The 6th best starter in the 2019 Valley League season, Woodstock’s Seth Konkel, came oh-so-close to pitching the game of the year.
On July 14, Konkel faced the Purcellville Cannons in Woodstock, and fired inning after inning of shutout ball against the Cannon’s tough lineup. He entered the ninth inning with a 1-hit shutout… but also had thrown 110 pitches, just ten away from the pitch count limit imposed on all Valley League players.
The Cannons led off with a double, but Konkel then retired the next two batters. With only three pitches left, he faced the Cannon’s Bradley Riopelle. When Riopelle took a pitch for ball two (against one strike), Konkel’s night was done, right in the middle of a batter. His bullpen couldn’t hold the shutout, as Riopelle walked, and then two more walks forced a run home.
Konkel’s final line, though- 8 2/3 innings, two hits, one earned run, two walks, and nine strikeouts- gave him a game score of 81, the third best in the entire summer.
Here are his final stats:
| ERA | W | L | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | BAVG | WIP | BB/9 | K/9 | |
| 2019 | 2.48 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 32.7 | 22 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 0.193 | 1.040 | 3.3 | 6.9 |
| Play | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.200 | 1.750 | 9.0 | 13.5 |
Among pitchers considered for this list, Konkel finished seventh in ERA, ninth in innings pitched, third in batting average against, and tied for second in WHIP. He was named second team All-Valley after the season.
The six-foot-two lefty transferred to Lee University this summer after spending two years with the brand-new program of Paul D. Camp Community College:
| ERA | W | L | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | WIP | BB/9 | K/9 | |
| 2018 | 6.58 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 39.7 | 31 | 34 | 29 | 16 | 37 | 1.184 | 3.6 | 8.4 |
| 2019 | 3.00 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 54.0 | 48 | 24 | 18 | 21 | 66 | 1.278 | 3.5 | 11.0 |
Watch for Konkel to have an immediate impact for his new school!
All Things Valley League 