Written By Jackson Long
Sports Communication Intern

The 2017 Valley League All-Star Game will be held on July 9 at JMU’s Veterans Memorial Park, which is also home of the Turks. Batting practice and autograph/photo sessions will start around 3:10pm. First pitch is set for 7:30pm. For more information about the All-Star Game, go to http://www.valleyleaguebaseball.com/view/valleyleaguebaseball/news-652/news_488809.

The following players were named all-stars from the Harrisonburg Turks on the South division roster:

RHP Chris Farish (Wake Forest)    

RHP Davis Kirkpatrick (East Carolina)

RHP Mason Studstill (Eastern Florida State)

C Tony Beam (Texas San Antonio)

3B Brendan Venter (Auburn)

OF Ty Andrus (Wingate)

Chris Farish (1-0) has pitched 15 innings this season for the Turks. In those, he has allowed eight hits and has struck out 15 batters to earn an ERA of 2.40 this season. He pitched three innings against Charlottesville and did not give up any hits and struck out four in his first appearance. In his win over Covington, he pitched three innings and struck out nine batters.

 

Davis Kirkpatrick (3-1) has an ERA of 0.43, which is the lowest in the Valley League, which make him arguably one of the best starting pitchers. He has made six appearances and has allowed 15 hits and has struck out 20. Some of his highlights of this season are working 4.0 innings and only allowing one hit against Staunton in one of his three wins and recording his first save against Waynesboro on June 4.

Mason Studstill (4-0) is tied with two others who have the most wins in the Valley League with four. Studstill has made five appearances this season and has earned the decision in four of those. His ERA is 2.32 and has pitched 32 innings and has sruck out 27 batters, which is fifth highest in the league. He worked five innings and only allowed one earned on three hits in his decision over Winchester (7/2). His first decision was on June 4 over Waynesboro and he pitched six innings with five strikeouts.

Tony Beam is batting .370, which is the fourth highest BA in the Valley League. He is currently on a team-high 11-game hit-streak. In 92 AB this season, he has recorded nine runs and 34 hits while adding 14 RBI. Some of his big games were against Purcellville (6/9) and Covington (6/22 & 6/25). Against the Cannons, he went 2-for-4 with a RBI in a close game. In the first battle against the Lumberjacks, Beam went 3-for-5 with a RBI to help the Turks win. In the second matchup, he went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and a run scored in another win.

Brendan Venter was a late addition to the Turks roster coming in on June 20. He is batting .279, with four doubles, six runs, eight RBI and a homer. He went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored in win over Woodstock (6/22) in his second appearance. Against Purcellville (6/28), he went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. You can see why he will be transferring to the Auburn Tigers in the fall.

 

Ty Andrus started out the season on a 10-game hit-streak. After struggling for a few games he got right back on track and is currently on an eight-game hit-streak. In 25 appearances this season, Andrus has scored 17 runs, seven RBI, two triples and six stolen bases. He has been walked 14 times and his BA is .314. Andrus has had a lot of big games for the Turks. He had a 3-for-5 performance against with a RBI and a run in a win over Staunton (7/1). He also went 3-for-4 in a win over Covington (6/25) and added three runs scored. Andrus had one walk-off this season, coming against Charlottesville (6/9). It was a single as a part of a 2-for-7 performance.