Harrisonburg Turks

Member of the Valley Baseball League and NACSB.

  • 1955 VBL Champions
  • 1958 VBL Champions
  • 1959 VBL Champions
  • 1962 VBL Champions
  • 1964 VBL Champions
  • 1969 VBL Champions
  • 1970 VBL Champions
  • 1971 VBL Champions
  • 1977 VBL Champions
  • 1991 VBL Champions
  • 2000 VBL Champions
  • 2012 VBL Champions
  • 2023 VBL Champions

2007 Valley Baseball League Play-off Preview

Turks News / By /

7/30/2007 – www.allthingsvalleyleague.com

Written By John Leonard All Things Valley League Playoff Preview: #5 Staunton vs. #4 Winchester Our last playoff preview: #5 Seed: Staunton Overall record: 24-20 .545 Record last 10 games: 6-4 Record last 5 games: 3-2 Team BA/OBP/SLG: 259/337/357 Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 3.31, 4.3 BB/9, 9.3 K/9 Hitters to watch for: Matt Payne (NC State) 378/453/649; Zach Barrett (Middle Tennessee State) 305/361/404; Jamie Hayes (Rider) 301/361/353 Pitchers to watch for: Chad Sherman (Panola JC) 4-2, 1.40; Adam Kalafos (Youngstown State) 5-1, 2.42; Tim Sexton (Miami Dade CC) 5-1, 3.94; Bobby Hernandez (Barry) 1.66, 11 saves #4 Seed: Winchester Overall record: 25-19 .568 Record last 10 games: 6-4 Record last 5 games: 3-2 Team BA/OBP/SLG: 277/358/383 Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 3.67, 4.2 BB/9, 8.3 K/9 Hitters to watch for: Luke Greinke (Auburn) 423/525/658; Ryan Sontag (Arizona State) 367/426/569; Jose Cueto (Virginia Tech) 331/412/551 Pitchers to watch for: Luke Greinke (Auburn) 3-1, 2.40; Michale Petrowski (Rider) 5-1, 3.46; Kyle Rawlings (Toledo) 4-2, 3.86; Scott Shuman (Auburn) 2-3, 3.12; Bryan Woodall (Auburn) 2-2, 2.51, 5 saves OUTLOOK: Wow, this one looks, on paper, about as close as it can get. Staunton boasts three top-notch starters, any of whom could spin a shutout on any given evening. Winchester, on the other hand, has a tremendous middle of the order; no team can match the trio of Greinke/Sontag/Cueto. In the major league playoffs, pitching seems to win when October rolls around, so does this favor Staunton? (Can you tell yet that I’m not going to give anyone bulletin board material? :)) Posted at 12:59 PM in League | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) Playoff Preview: #6 Front Royal vs. #3 Luray Next series: #6 Seed: Front Royal Overall record: 22-22 .500 Record last 10 games: 8-2 Record last 5 games: 4-1 Team BA/OBP/SLG: 253/343/328 Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 4.33, 3.8 BB/9, 8.2 K/9 Hitters to watch for: Nick Grunenwald (Louisiana Tech) 355/444/447; Luis Pimentel (Union) 290/317/400; Justin Schumer (UNC-Asheville) 281/384/396 Pitchers to watch for: Josh Lett (Transferring) 3-1, 3.34; Brian Streilein (Villanova) 4-5, 3.45; Thomas Gray (Chattanooga State) 5-3, 4.60; Joel Brookens (NC State) 1.42, 13 saves #3 Seed: Luray Overall record: 26-18 .591 Record last 10 games: 6-4 Record last 5 games: 3-2 Team BA/OBP/SLG: 245/341/367 Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 2.51, 3.4 BB/9, 10.0 K/9 Hitters to watch for: Tyler Kuhn (West Virginia) 311/390/367; Alec Lowery (Louisville) 278/346/402; Adan Severino (Broward CC) 277/413/455 Pitchers to watch for: Robert Gilliam (UNC-Greensboro) 7-1, 1.20; Dustin Umberger (Liberty) 7-0, 1.41; Elih Villanueva (Miami Dade CC) 2-3, 2.47, 2 saves; Kenny Cedel (Long Island) 3-2, 0.95; Donald Jordat (Miami Dade CC) 1-0, 0.51, 3 saves OUTLOOK: As good as Harrisonburg’s starters are, Luray’s are better (statistically, anyway); they can trot out three dominant starters, any of which can throw a shutout with 10+ strikeouts. Front Royal, however, is even hotter than Covington, going 8-2 in their last 10 games, including a win against Luray last night. (To be fair,though, Luray had little to play for.) Can the Cards score enough off the Luray staff? Posted at 12:28 PM in League | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) Playoff Preview: #7 Covington vs. #2 Harrisonburg Here is the statistical summary of our next series: #7 Seed: Covington Overall record: 22-22 .500 Record last 10 games: 7-3 Record last 5 games: 4-1 Team BA/OBP/SLG: 230/338/334 Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 3.86, 4.0 BB/9, 7.2 K/9 Hitters to watch for: Jason Kipnis (Arizona State) 310/477/592; Manuel Arrojo (Florida International) 281/383/320; Kevin Thulin (Kentucky) 270/355/441 Pitchers to watch for: Tommy Warner (Kentucky) 4-1, 3.33; William Hirsch (Georgia Tech) 1-3, 3.40; Robbie Andrews (VCU) 4-2, 2.57, 4 saves #2 Seed: Harrisonburg Overall record: 28-16 .636 Record last 10 games: 5-5 Record last 5 games: 2-3 Team BA/OBP/SLG: 262/341/364 Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 2.38, 3.4 BB/9, 9.2 K/9 Hitters to watch for: Robert Taylor (Arkansas-Little Rock) 355/423/504; David Moose Dennis (Oklahoma City) 311/354/480; Brett Stewart (Appalachian State) 289/363/415 Pitchers to watch for: Almost too many to list. Tim Wheeler (Troy) 3-4, 1.96; Ashur Tolliver (Arkansas-Little Rock) 4-0, 2.52; Chris Chapman (Miss. Gulf Coast CC) 4-1, 2.29; David Klumpp (Arkansas-Little Rock)2-2, 2.36; Garrett Parker (Oklahoma City) 2-0, 8 saves, 0.00 OUTLOOK: No secret here: Harrisonburg can pitch. As a pitching staff, they held their opponents to a 201/287/261 line, and struck out more than one batter per inning. Covington, however, is on a roll coming into the playoffs, led by the blistering hot Jason Kipnis. On paper, Harrisonburg looks like the clear favorite, but Covington is streaking…. Posted at 11:51 AM in League | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) Playoff Preview: #8 Woodstock vs. #1 Waynesboro For each 1st round playoff series, I will give some team stats and crucial players to watch: #8 Seed: Woodstock Overall record: 21-23 .477 Record last 10 games: 3-7 Record last 5 games: 2-3 Team BA/OBP/SLG: 220/302/277 Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 4.20, 3.9 BB/9, 9.5 K/9 Hitters to watch for: Shayne Moody (Charlotte) 299/401/416; Grant Escue (Stanford) 258/292/392; Kevin Villa (Florida Tech) 255/338/314 Pitchers to watch for: Josh Eidell (Villanova) 4-1, 3.16; John Housey (Miami) 3-0, 1.64; Zach Rosenbaum (Charlotte) 3-2, 2.68; Ryne Simpson (Tennessee) 2.30, 9 saves #1 Seed: Waynesboro Overall record: 30-13-1 .682 (Thanks, Kevin!) Record last 10 games: 5-5 Record last 5 games: 3-2 Team BA/OBP/SLG: 255/362/353 Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 2.98, 3.3 BB/9, 7.5 K/9 Hitters to watch for: Kurt Davidson (Toledo) 319/380/479; Chris Enourato (West Virginia) 310/409/407; Ryan Adams (Elon) 299/431/374; Pat Irvine (Elon) 299/461/463 Pitchers to watch for: Jon Dages (Butler) 6-2, 2.25; Adam Liberatore (Tennessee Tech) 5-1, 3.54; Russ Brewer (Vanderbilt) 4-1, 1.34; Jimmy Stanley (Belmont) 1.56, 11 saves OUTLOOK: On paper, this one looks like a mismatch. Waynesboro, although just mediocre over the last 10 games, has three solid starters, and their hitters get on base consistently. Woodstock has struggled with the bat this year, as they were outscored by their opponents 202-148 on the season. The River Bandits will need solid starts from Josh Eidell, John Housey and/or Zach Rosenbaum to upset the regular season champs. This needs a huge disclaimer, though: in a 3-game series, anything can happen… And remember, the River Bandits have Korean Rock, Paper Scissors on their side!