Yes, good eye, Brilliant Reader! Usually this post covers the top players from the entire weekend. However, no former VBLers made the Saturday list, and D1baseball.com has not published the Sunday list. (And since I’m in the middle of transferring old stuff from the old league website to the new (to be launched hopefully within a week or so), I don’t have time to cull the boxscores myself. So here we are!
Friday Top Performers
- Cole McConnell, Louisiana Tech (Front Royal 2021): 3-4, four runs, four RBIs, walk, double, home run
- Peyton Wigginton, Middle Tennessee (Staunton 2018): Nine shutout innings, two hits, three walks, 10 K’s, win (Game Score: 90)
- Jacob Cravey, Samford (Strasburg 2021): Eight innings, five hits, one run, no walks, seven K’s, win (GS: 75)
- Blaze Koali’i Pontes, Hawaii (Purcellville 2019): 6 2/3 shutout innings, six hits, one walk, eight K’s, win (GS: 69)
Hopefully we’ll be back with another season preview article…. hopefully….
All Things Valley League 
You missed Winchester’s Michael Darrell-Hicks on Saturday. Threw a 3 hit, 1 run, 7 K game for Jacksonville University against North Florida to clinch a spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
Sorry, Bart! I take these players straight from D1baseball.com’s list, and Michael wasn’t on it. Great game, though!
Understood. Thanks! They apparently also missed the following:
-Record setting 6 Ks to start the game (and 8 of the first 9 outs) in a 3-2 win over Florida State
-6 shutout innings at the University of Florida in a 1-0 loss
-4-1 win at league leading Liberty
-2-0 shutout of Stetson
-beat Florida Gulf Coast giving up 1 run
…..and some others.
(Not that I’m bitter! 😂)
The Valley League, and Coach Smith and the Winchester team, in particular, made for a fantastic experience for Michael. We are very grateful.