By John Leonard
Rosters have been announced for the 2021 Valley Baseball League All-Star Game, which will feature the 26 best players from the North and South Divisions this season.
The 2021 Valley League All-Star Game will be held on Sunday, July 11 at James Madison University’s Veterans Memorial Park.
The North squad is comprised of players from Front Royal, New Market, Purcellville, Strasburg, Winchester and Woodstock. The South squad consists of athletes from Charlottesville, Covington, Harrisonburg, Staunton and Waynesboro. Each squad initially included ten pitchers and sixteen position players.
The North team will be managed by Woodstock’s Mike Bocock and the South by Charlotteville’s Kory Koehler. Managers of the rosters were determined by the leading teams in the standings at the conclusion of games through Sunday, July 4.
Batting practice and autograph/photo sessions for young fans will take place from 3:10-4:45 p.m. The 60 yard dash contest and Home Run Derby will be held between 4:50 p.m. and 7 p.m. Player introductions will be at 7:15 p.m. with first pitch set for 7:30 p.m.
The evening will also feature the fifth class of the Valley Baseball League Hall of Fame, which will be introduced at 7:00 p.m.
Here are the teams, as chosen by the league’s coaches:
North
C- Will Long, Winchester (Tennessee Tech)
C- Niko Amory, Front Royal (Marist)
1B- Austin Bulman, Winchester (Rice)
1B- Jordan Crawford, New Market (Southwestern Oregon)
2B- Nate Furman, Winchester (UNC Charlotte)
2B- Tripp McKinley, Strasburg (St.Johns River State)
SS- Edrick Felix, Woodstock (Central Florida)
SS- Cristopher De Guzman, Winchester (Alabama State)
3B- Ryan Galanie, Strasburg (Wofford)
3B- Marco Martinez, Woodstock (Pasadena CC)
OF- Aiden Nagle, Woodstock (Lewis-Clark)
OF- Jackson Lancaster, New Market (Missouri)
OF- Wade Cuda, Front Royal (Lenoir-Rhyne)
OF- Jaylon Lee, Woodstock (Eastern Mennonite)
OF- Brayton Brown, Strasburg (Auburn)
OF- Chad Fairey, Strasburg (Clemson)
RHP- Joe Vogatsky, Purcellville (James Madison)
RHP- Matt Poston, Purcellville (Florence-Darlington)
RHP- Kenneth Quijano, Winchester (Rider)
RHP- Dan Ouderkirk, Strasburg (West Virginia)
RHP- Anthony Arguelles, Woodstock (Miami)
RHP- Greg Martinez, New Market (Louisiana Tech)
LHP- Salvatore Ferro, Front Royal (Long Island)
RHP- Conor Miller, Woodstock (York)
RHP- Ryan Ammons, Strasburg (Clemson)
RHP- Michael Darrell-Hicks, Winchester (Jacksonville U)
South
C- Connor Cino, Waynesboro (South Carolina)
C- Logan McNeely, Harrisonburg (Wingate)
1B- Wyatt Langford, Charlottesville (Florida)
1B- Nathan Becker, Covington (Rice)
2B- Aidan Huggins, Waynesboro (Illinois State)
2B- Carlos Marte, Harrisonburg (Elon)
SS- Ryan McCarty, Staunton (Penn State Abington)
SS- Cole Foster, Charlottesville (Auburn)
3B- Cole Ragone, Staunton (William & Mary)
3B- Alejandro Figueredo, Waynesboro (Florida Gulf Coast)
OF- Victor Castillo, Covington (Florida Atlantic)
OF- Michael Rosario, Harrisonburg (Miami)
OF- Max Weller, Waynesboro (Arizona Western)
OF- Ian Diaz, Staunton (Maryland Baltimore)
OF- Joseph Holiga, Staunton (Walsh)
OF- Zach Levenson, Waynesboro (Seminole State)
RHP- Gant Starling, Covington (The Citadel)
LHP- Chris Widger, Staunton (Rowan College)
RHP- Christian Worley, Charlottesville (Virginia Tech)
RHP- Logan McClure, Harrisonburg (West Virginia Tech)
RHP- Bradley Wilson, Waynesboro (East Carolina)
RHP- Hunter Mink, Covington (Florida)
RHP- Brady Kirtner, Charlottesville (Virginia Tech)
RHP- Dillon Janac, Charlottesville (Rice)
RHP- Andres Rodriguez, Harrisonburg (Florida Tech)
RHP- Matthew Marchal, Covington (Wofford)
Home Run Derby Participants
Brayton Brown, Strasburg
Chad Fairey, Strasburg
Jaylon Lee, Woodstock
Ryan Galanie, Strasburg
Austin Bulman, Winchester
Jackson Lancaster, New Market
Ben Brantley, Front Royal
Marco Martinez, Woodstock
Aidan Nagle, Woodstock
Zach Levenson, Waynesboro
Kyle Murphy, Waynesboro
Kyle Merkle, Covington
To read much more about the Valley League, check out All Things Valley League!