Excerpt from DNR:

For longtime Harrisonburg Turks head coach Bob Wease, age is just a number.

This past summer was believed to be Wease’s 20th and final season as head coach of the historic Turks, but as the season wound down, Wease didn’t rule out a return in 2024.

Now, just over a month after Wease and the Turks brought home the Valley Baseball League championship for the first time since 2012, the 80-year-old made his plans for next year loud and clear.

“I’m going to definitely come back next year,” Wease said. “I know I’ve gotten older and everybody asks me, ‘Bob, when are you going to quit?’ Well, I don’t think age should come into play as long as you’re able. God has been so good to me with my health and everything.”

[Read more at dnronline.com]

Harrisonburg head coach Bob Wease has been selected as the Valley Baseball League Coach of the Year after leading the Turks to 2023 league title.

The Turks finished the regular season with a 28-16 record, tying Charlottesville for the best mark in the VBL.

Harrisonburg went 6-0 in the playoffs, sweeping three straight opponents to claim the Jim Lineweaver Trophy. Harrisonburg took two straight from Covington and then eliminated Winchester 2-0. The championship series featured the top two teams in the league with the Turks sweeping the Charlottesville Tom Sox to claim the title.

Wease claimed the VBL Coach of the Year award for the third time. previously earning the honor in 2002 and 2012.

Congratulations to Bob Wease!!

Congratulations to Cameron Harris and thanks for the hard work he puts into his team.

(Pulled from Valley Baseball League)

The final All-Valley Team is the All-Defensive Team. This award is meant to highlight the defensive prowess of the players throughout the league. Unlike the other awards, this award is chosen from throughout the league as a whole, so all 12 VBL franchises are lumped together. The selections were made from the voting members of the VBL franchises. So, congratulations to the players on this list as you have made a name throughout the league for your defensive ability.

ALL-Valley Defensive Team

• Catcher
  • Jose Torres (Purcellville Cannons)
• First Base
  • Alexander McCoy (Waynesboro Generals)
• Second Base –Tied as two players received the same number of votes.
  • Brice Martinez (Charlottesville TomSox)
  • Cameron Harris (Harrisonburg Turks)
• Shortstop
  • Jancarlos Colon (Winchester Royals)
• Third Base
  • Joey Parliment (Staunton Braves)
• Outfield
  • Joe Delossantos (Strasburg Express)
  • RJ Stinson (Woodstock Riverbandits)
  • Tomas Sanchez (Woodstock Riverbandits)

Congratulations to Micha Morgan for this wonderful honor. See the VBL post below.

(Pulled from Valley Baseball League)

It has been decided by the Voters of the Valley Baseball League that Micah Morgan of the Harrisonburg Turks and South Alabama University is the 2023 South Most Valuable Player. Micah had an unbelievable season for the Turks in 2023. Micah was near the top in a multitude of offensive categories in ’23. He played in 43 out of 44 regular season games for the Turks and was Tied for 1st in RBIs (42), 2nd in Hits (56), T-1st in At-Bats (157).

Morgan led the Turks to 28-16 record during the regular season which was tied for 1st with the Charlottesville TomSox. Turks President Gerald “Buck” Harman says, “Micah did a lot for the Turks this summer. He is an excellent player, that can play three positions. Not only does he excel at the plate, [he] is a very good defensive player.” Though Micah didn’t make the All-Defensive Team in the Valley this summer he was the only player to receive multiple votes for two different positions–1st Base and the Outfield.

While it is apparent that Morgan is an excellent baseball player, what stands out is his leadership and demeanor off the field. Harmon praised Micah and his interactions with the community, “Our Fans really like him as a person. He always takes the time to talk to everyone.” It is very important that the young men who come to the Valley understand that without the support of the local communities, VBL baseball wouldn’t exist. It is guys like Morgan that make the VBL a special place for all in our communities.

Congratulations to Micah Morgan for being the South Most Valuable Player for 2023!

On the bump, the winner of the VBL’s South Pitcher of the Year had a season that cannot be described as anything but absolutely dominate. It is with great honor that the VBL bestows the 2023 South Pitcher of the Year Award to Mark Perkins of the Charlottesville TomSox and Rice University. Mark has been the best pitcher in the VBL from the beginning to the end of the regular season. Though his ERA of 0.58 didn’t qualify for the league leaders due to not meeting the innings requirements, it is clearly evident that he had a season for the ages. Of his 8 games Pitched, he only surrendered two earned runs. Both coming in the same game vs the Front Royal Cardinals. It was his steady performance that was key to his success. Head Coach of the TomSox, Lyndon Colman had this to say, “Mark Perkins has been extremely dependable and reliable…He is one of the kids that has wanted to be here the entire summer. He [has] wanted to pitch and he has proven himself [so] that when he goes back to Rice, he is going to be one of their best arms.” That is mightily high praise for Perkins from his Coach, and he absolutely deserves it. Perkins pitched 31 innings for the TomSox and struck out 40 opposing hitters, good for a 11.61 K/9. Another aspect that contributed to his dominance was his ability to limit free passes. In his 31 innings, Perkins only allowed 6 walks, good for a 1.7 BB/9; his WHIP was a miniscule 0.50 as well.

When asked about what it meant to him to be named VBL South Pitcher of the Year, Mark said, “It feels great, I have had great defense [behind me] the entire season, that has helped a ton. We have a great staff…and it has been a blast. It has been fun to reach my potential and show it on the field.”

Congratulations to Mark Perkins on being the South Pitcher of the Year for 2023!

Both Perkins and Morgan are currently playing for their respective clubs in Round 2 of the Playoffs. So, tune in to watch their teams look to win the coveted Lineweaver Cup!

Congratulations to Jose Perez, Micah Morgan, Chris Katz, Dominic Castellano, Benjamin Shenosky, and Garfield Johns. See the VBL’s article below.

(Pulled from Valley Baseball League)

As we are all aware, the Valley Baseball League has a strong history of excellence. This year is no exception. During the season, we had one player flirt with the all-time VBL average record only to lose it in the last week of the season. We had another that had a microscopic ERA all season long.

It has been a wonderful season and to celebrate, we have selected the top players from throughout the league to the All-Valley Teams. We divided the teams into their historical groupings of NORTH and SOUTH, with the players from the Culpeper Cavaliers falling into the South Division like they did in this summer’s ALL-STAR game. So, without further ado, we shall dive right into it.

NORTH

• Catcher
  • Jose Torres (Purcellville Cannons): 30 Games, .407/.550/.506, 14 runs, 6 2B, 1 3B, 20 RBI, 24/14 BB/K, 3 SB
• First Base
  • Victor Castillo (Strasburg Express): 37 Games .344/.471/.615, 34 runs, 10 2B, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 27/18 BB/K, 6 SB
• Second Base
  • Brayden Caskey (Purcellville Cannons): 22 Games .338/.479/.423, 26 Runs, 4 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI 17/14 BB/K, 17 SB
• Shortstop
  • Jancarlos Colon (Winchester Royals): 43 Games .277/.406/.327, 36 runs, 8 2B, 25 RBI, 30/21 BB/K, 16 SB
• Third Base
  • Michael O’Shaughnessy (Strasburg Express): 29 Games .299/.429/.417, 15 Runs, 3 2B, 4HR, 29 RBI, 16/34 BB/K, 2 SB
• Utility
  • El Rico Riley OF/RHP (New Market Rebels): 28 Games .316/.452/.398, 24 Runs, 5 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 25/42 BB/K, 14 SB; 0-0, 0.00, 7 Games, 3 Saves, 7.2IP, 15 K, 1 BB, 18.7 K/9
• Designated Hitter
  • Ryne Guida (Purcellville Cannons): 37 Games .425/.506/.582, 30 runs, 12 2B, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 17/8 BB/K, 1.088 OPS
• Outfield
  • Jack Hay (Winchester Royals): 32 Games .383/.500/.558, 35 runs, 10 2B, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 26/11 BB/K, 7 SB
  • Tomas Sanchez (Woodstock Riverbandits): 43 Games, .299/.403/.541, 40 Runs, 15 2B, 1 3B, 7HR, 42 RBI, 29/46 BB/K, 25 SB 
  • RJ Stinson (Woodstock Riverbandits): 31 Games .331/.428/.444, 33 Runs, 9 2B, 2 3B, 19 RBI, 16/15 BB/K, 12 SB
• Starting Pitchers
  • Jaxon Dalena (Purcellville Cannons): 3-0, 2.25, 40 IP, 1.32 WHIP, 4.7 BB/9, 10.8 K/9, 1 CG
  • Mark Hindy (New Market): 2-3, 3.41, 37 IP, 1.43 WHIP, 4.37 BB/9, 12.9 K/9
  • Alex Walsh (Woodstock Riverbandits): 5-1, 2.43, 33.1 IP, 1.43 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9, 7 K/9
• Relief Pitchers
  • Bere Bauers (Woodstock Riverbandits): 1-0, 2.79, 7 Saves, 19.1 IP, 0.93 WHIP, 1.4 BB/9, 13.7 K/9
  • Parker Seay (Strasburg Express):1-3, 2.54, 1 Save, 17.2 IP, 1.47 WHIP, 14.65 K/9

SOUTH

• Catcher
  • Victor Sanchez (Covington Lumberjacks): 19 Games .389/.469/.759, 14 runs, 3 2B, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 8/11 BB/K, 5SB
• First Base
  • Alexander McCoy (Waynesboro Generals): 41 Games .372/.486/.490, 45 runs, 12 2B, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 19/32 BB/K, 40 SB
• Second Base:
  • David Coppedge (Culpeper Cavaliers): 29 Games .356/.493/.663, 31 runs, 8 2B, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 20/18 BB/K, 10 SB
• Shortstop
  • Jose Perez (Harrisonburg Turks): 35 Games .301/.411/.505, 25 runs, 7 2B, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 20/22 BB/K, 3 SB
• Third Base
  • Joey Parliment (Staunton Braves): 43 Games .358/.462/.470, 39 runs, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 27/12 BB/K, 21 SB
• Utility
  • Micah Morgan (Harrisonburg Turks): 42 Games .357/.452/.503, 29 Runs, 15 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 42 RBI, 25/17 BB/K, 2 SB
• Outfielders
  • Chris Katz (Harrisonburg Turks): 20 Games .414/.527/.786, 16 Runs, 5 2B, 7HR, 27 RBI, 16/15 BB/K, 1 SB
  • Kien Vu (Culpeper Cavaliers): 28 Games .340/.440/.534, 24 runs, 6 2B, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 17/31 BB/K, 12 SB
  • Michael Pavelchak (Covington Lumberjacks): 38 Games .328/.410/.343, 23 Runs, 45 Hits, 15 RBI, 18/16 BB/K, 18 SB
• Starting Pitchers
  • Mark Perkins (Charlottesville TomSox): 3-0, 0.58, 31 IP, 0.84 WHIP, 1.7 BB/9, 11.6 K/9, 1 CG
  • Dominic Castellano (Harrisonburg Turks): 2-1, 1.04, 34.1 IP, 1.22 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 9.5 K/9
  • Benjamin Shenosky (Harrisonburg Turks): 5-1, 3.41, 26.1 IP, 1.22 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 8.9 K/9
• Relief Pitchers
  • Garfield Johns (Harrisonburg Turks): 2-0, 1.08, 6 Saves, 16.2 IP, 0.96 WHIP, 2.77 BB/9, 12.2 K/9
  • Mike Eggert (Charlottesville TomSox): 1-0, 0.85, 21 IP, 0.62 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 8.1 K/9

ALL League Honorable Mention

• Blaze O’Saben, OF (Front Royal Cardinals): 31 Games, 32 Runs, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 12/22 BB/K, 28 SB
• Connor Maryniak, UTL (Culpeper Cavaliers): 33 Games .246/.358/.336, 23 Runs, 5 2B, 2HR, 20 RBI, 23/20 BB/K, 8 SB; 2-0, 1.84, 24.1 IP, 16/4 K/BB
• Joe Delossantos, OF (Strasburg Express) 30 Games, 23 Runs, 8 2B, 1 3B, 8 HRs, 31 RBI, 20/25 bb/K, 10 SB
• Jarrod Jenkins, RHP (Winchester Royals):  3-1, 2.40, 30 IP, 1.47 WHIP, 5.4 BB/9, 8.7 K/9
• Jacob Heath, RHP (Covington Lumberjacks):  4-2, 2.52, 35.2 IP, 1.07 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, 10.7 K/9
• Jordan Little, RHP (Charlottesville TomSox): 1-0. 1.20, 2 Saves, 15 IP, 0.47 WHIP, 1.2 BB/9, 16.8 K/9
• Kyle Edwards, Shortstop (Charlottesville TomSox): 37 Games .273/376/409, 30 runs, 7 2B, 1 3B, 3HR, 20 RBI, 21/28 BB/K, 24 SB
• Brice Martinez, 2B (Charlottesville TomSox): 34 Games 319/426/371, 32 runs, 6 2B, 20RBI, 19/20 BB/k, 23 SB
• Daniel Diaz, LHP (Harrisonburg Turks: 2-2, 1.97, 27.1 IP, 1.21 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, 9.6K/9
• Cooper Clapp, INF (Staunton Braves): 43 Games, .288/.406/.404, 36 Runs, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3HR, 28RBI, 27/36, 19SB
• Jack Torosian, OF (Culpeper Cavaliers): 35 Games 336/421/.394, 31 runs, 8 2B, 18 RBI, 18/31 BB/K, 24 SB