Our last Sweet Sixteen matchup is between Andrew Czech (Staunton 2019) and Rick Spiers (Charlottesville 2017).

  • Czech walloped Mac Williamson (Harr) to get here- 89.7-10.3%. His writeup: “Czech, a rather large man at 6-foot-6, pummelled VBL pitching in 2019 for the Staunton baseball team. In 40 games and 157 at-bats, he hit .344/.453/.611, with 31 runs scored, 15 doubles, nine home runs, 47 RBIs, and an excellent 30/23 BB/K ratio. He was in the top ten of league leaders in every single category except for triples- he was tied for eighth in batting average, seventh in OPS, tied for seventh in on base percentage, fifth in slugging percentage, second in walks, second in total bases (with 96), first in RBIs, tied for second in home runs, tied for first in doubles, second in hits, and tied for eighth in runs. Woof. As a sophomore in 2018, he hit .368/.493/.737 in 171 at-bats, with 18 doubles and 15 home runs. As a junior in ’19, he upped those numbers to .417/.538/.823 in 175 at-bats, with 18 doubles and 17 home runs. Czech is planning to return to Walsh for a redshirt senior season in 2021.”
  • Spiers defeated Gunnar McNeill (Stan), 60-40%. Here is his writeup: “Rick Spiers joined the Tom Sox after his junior year at D-III Randoph Macon. He was a crucial player in the Sox’s first championship season, hitting .333/.391/.487 in 117 at-bats, with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, and eight stolen bases. On the mound, he went 4-0, 0.78, with a 2.0 BB/9 and 10.6 K/9 in 23 innings pitched. He was on the bump for the final out of the final game of the 2017 championship series, after the Tom Sox went 32-10 in the regular season. Over his four years in school, Spiers hit .349/.399/.489 in 570 at-bats, with 33 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs, 126 RBIs, a 52/96 BB/K ratio, and 50 stolen bases in 57 attempts. On the mound, he went 15-8, 2.83 in 178 innings, with six saves and 151 strikeouts. He was not drafted after his senior year in 2018. (To watch the VBL podcast with Rick, click here.)”

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And by the way, if you want to read a ton about either the 2015 or 2019 VBL season, be sure to check out this post on the 2019 Valley League Annual.

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Czech
Spiers