Front runners: Cardinals leading the pack as VBL season winds down

By Greg Brill -- sports@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- Game after game, Jesse Henry itched to get back on the field.

Though in uniform for the Front Royal Cardinals, Henry often watched from the top step of the dugout, having to rest a torn tendon in one of his wrists. Missing 15 of 16 games between June 16 and July 5 was a downer for Henry, largely because he was not getting to join in the fun with his summer teammates.

It's easy to see why Henry wanted to return: When you're on a first-place team, going to the ballpark is much more enjoyable.

"The way everybody was playing, I wanted to get back out there and contribute," Henry said. "Just help the team win. It was hard to sit there and watch."

Henry is now back in the lineup, even playing a new position (second base) and rediscovering his stroke at the plate. The Warren County grad and current Shenandoah University infielder is one of many for the Cardinals that have helped transform a program that has hardly been synonymous with winning.

With one week left in the regular season, Front Royal boasts the best overall record in the Valley Baseball League, which has brought newfound excitement within the organization and its ever-growing fan base.

This just one year removed from a program-worst 12-32 season, the second time in three seasons the Cardinals missed the eight-team playoff field.

Tired of having one mediocre campaign after another, the Cardinals made a change in the dugout and went with a young assistant coach from the University of Tennessee-Martin, Joe Scarano, for the 2009 season.

Scarano had been previously a head coach at tiny Gordon College, but the Valley League represented a bigger challenge, especially considering that Scarano had no prior connection to the league. Scarano made phone calls right away, touching base with many of his coaching contacts and fielding what he felt would be a talented group in his first season leading Front Royal.

Now the Cardinals are not only making a case for the playoffs, but also for the league's top seed.

"I knew we'd be competitive," Scarano said before Saturday's game with Rockbridge. "I didn't know we'd be in first place [in the North Division] and have as much success as we've had so far. That's a real testimony to the kids that are here and the coaches that are here.

"Our goal from the beginning was to make the playoffs, and that's still our goal. Anything can happen once you get to the playoffs. I'm just glad we're in a position -- if we keep playing well -- to make the playoffs."

One of the Cardinals' first-year players has made a huge difference.

Coming off an all-America season and helping Shenandoah earn a berth in the Division III World Series for the first time, pitcher/first baseman Greg Van Sickler earned a roster spot just days before camp opened in late May.

Anxious to play a part in the rebuilding process, Van Sickler still wondered if coming from a smaller school would hinder his chance to get on the field.

"I remember coming in here and I was kind of skeptical about the Valley League," Van Sickler said. "A couple of [Shenandoah] seniors told me 'You're no different from them and they're no different from you.' I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get a chance to do something. But they gave me the ball against Winchester and I kind of did all right. Just kind of earned my spot a little bit."

In that game against Winchester, on June 7 at Bridgeforth Field, Van Sickler threw eight shutout innings before he gave up a homer in the ninth and was lifted. Ryan George came on to earn the save, and Van Sickler had his first VBL win. Since, Van Sickler has been a staple in the Cardinals rotation, pitching out of the No. 2 spot and earning a spot on both the Valley Baseball League Mid-Atlantic and VBL Northern Division all-star squads. Van Sickler pitched a scoreless inning at the league's all-star game earlier this month in Woodstock.

Pitching has been a huge plus for Front Royal, with starters Van Sickler, Rob Nixon and Ross Speed all earning at least four wins apiece. Throw in a bullpen that has seen six different relievers earn at least one save, and the guidance of first-year pitching coach Jake Weghorst has been invaluable.

Only a few seasons removed from his set-up role on the Baylor pitching staff, Weghorst has been able to transfer what he has learned well to suit each pitcher on Front Royal's 11-man staff.

"I like it," Van Sickler said. "I get to pitch every sixth day, which is really nice. I can have a lot more rest with my arm. I can get the soreness out and get ready for a couple days later. I really like it how [Weghorst] has taken control of the pitching staff."

On the UT-Martin staff with Scarano this spring, Weghorst, as well as fellow staffer Travis Webb, took Scarano's invitation to join him in coming to Front Royal. All along, Scarano has said he wanted to allow Weghorst some space and freedom to structure a sound pitching staff for the Cardinals.

"I learned from a coaching friend that if you don't let your assistants have real responsibility, then they're not going to grow and their investment is lower," Scarano said. "Not many managers will allow their pitching coach that much flexibility. I did as a head coach at Gordon College and I saw it gave me an opportunity to really run the offense and run the defense. I didn't want to have my hand in too many things. So it's worked out well."

Even reliever Dan Rossignol, one of two returning players for Front Royal, has grown to accept his role, though he is projected to throw fewer innings this summer.

"A couple pitchers left early last year so that kind of gave most of us more innings," Rossignol said. "I mean, it's tough getting the innings cut down, but it's worth it when we're winning."

The Cardinals can probably point to the 16-9 loss they took at Winchester on June 24 -- their ninth in 11 games after a 4-0 start -- to being the wake-up call needed to produce better results on the field. The Cardinals returned late to Front Royal and got little sleep, with Scarano calling for an early morning practice the following day.

"We brought them down to the Bing [Crosby Stadium], probably [at] 7 a.m. for a workout," Scarano said. "More than anything else, it was an opportunity for me to address the team. We really talked to them about how we were not going to accept failure. I just told them that I was tired of seeing talented guys lose. And they took it well and worked out hard that morning, and they just started to roll with it."

The Cardinals have won 16 of 21 since that lopsided defeat to the Royals in June, and have won 12 of 14 games at home. Winning more at home usually means adding more fans along the way.

Front Royal has had crowds of more than 500 people for five home games this season, with a high of 621 fans in attendance July 5 for a 7-5 win by Front Royal over Winchester. Last season, the Cardinals had only two home games (out of 22 dates) with as many as 500 fans.

"They come to the games and stay," said Front Royal's senior vice president, David Wines, who has been on the Cardinals board since the inception of the program in 1984. "They don't leave [early] because we've got a team -- we may be down three runs -- but we could hit the home run at any time.

"To me, it's been really exciting. I think the fans have enjoyed it. The crowds have been good this year."

Win or lose, the Cardinals have been the most productive long-ball hitting team in the league from the start of the season. League-leader Steve McQuail, Jared Simon, James Roche and Dan Evatt offer the type of power that has been missing for years in Front Royal's lineup.

Having the inviting walls of the Bing helps a lot, Wines said.

"For the first time in a lot of years we're hitting home runs," said Wines, who can usually be found watching the action several rows up in the chair-back seats in front of the press box. "And playing at the Bing, that's a great advantage. In the past, we haven't had that."

Van Sickler can attest to the run support he has received when he pitches, getting an average of 10 runs during a string of three starts he made between June 28 and July 14 -- all victories. What's made the season even more enjoyable is getting to spend an extra two months with Shenandoah teammates Henry and outfielder Kevin Brashears.

"It's fun," Van Sickler said. "I can't say I've gotten tired of them yet. It's kind of a comfort factor for me because coming in here I really didn't know anyone. So with [Henry and Brashears] I can relate. I don't feel too out of place."

Scarano has made a solid impression, not only with the Cardinals, but around the league, according to team president Donna Settle.

"We're getting a lot of positive response on how Joe conducts himself, both home and away," Settle said. "He's new to the Valley League, and some of the other teams will have the same [manager] year after year after year. The Cardinals have historically been different in bringing in coaches that have wanted to improve themselves in the collegiate [field].

"We've had some success this season, and part of that is due to Joe's demeanor. His ability to platoon players on the field and the way he conducts himself with other teams, coaches and umpires has been a success compared to other years around here."

A top-10 hitter in the VBL last season, Henry's injured tendon prevented him from getting off to a good start offensively. But after his rest, Henry is back strong and ready to contribute for a manager he likes playing for.

"He's young enough that he can relate to us, but also old enough to where we respect him," said Henry, who had a league-best .533 average during the week of July 12-19 and was selected the North Division Player of the Week. "I mean, we know when to have fun and when to get serious about baseball."