Will the third time be the charm?
That’s the question facing manager Scott Smith’s Roanoke Post 3 American Legion team this week as they make their third consecutive appearance in the eight-team double elimination state tournament which opens in Williamsburg on Tuesday. Roanoke will face Newport News Post 348 in their 5:00 p.m. opening contest.
The winner of the Virginia state tournament advances to the Southeast Regional which begins August 5th in Ashboro, NC.
Post 3 has one of its most talented teams in recent years, and is 15-2 on the season heading into Tuesday’s game. They finished district play 10-0.
Smith has said the key to success is keeping players interested and coming back, and Post 3 has quite the lineup to fit that bill. Five players are currently playing college baseball (Legion rules allow players to participate through their first year of college) with five more who graduated from high school in June and will play at the college level this fall.
The group with one year of college experience under their belts include Harrison Richards (Roanoke College/Cave Spring), Steve Klaiber (UVa-Wise/Cave Spring), Sam Lawrence (Shenandoah Univ./North Cross), Andrew Peterson (Roanoke College/Cave Spring) and Hayden Smith (Allegheny College,PA/Hidden Valley).
Those who graduated and will continue at the next level this fall include Chad Frazier (Hidden Valley/Francis Marion Univ. SC), Jack Moore (Hidden Valley/Roanoke College), Lucas Nowlin (Northside/ Roanoke College), Nic Ratliff (Hidden Valley/Bluefield College ,WV) and Griffin Stanley (Cave Spring/Eastern Mennonite Univ.).
Other players rounding out the Post 3 squad include Joseph Bolinger (Hidden Valley ’13), Hayes Nelson (Hidden Valley ’14), Evan Deyerle (Patrick Henry ’14), Matt Doughty (North Cross ’14), Ben Schmidt (Hidden Valley ’14), Grant Snyder (Cave Spring ’14), Tanner McCoy (North Cross ’14) and Jake Schuyler (Cave Spring ’14).
The leading hitter for Post 3 this season is Tanner McCoy with a .523 average, 3 homers and 22 RBIs. Steve Klaiber follows with a .452 average, with speedster Griffin Stanley hitting .400 in the leadoff spot with 22 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. The Post 3 team has hit .343 and averaged more than nine runs per game.
Harrison Richards is expected to start on the mound in game one, sporting a 1.01 ERA with 39 strikeouts. Jake Schuyler will follow on the hill in game two, coming in with a 0.81 ERA.
On Monday, Chad Frazier was named the 2013 Virginia Legion Scholarship winner, awarded to the state Legion player who represents the very best of academics, athletics and community service. Frazier, a honor roll student and multi-sport athlete at Hidden Valley, was selected from nominees of over 100 Legion teams in Virginia. It was the first time in 40 years that 2 players from the same Post team were selected in successive years, following Post 3’s Hayden Smith in 2012.
BILL TURNER
