HARRISONBURG, Va. – Six Harrisonburg Turks hailing from six different universities across the country have been selected to participate in the 2015 Valley Baseball League All Star Game, commissioner Don Lemish announced Tuesday.
The Turks’ participants are as follows:
Jared Baker
Baker (Edmonds, Okla./Oklahoma City) has been as consistent as any player in the VBL from day one in 2015. The lefty has hit .325 and drawn 10 walks in 83 at-bats as well as a team-leading three triples. Getting most of his starts in left field, Baker has committed only two errors in 24 games.
Shane Billings
Billings (Kernersville, N.C./Wingate) has proven to be a more-than-capable leadoff man for the Turks this season with truly All-Star caliber numbers. The rising sophomore has a fantastic .404 batting average, good enough for second in the league behind only Aldie’s Andrew Seigel who has 35 less at-bats on the season. In addition, Billings has scored a team-high 30 runs as well as a team-high 15 stolen bases. The speedster has also shown excellent defensive ability after committing only four errors patrolling centerfield. If that wasn’t enough, he hit inside-the-park home runs on back-to-back nights! Enough said.
Matt Hartman
Hartman (Valley Center, Calif./Arizona) has anchored the Turks pitching staff from day one. Sporting a 2.73 ERA in a team-high 29.2 innings of work, the big righty has been everything the team hoped for and more. His 4-0 record and 26 strikeouts also lead the Turks while allowing only four extra base hits all season.
Steve McLean
In his second season with the Turks, McLean (Los Altos, Calif./Baylor) has shown much improvement over his 2014 campaign. The Baylor Bear is hitting .310 and has scored 14 runs, good enough for third on the team. His numbers are even more impressive considering he has hit mainly ninth in the lineup to provide a consistent base runner for the top of the order. McLean has also been very good as the Turks’ everyday second baseman; his 40 putouts rank second on the team.
Tyler Straub
Straub (Albuquerque, N.M./University of Texas: San Antonio) didn’t begin the season as a starter, but he quickly earned his way into being the every day third baseman on Bob Wease’s lineup card. The rising senior has hit .354 with one home run thus far and is tied for the team lead in runs batted in with 13. He has also proved to be a skilled player on defense, committing only two errors to earn a fielding percentage of .370 at the hot corner.
James Ziemba
Ziemba (Hillsborough, N.J./Dukes) is another two-year Turks that has greatly improved in his encore year with the club. Not easy to miss at 6’10”, the lefty has achieved a 1.28 ERA and 2-0 record in 14.0 innings of work. After coming out of the bullpen to start the season, Ziemba has made two starts in his last two appearances, allowing only three hits in 10 innings. The highlight of his season has been the rain-shortened no-hitter thrown against Winchester on June 26th.
With six all-star selections, the Turks lead the South Division and are tied with the North Division’s Strasburg Express.
Congratulations to each of our all-stars; we can’t wait to see what is in store for you the rest of the season!