Blog post

July 29, 2009 [LINK / comment]

Valley League Baseball 2009

Because of rainouts and other commitments (such as watching Nationals games on TV), I had not been to a local baseball game all summer until last night. I picked a good game to see, as the hometown Staunton Braves trounced the Waynesboro Generals, 16-8. Half of Staunton's runs came in the third inning, with five hits, two walks, and two errors. That was a big enough cushion, but they kept piling on more runs late in the game. For the box score and play-by-play, see valleyleaguebaseball.com; local star Donovan Huffer scored three runs. Attendance: 1,601, about twice what I estimated.

The Valley League Baseball consists of college players who want to improve their skills during the off-school months of summer. This year there are twelve teams, from Covington in the south to Winchester in the north, divided into three divisions. The regular season comes to a close this weekend, and Staunton has already clinched the southern division title, with the second-highest win-loss percentage in the league as a whole. Four teams (including the wild card) will vie for the league championship trophy.

Over in Waynesboro, Chris Graham laments the disappointing season of the Generals, who are 16-26: "There's always next year." See augustafreepress.com. He has been tirelessly promoting Waynesboro's team all season long, organizing fan get-togethers, etc., and he deserves a lot of credit for that.

John Moxie Stadium

The grandstand of John Moxie Stadium, in Staunton, Virginia.

Ted Bosiak Field: Staunton Braves vs. Waynesboro Generals, July 28, 2009.

To be more precise, it is "Ted Bosiak Field at John Moxie Stadium," I believe.

Nats' streak ends

After winning four games in a row -- two against the Padres and two against the Brewers -- the Washington Nationals fell short this evening, losing 7-5. The aggregate score during that rare "winning streak" was a lopsided 38-12, so it's too bad they couldn't have saved up some of that offensive power for when they really needed it. Tomorrow they face the Brewers in a fourth game, and will try to win the second series in a row. And how about those Cubs, beating the Astros 12-0! They are running neck and neck with the Cardinals in the NL Central.