After six years, Stu Richardson has sold the Woodstock River Bandits to Jim Yates, who lives in Rappahannock County. The sale was approved by the Valley Baseball League on Thursday.
WINCHESTER -- The Valley Baseball League seasons of Winchester and New Market ended Friday, as both teams were on the wrong end of sweeps in the playoff semifinals.
The Valley Baseball League finals are set.
Covington defeated Winchester and Haymarket took down New Market in the second game of both series on Friday night. Both series were sweeps, and the finals will be a showdown between the two lowest seeds in the eight-team tournament, which started earlier this week.
WINCHESTER -- With the way the Winchester Royals have hit this season, they could be a threat no matter who they face in the Valley Baseball League playoffs.
NEW MARKET -- The Rebels gave up two unearned runs in the first three innings and were unable to overcome those mistakes, losing to the Luray Wranglers, 5-4, in Game 2 of the Valley Baseball League quarterfinals.
WOODSTOCK -- The fourth-seeded Woodstock River Bandits hosted the fifth-seeded Winchester Royals in the first round of the Valley Baseball League playoffs Monday night.
LURAY -- It took four double plays, three pitchers and 11 innings, but New Market finally overcame Luray, 5-4, on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Valley Baseball League playoffs.
FRONT ROYAL -- Never count Covington out once it gets to the playoffs. The Lumberjacks pulled off a stunner in their opening-round Valley Baseball League series with top-seed Front Royal, scoring two unearned runs and getting a complete game performance from Daniel DeSimone to beat the Cardinals 2-1 on Sunday night.
WINCHESTER -- Making his third start since joining Front Royal's rotation, Matt Bowling had to be right on with his pitches Friday night at Winchester.
NEW MARKET -- The New Market Rebels were looking to end their four game losing streak and take charge of their own fate regarding a post-season playoff spot when they hosted the Harrisonburg Turks in Valley Baseball League action Friday night.
NEW MARKET -- Woodstock continued its hot streak Thursday night against New Market. The River Bandits stormed Rebel field using a four-run first inning to give another blow to the Rebels' playoff hopes in a 5-2 victory.
WOODSTOCK -- Despite one bad inning, Woodstock dominated Luray on Wednesday, defeating the Wranglers 7-5 and securing the River Bandits a spot in the upcoming Valley Baseball League playoffs.
WINCHESTER -- Victimized by walk-offs the last two nights, the Winchester Royals used a little late-game magic of their own Wednesday night to edge North Division rival Fauquier 6-5 in the first game of a Valley Baseball League doubleheader at Bridgeforth Field.
NEW MARKET -- It came without warning. A fastball to the head of New Market outfielder Kenny Mickens only two pitches into the Rebels' game at Woodstock on Monday night.
FRONT ROYAL -- Steven Rivera was masterful again. The Winchester right-hander was doing everything right, baffling Front Royal's bats inning after inning, just like he did last week in a complete game shutout of the Valley Baseball League's top team.
NEW MARKET -- The Luray Wranglers and New Market Rebels have traded first place in the Central Division in the last two days and they entered a bit of a time warp in their Valley Baseball League engagement Tuesday night.
WOODSTOCK -- The New Market Rebels and Woodstock River Bandits were a bit roughed up on the way to their Valley Baseball League contest Monday night and the tiredness showed.
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.
WOODSTOCK -- The River Bandits' closer held a sticky brown glob on his throwing hand after Sunday night's 10-inning 8-7 win over Rockbridge in Valley Baseball League action.
WINCHESTER -- Right-handed pitcher Jorge Madsen took the mound to begin the fifth and gave the Winchester Royals five quality innings of relief to help lead the team to its seventh win in as many games.
WOODSTOCK -- The first few innings went like clockwork at Central High School. First, Woodstock pitcher Ian Marshall retired the side for the North, then New Market's Eric Alessio returned the favor pitching for the South.
FRONT ROYAL -- Find the barrel of the bat, hit the ball hard. The thought darts through Front Royal cleanup hitter Steve McQuail's head as he looms over home plate, watching as the pitcher twists into his windup.
NEW MARKET -- The Harrisonburg Turks and the New Market Rebels scored all their runs in the first two innings Friday night. The Turks scored twice in the first and held on for a 2-1 win in Valley Baseball League action.
WOODSTOCK -- After barely avoiding a late-inning collapse Thursday against New Market, Winchester put together nine solid innings of pitching on Friday to defeat Woodstock 4-1 on the road and extend its winning streak to four games in Valley Baseball League play.
FRONT ROYAL -- Ross Speed had to keep pounding the strike zone. Par for the course during Thursday night's start against Waynesboro, Speed would start innings well for the Cardinals, let the Generals get runners on base, and work his way out of trouble.
WINCHESTER -- Jordan Steranka doubled to center in the bottom of the 10th scoring Steven Sabins from first to propel the Winchester Royals to a 10-inning 9-8 win over New Market on Thursday at Bridgeforth Field.
WOODSTOCK -- Cory Tilton was in a good spot to be successful. Hitting eighth in Woodstock's batting order, Tilton knew he was going to get pitches to hit from Front Royal starting pitcher Shane Galloway, who twice found himself in jams during Wednesday night's Valley Baseball League game.
WINCHESTER -- After a five-game losing streak, the Winchester Royals have come storming back to take two Valley Baseball League games in a row. After beating Waynesboro by 10 runs Tuesday, the Royals dominated Covington on Wednesday 8-2 at Bridgeforth Field.
NEW MARKET -- The New Market Rebels brought a three-game winning streak to their Valley Baseball League game against the Haymarket Senators on Wednesday night.
NEW MARKET -- New Market's 6-foot-9 starting pitcher Steve Owens allowed only one hit in six innings to help lead the Rebels to a 5-3 win over Harrisonburg on Monday night in Valley Baseball League action.
FRONT ROYAL --Last season the Front Royal Cardinals might have lost a game like this. Twice on Sunday night, Winchester came back to trail the Cardinals by a run. And each time, North Division leader Front Royal had an answer.
WOODSTOCK -- The River Bandits continued their most recent win streak against the visiting Harrisonburg Turks on Tuesday, scoring five runs in the seventh inning to blow the game open in a 6-1 victory.
WOODSTOCK -- The Woodstock River Bandits sent eight batters to the plate in three innings -- and scored three runs each time -- in a 9-4 win over Central Division rival New Market Rebels on Monday.
WINCHESTER -- The Winchester Royals faced a daunting challenge Sunday when Haymarket, the North Division leader, came to Bridgeforth Field for a pair of games. The Royals, who were in last place and 2 1/2 games behind the Senators, used the challenge to make up ground with a doubleheader sweep (3-2, 11-8).
WOODSTOCK -- After losing to Fauquier on Thursday, Woodstock was faced with the daunting task of facing Covington, a team that had dominated them earlier in the week by eight runs.
To the dismay of Valley Baseball League players, coaches and management, the region has been drenched by rainstorms, postponing games across the area.
There are those days when early downpours make postponements inevitable, and so players can enjoy a rare summer day away from the diamond. But only a few weeks into this young season, players are itching to get out onto the field, even if it's just for a practice.
FRONT ROYAL -- Following the Front Royal Cardinals' seven-run loss to Winchester on Wednesday, head coach Joe Scarano knew his team needed a little extra work. So he held an early practice session Thursday morning to try and work his team out of its funk.
WOODSTOCK -- Heith Hatfield tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout for the Woodstock River Bandits, whose bats came alive with 11 hits in a 6-0 win over the Rockbridge Rapids on Wednesday.
FRONT ROYAL -- Haymarket took advantage of critical mistakes by Front Royal to defeat the Cardinals 6-4 on Tuesday in Valley Baseball League play at Bing Crosby Stadium.
In a game full of defensive lapses, the Royals pulled themselves together long enough for a 7-4 victory over Harrisonburg on Tuesday night at Bridgeforth Field. The two teams combined for as many errors as runs (11).
WOODSTOCK -- Covington exploded for seven runs punctuated by a grand slam by Lumberjack left fielder Adam Browett in the third inning then rode the pitching of Benedy Mejia to demolish Woodstock on Monday in Valley League action at Woodstock.
By Dennis Atwood - sports@nvdaily.com NEW MARKET -- New Market overcame six errors and came back from an early deficit to beat Haymarket, 5-4, in Valley League action on Tuesday night The Rebels trailed 4-1 after four innings, but picked up two in the fifth...
FRONT ROYAL -- Luray held on Sunday in a game marked by clutch hitting and a couple of untimely errors to defeat Front Royal 7-6 in Valley Baseball League play at Bing Crosby Stadium.
NEW MARKET -- After a slow start in Valley League play, New Market played superbly in every phase of the game Friday, dominating Luray, 8-1, at Rebel Park.
WOODSTOCK -- One swing of the bat accounted for all the scoring as two starting left-handed pitchers dueled for seven innings, each giving up five hits, and the Woodstock River Bandits took a 1-0 squeaker over the New Market Rebels on Tuesday night.
FRONT ROYAL -- Just two pitches into the game, the tone was set. Dropping a bunt down the third-base side, Fauquier's Chad Oberacker forced Front Royal pitcher Shane Galloway to rush to field and make a wild throw to first, resulting in a three-base error.
NEW MARKET -- The Woodstock River Bandits three-game road winning streak was brought to an abrupt halt as the New Market Rebels broke open a tight game with four runs on five hits in the seventh, on the way to a convincing 7-2 win, in a Valley League contest.
WINCHESTER -- The Winchester Royals began the season with a trend that was anything but promising. Falling behind early, the Royals would come back to take the lead, then be unable to hold it in the late innings.
FRONT ROYAL -- A team that arrives back home in the early-morning hours after an extra-innings loss is not supposed to come out and swing the bats well early in its next game.
WINCHESTER -- After trailing early, Winchester made a dramatic comeback in the late innings only to fall short, losing to Luray 11-9 in Valley League play Friday at Bridgeforth Field.
WINCHESTER -- Front Royal got a pair of solo homers from Jared Simon and another from Stephen McQuail, then fought off a late-inning rally to defeat Winchester, 4-3, on Sunday in the Royals' VBL home opener.
