6/17/04 – Valley Baseball League

HARRISONBURG, Va. (6/17/04) – When the 2004 College World Series begins Friday at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., the Valley Baseball League will be well represented with former and future players. At least 15 VBL alum and 10 additional players who are expected to report after the series are tied in with the CWS. The Staunton Braves have seven former players and the Harrisonburg Turks five who are playing in the collegiate classic. All of the Braves players are with Miami, Andrew Lee, Erick San Pedro, Gaby Snachez, Joey Hooft, Richard Giannotti, Brandon Camardese and Andrew Cohn. Arizona’s Moises Duran, Richard Mercado, Pat Rielly, John Hardy and Jeff Van Houten all spent summers with the Turks. Van Houten was last summer’s Most Valuable Player for the league. Former Winchester Royals Michael Campell and Chad Blackwell from South Carolina and Derek Smith of Georgia are in Omaha. Winchester, Staunton, and Covington are all expecting to get players from the CWS rosters.