmailed the first baseman to allow the first run of the bottom of the inning to score. The next batter was walked and it was the end of the night for Bielo. Justin Beyer (Wagner) came on to stop the bleeding with the bases loaded and the 3rd hitter JD Mundy stepping to the plate. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Mundy deposited the pitch way over the right field fence for a grand slam to put the Jacks ahead 7-4.
The Generals wouldn’t go away quietly however, and would put two more runs on the board the inning after the Jacks took the lead. The Gens got the first two men of the inning on with nobody out. After a groundball to first that advanced both runners, Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) continued his hot streak he had been on with a 2 out, 2 RBI single to bring the score to 7-6 headed to the bottom of the 5th inning.
The offense would slow in the later innings. For 3 innings, the Gens only trailed by a run but weren’t able to push one across. In the 8th, the Jacks delivered an insurance run to bring the score to 6-8. After a leadoff single and a wild pitch, Peter Bataglia hit a single to center to score. That would end up being the final score at 6-8.
Key Performers for Covington:
- JD Mundy: 1-3, Grand Slam (9), 4 RBI, 2 R
- Tyler Hill: 2-5, HR (3), 2 RBI, R
- Bennett Hostetler: 2-4, 2B, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-5, RBI
- Alex Brait (FGCU): 2-4, 2B, RBI
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-4, 2 RBI
The Generals will be back in action Friday night vs. the Winchester Royals. The game will take place at Kate Collins at 7 pm.
Lumberjack Bats Prove to be Too Much for Generals
The Waynesboro Generals opened up the 2018 season on the road in Covington with an 8-3 loss to the Lumberjacks. While the Gens struck first, a six run 5th inning from Covington put them in too deep of a hole.
Matt Ellmyer (Wofford) started the Opening Night ballgame for the Generals. Other than a solo shot by Covington’s Tyler Hill in the bottom of the 2nd, Ellmyer seemed to be in control. However, six straight two-out hits by the Jacks put runs on the board quickly. Ellmyer wasn’t able to finish the 5th and gave way to Cole Trichel (Louisiana Monroe). Trichel ended up giving up a run in the 7th inning for the final score on either side. Overall, the Jacks rail out 8 runs on 10 hits with 5 of those hits being of the extra-base variety.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Generals struggled to get anything going in the right direction. Covington pitchers allowed only six hits, but gave up eight walks and one hit-by-pitch. Covington’s defense also made three errors, one of which brought in a run for the Gens. There were 13 runners left on base in total for Waynesboro and only 1 RBI.
Top performers for the Generals:
- Tyler Trovinger (Oakland): 2-4, 2B, RBI
- Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 1 K
Top Performers for the Lumberjacks:
- Tyler Hill: 2-3, 2B, Solo HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
- Ryan Fitzgerald: 2-2, 2 2B, RBI
The Generals are slated to open up at Kate Collins field Saturday night against the Charlottesville Tom Sox. Graham Ashcraft, the highly touted right-hander from Mississippi State, is the probable pitcher for Waynesboro.
