VALLEY LEAGUE NOTEBOOK 6/17/03| News | Valley League Baseball

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VALLEY LEAGUE NOTEBOOK 6/17/03

Rain, Rain Go Away There have already been 18 games postponed because of rain, including tonight's rainouts, and this is only the second full week of the 2003 season. Rescheduled games have already been pushed back as far as the seventh week of the season, when Staunton visits Luray on July 14, a game that was rained out Sunday evening. Winchester and Staunton have rescheduled their rained-out game from Saturday night for the Fourth of July at 2:00 p.m. A complete list of all the rainouts and schedule changes can be found on the Schedule page.

Perfect Start Valley League Player of the Week Daniel Brooks (South Florida C.C.) started the 2003 season a perfect 7-for-7 for the Harrisonburg Turks. In the Turks' season-opening loss to Covington, Brooks went 3-for-3 with a double, walk and a sacrifice fly. Brooks went 4-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the Turks' second game, a 5-2 loss to Luray. Brooks has hit safely in six of the Turks seven games and drew a walk and scored in the Turks' 2-0 win over Covington on June 13, the only game he went hitless in.

Closing Time Harrisonburg manager Bob Wease may have found a late-inning stopper in Oklahoma City sophomore Grant Hansen to replace his 2002 closer Logan Kensing, who was selected by the Florida Marlins as the 53rd overall pick in the 2003 MLB First Year Player Draft. In three appearances this season, Hansen has two saves, eight strikeouts and has allowed only one hit in 6 2/3 innings. Kensing saved nine games for the Turks in 2002 and had a 2-2 record with a 2.73 ERA in 18 appearances.

2003 MLB Draft There were 18 players taken in the 2003 First Year Player Draft that were on a 2002 Valley League roster. Along with Kensing, headlining the list were Rick Guarno, a fourth-round selection by Colorado, who spent his 2002 summer with the Winchester Royals, and Corey Coles, a fifth-round selection by the New York Mets, who played for Covington last summer. Guarno hit .244 with seven doubles, one home run and 16 RBI for the Royals in 2002, and threw out 10 would-be base stealers in 19 attempts. Coles, an All-Valley League selection in 2002, went 5-0 with a 1.30 ERA in seven starts for the Lumberjacks in 2002.

Hurricane Watch Several 2002 Valley Leaguers, as well as a few 2003 signees, are stil playing at the College World Series in Omaha. Of the eight world series teams, Miami has the most Valley League ties. Among the Hurricanes who signed to play in the Valley this summer are, Andrew Lane (Covington), Richard Giannotti (Winchester), Gaby Sanchez (Staunton) and Erick San Pedro (Staunton). San Pedro played for Staunton in 2002 hitting .250 with three doubles and six RBI in 20 games. San Pedro punched the Hurricanes' ticket to Omaha back on June 8, when he launched a grand slam in the top of the 11th inning against N.C. State in the second game of the Coral Gables Super Regional, giving the Canes an 11-5 victory and a 2-0 sweep of the Wolfpack. Sanchez, a freshman All-American, hit .329 with seven home runs and 56 RBI in his first year at Miami. Other current Hurricanes who played in the Valley League during the 2002 season include, Danny Figueroa (Winchester) who stole 40 bases this season for the Hurricanes, Paco Figueroa (Winchester), Joey Hooft (Waynesboro), Brandon Camardese (Staunton) and Andrew Cohn (Staunton).

Two Tigers En Route?Louisiana State's Clay Harris, a member of the 2002 Staunton Braves and a 2003 Staunton signee, was one of the main reasons the Tigers got to Omaha this year. Harris, a freshman All-American in 2002, highlighted an 11-run sixth inning with a grand slam in the title game of the Baton Rouge Super Regional that gave LSU a 20-5 win over Baylor and sent the Tigers to Omaha. With the Tigers facing a 1-0 deficit in the series and trailing 5-4 in the second game, Harris led off the top of the eighth inning with a solo home run before teammate Ivan Naccarata followed with another solo shot to give the Tigers the eventual 6-5 edge and knot the Super Regional at 1-1. Harris hit .332 with 16 home runs and 62 RBI for the Tigers this season. Harris' brother, Will, a freshman on the LSU squad, who hit .233 with two home runs and six RBI, also signed to play for the Braves in 2003. LSU was eliminated from the CWS by Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina on Sunday.