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.
Familiar ETSU Arms to Bolster Staff
Waynesboro, Virginia
Four East Tennessee State arms, including two returners, will help bolster the Generals staff for the 2021 season. Those arms will be right-handed pitcher Brady Jones, right-handed pitcher and returner Joseph Acosta, left-handed pitcher Daulton Montagna and right-handed pitcher and returner Zach Kirby.
Brady Jones – Right-Handed Pitcher
A native of Woodstock, Georgia, the 6’2 208-pound junior came to East Tennessee State way of Georgia Southern where in two seasons he combined for a 3-6 record and 7 saves in 37 relief appearances. Brady finished the 2021 season with ETSU with a 1-0 record after making 9 appearances over 10.0 innings for the Bucs.
Joseph Acosta – Right-Handed Pitcher
A native of Vineland, New Jersey, the 6’2 185-pound junior returns to Waynesboro after a successful 2019 summer with the Generals. In the summer or 2019, Acosta made 5 appearances finishing with a .081 ERA with 17 strikeouts over 11 innings pitched. Acosta finished the 2021 season with ETSU with a 5.28 ERA while making 11 appearances, earning 2 saves over 15.1 innings and holding opponents to a .270 batting average.
Daulton Montagna – Left-Handed Pitcher
A native of Pennsville, New Jersey, the 5’9 175-pound junior comes to Waynesboro after leading the Bucs with 23 appearances while accruing 39.2 innings which ranked fourth on the team and first among the bullpen in most innings pitched during his freshman season in 2019. Upon completion of the 2021 season, Montagna made 10 appearances with 9.2 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .289 batting average.
Zach Kirby – Right-Handed Pitcher
A native of Upland, California, the 6’2 215-pound junior returns to the Generals after finishing his 2019 season in Waynesboro with a 3-2 record, 4.24 EA over 29.2 innings pitched and 29 strikeouts. Upon completion of the 2021 season, Kirby led the Bucs staff with a 1.95 ERA, 3-1 record with 14 appearances and 3 starts over 32.1 innings pitched, surrendering only 7 earned runs, striking out 28 and holding opponents to a .233 batting average.
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.
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.
Zac Cole Hired to be New Head Coach of the Waynesboro Generals
Zac Cole has recently been hired to lead the Waynesboro Generals in the summer of 2019. If the name sounds familiar to Valley League Baseball fans, it’s because for the past 3 years Coach Cole has been the Head Coach of the New Market Rebels. If the name sounds familiar to General fans, Cole spent the summer of 2004 playing for the Gens. General Manager Tyler Hoffman feels like the hire couldn’t have been any more perfect. “Zac brings years of experience in collegiate summer baseball and more importantly, in the Valley League,” said Hoffman. “He is a great leader of men and it will be really special to have a General alumnus heading the staff for the summer.”
Zac’s playing days began at Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, Florida. There he recorded 7 wins in his sophomore season with 3 complete game shutouts while picking up an honorable mention nod for the Southern Conference. After earning his Associate of Arts degree from Palm Beach, he transferred to Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee. As a weekend starter, Cole would record the lowest ERA on the team and would also be named as a finalist for the 2006 Tennessee Tech University Man of the Year award. He would earn his Bachelor of Business Administration with concentration in Management degree in 2007. After his collegiate career, Cole was signed in 2007 by the Baltimore Orioles. The next year, he found himself in Independent baseball where he would suit up for the Traverse City Beach Bums, Amarillo Dillas, Normal Cornbelters, and finally the Kalamazoo Kings before retiring in 2011 due to injury.
Cole tried his hand at collegiate coaching for the first time in 2011 at the University of Tennessee Martin as the club’s pitching coach. In his time there, the team set a school record for strike outs in 2012 and again in 2013, recorded the lowest ERA over the past 6 years, and pitched their first shut out in 180 games. He would also graduate with his Master’s degree of Business Administration. Cole then spent time at North Florida Christian School as an Assistant Coach while also running and coaching an 18U travel team in the summer where he was the head man.
In the summer of 2016, Cole took over as the Head Coach of the New Market Rebels in the Valley League. The Rebels saw instant success with Cole at the helm. In his first year as the skipper, the team surpassed their win totals and featured 6 All-Stars and a Home Run Derby participant. After his successful job in the summer of 2016, Cole was named the Associate Head Coach at Andrew College, a Division 1 Junior College in Cuthbert, Georgia. Before the summer of 2017, Cole was named to the Assistant Athletic Director position at Andrew College, as well. Zac would continue his hot streak when in the summer of 2017, the Rebels made their first post season in 5 summers. Finally in his 3rd year at the helm, the New Market Rebels won the 2018 Valley Baseball League Championship with a 30-19 record that included a 13-game winning streak that started towards the end of the regular season and lasted throughout the playoffs.
“Coaching the Generals is such a unique opportunity,” said Cole. “The Valley is a special place for me. I’m excited to be back in the town where my brother, my best friend, and myself all played. It’s more an honor than anything, really, to coach this great organization.”
Coach Cole has nothing but the best for the New Market organization. “The Rebels organization was nothing but amazing to me. They gave me the opportunity to be a Head Coach and I can’t thank them enough for that.” Cole had planned on stepping away from summer collegiate baseball, however when Tyler Hoffman reached out to him with a deal too good to pass up, he found his way right back into the Shenandoah Valley.
“With Zac’s years of experience and knowing what it takes to be successful in the Valley League, Zac has proven his ability to manage and bring in quality players and men,” said Hoffman. “We hope he can bring that same excitement to Waynesboro.”
Cole feels that his experience and familiarity with the Valley is a huge advantage and says the goal will always remain the same: “Try to win this thing.”
The 2019 Gens will try to capture its first Valley League Championship since they went back-to-back in 2013 and 2014.
Covington Snaps 5 Game Win Streak of Waynesboro
In a back and forth battle for first place with Waynesboro, who was only a game back of Covington for the lead in the South division, Evan McAndrew from the Lumerjacks threw the last 5 innings in no-hit fashion to shut down the Generals in a 7-5 loss.
The Gens started out hot in the bottom of the first inning by scoring 2 to take the lead. It all started with a 2 out hit-by-pitch to Alex Brait (FGCU). Andrew Orzel (Wofford) followed him up with a walk. Alex Webb (Chipola) drove in the first run with a single to center. 2 pitches later Orzel came in to score on a wild pitch. The 2-0 lead would stand until the top of the third.
In the top of the third, Covington evened the score at 2 on the strength of 3 base hits. With one out, the Jacks delivered back-to-back singles to start things out. A fielder’s choice on a slowly hit ground ball scored the first run. After the runner moved to second base on a wild pitch, a ground-rule double drove in the tying run. They then took a lead in the top of the 4th. The first two runners reached in the inning and were sacrificed to second and third on a well-executed bunt. A sacrifice fly drove in the run to put them in the lead.
The Generals would tie the game in the bottom of the 4th when the first two runners also reached. However, when trying to bunt for the first two strikes, the hitter was unsuccessful. He would end up grounding into a double play, but the run would score on an RBI single by Blake Johnson (UAB) to tie the game back up.
Covington would take the lead 4-3 in the top of the 5th. Covington hit a leadoff single to right that would end up playing into a 2 base error to put the leadoff runner on third. Eventually he would score on a one out single up the middle. The back and forth continued with the two top teams. Waynesboro scored 2 to take the lead back at 5-4. Chase Cheek (Duke) would reach on an error and would be followed up by another free pass to Alex Brait. Orzel would attempt to lay down a bunt and would do so successfully. When the Covington third baseman would make the throw, it would sail over the first baseman’s head. Cheek and Brait would both score on the play but the Generals would not capitalize and would be struck out twice to end then inning.
Covington drove in another run to tie the game again at 5 in the 6th inning. They would also tack on 1 run in both the 7th and 8th innings to take a 7-5 lead. It capped off a came where Covington scored in 6 straight innings.
Key Performers for Covington:
- Evan McAndrew: W, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
- Bennett Hostetler: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
- Connor Hood: 2-5, HR, RBI, 2 R
- JC Santos: 3-3, BB, 2 R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Jackson Webb (UCF): 1-2, BB, HBP, R
- Alex Brait (FGCU): 0-1, 2 BB, HBP, 2 R
- Aron Solis (Texas Southern): 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Waynesboro (18-14) will be back in action Saturday night on the road in Charlottesville when they take on the TomSox.
Gens Score 16 to Beat New Market to Stay Hot
New Market fans had to be feeling a bit of deja vu when the Gens put up a 7 spot in the first inning. The last time the two teams matched up, Waynesboro won by busting out 18 runs on 20 hits. Tonight, the Generals would put up 16 in the winning effort.
The night started with a bang for Waynesboro. After starter Tyler Thompson (Austin Peay) worked out of a bases loaded jam in the first, the offense came alive. Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) started things off with a single. Chase Cheek (Duke) would then send a swinging bunt up the third base line. The third baseman would field it and throw it away to allow Bielo to come all the way around to score and Cheek to make it to third. A hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases for Alex Webb (Chipola). Webb shot a single up the middle for an RBI and the second run of the inning. Jackson Webb (UCF) worked a bases loaded RBI walk for the third run. Bryce Teodosio would then hit a high fly ball down the right field line into foul territory for a sacrifice fly that all runners advanced on. The next batter would strike out for out number two and New Market looked as if they could get out of the inning by only giving up 4 runs. However, Joe Bellini (Cincinatti) drilled a triple into the right center field gap for 2 RBIs. He would also end up scoring 2 pitches later on a wild pitch. The score would stand at 7-0 after 1 complete inning.
New Market would respond quickly with 2 runs in the top of the second inning. After a lead-off single, a fielder’s choice, and 2 stolen bases, there was a runner at 3rd base with only one out in the inning. The Rebels would shoot a single through the left side to score their first run. Two batters later, Andrew Eyster would drill a double down the right field line to drive in the other run of the inning. The score after 2 complete was now 7-2.
The Generals would bust things back open in the bottom of the 4th with 3 more runs. Alex Brait (Florida Gulf Coast) would start things off with a 1-out single to right and would advance to second later on a wild pitch. However after a strikeout, there were 2 away in the inning with Brait standing on second base. Alex Webb would walk and Brait would steal third to put runners at first and third for Bryce Teodosio. Teodosio was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St) would get hit by a pitch for an RBI, and finally, Joe Bellini would be the third consecutive batter to be hit by a pitch and would bring in another run. The score moved to 10-2 after 4 innings.
In the top of the 5th, the Rebels would tack on a run to make the score 10-3. It started with a lead off single by Oraj Anu. That was one of 4 hits by Anu on the night. He was moved to second base on a tapper back to the mound. He eventually scored on a single to right field with two outs in the inning. But there would be no further threat.
In the bottom part of the 5th, the Generals would put up another 4 runs. Alex Brait was the man to start things with one out in the inning again. He drew a walk. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) would move him to third base on a single to right. With runners on the corners and 1 out in the inning, Alex Webb would ground into an RBI fielder’s choice. Jackson Webb would once again draw a walk to get runners on first and second for Bryce Teodosio. On a 2-2 count, Teodosio unloaded on a ball that disappeared into the night sky. The 3 run shot would move the score to 13-3.
For good measure, Waynesboro would pile on their final 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Joe Bellini would work a leadoff walk and would score on a first pitch RBI triple by Tyler Bielamowicz. Chase Cheek would send a groundball to the right side for an RBI groundout. The score stood at 16-3. The Rebels would manage to score one in the top of the 8th by way of an RBI groundout to third base to move the score to where it would ultimately finish. Final Score: 16-4.
Key Performers for New Market:
- Oraj Anu: 4-5, R
- Kobe Lopez: 2-2, BB
- Henry Moore: 2-2, RBI
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Jackson Webb (UCF): 2-3, 2 RBI, 3 R, SB
- Alex Webb (Chipola): 1-4, 2 RBI, 3 R
- Bryce Teodosio (Clemson): 1-3, HR, Sac Fly, 4 RBI
- Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston): 2-6, 3B, RBI, 2 R
- Alex Brait (FGCU): 1-3, SB, HBP, BB, 3 R
The Generals will have the opportunity to catch Covington in the standings tomorrow when they take on the Lumberjacks head-to-head at 7 PM at Kate Collins Field. Matt Ellmyer (Wofford) is scheduled to be on the mound.
