Here’s our second-to-last Elite Eight matchup! This will be a tough one- both of these guys can drum up support.

  • Trevin Eubanks defeated Mike Grace, 93% to 7% (43 votes), and Matt Blair, 79.1% to 20.9% (43 votes, again). His writeup: “In the summer of 2018, New Market righthander Trevin Eubanks got to experience something that most pitchers don’t- he struck out the last batter for a championship team. This meant he was the victim of the dogpile, but I can’t imagine that it wasn’t worth it. But lest we forget, the big, physical senior also was lights-out all summer. In fact, when the second game of the finals was beginning (the same game that Trevin ended with a K), a general manager of another VBL team said to me, “Charlottesville better get ahead in this game, because if they don’t, and [New Market] gets to Eubanks in the pen… it’s over.” Well, he was exactly right. In the regular season, Eubanks went 2-0, 1.50, with a 0.833 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9, and 18.0 K/9 in 18 innings (9 walks and 36 K’s). In the playoffs, he went 0-0, 4.50, with one save and four more K’s in four more innings. At the conclusion of the season, he was named the league’s 2nd best reliever. In 2019, he transferred to Valdosta State for his senior year, and went 0-4, 5.40, with 14 walks and 41 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings. After his college career, he signed with Schaumburg of the independent Frontier League, where he appeared in 10 games in 2019, striking out 13 in 13 2/3 innings.”
  • Conor Miller beat Mark Lamm, 85.6% to 13.5% (89 votes), and Randy Dobnak, 73.7% to 26.3% (95 votes). His writeup: “Conor Miller is the most recent top reliever, as he was named ATVL’s #1 in 2019 for Woodstock. From Division-III York, Miller went 1-1, 0.47 for the Bandits, with two saves, a 0.737 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, and 8.5 K/9 in 19 innings pitched. He gave up only two runs, one earned, all regular season. Miller returned to York for the 2020 college season and started three games before Covid-19 did its thing. Miller is planning to return to Woodstock in 2021- maybe we’ll have the first repeat top reliever in the history of the award?”

Vote by going to twitter.com/JohnATVL.

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.

Also, please check out and subscribe to the Valley Baseball League youtube channel!

  • Eubanks
  • Miller