by Bill Turner
High school baseball and softball head into the home stretch in the next two weeks before the road to the state tournaments begin. District races are heating up with more than a few surprises in the last week.
In the Wild Bill Baseball Top-3, Hidden Valley takes over first place with a 12-3 overall record. Lord Botetourt (14-4), after its loss to William Byrd, falls to second. Cave Spring, perfect in the River Ridge at 7-0, claims the third spot despite a 10-7 overall record. Waiting in the wings as possible pollbusters are North Cross, (15-4) winners of nine of their last ten, and Northside at 12-6.
In the Wild Bill Softball Top-3, Northside (15-2) moves into first with its win last Friday over William Byrd. Byrd (11-4) falls to second, with Salem (10-6) moving into third after dealing Cave Spring its first district loss.
For the sizzling baseball game of the week, we look no further than Cave Spring’s 23-7 win over Salem last Friday. The Knights seem to rise to the occasion in River Ridge play where they remain undefeated..
The Greenbrier Classic PGA Tour event scheduled for the last week of July in White Sulphur Springs hit a pair of home runs with announcements on Monday. Joining the field for 2011 will be Phil Mickelson, one of the biggest names in pro golf. This year’s field also includes the likes of Sergio Garcia, eight-time major winner Tom Watson, as well as defending champion Stuart Appleby, who closed with a final-round 59 to win the 2010 event.
Greenbrier owner Jim Justice also announced that the concert series would add a new dimension for 2011. With country stars Tim McGraw and Keith Urban already set for Thursday and Saturday nights respectively, the stage Friday night will be hopping with the high-energy six-time Grammy winners, The Black Eyed Peas. No question that Justice is on track to make this a prime PGA stop annually.
The First Tee of the Roanoke Valley has been given an extension through May 31st to sell Greenbrier tournament badges which benefit the local chapter. Badges are good for entry into all six days of the tournament and all three concerts. Contact Jennifer Blackwood at The First Tee at 563-1833 for information.
A correction to last week’s column on the upcoming 2011 Scott Robertson Memorial junior golf tournament. The dates at the Roanoke Country Club are Friday through Sunday, May 20th-22nd. The field for the 28th annual event include participants from 20 different states and 15 countries. Since its inception the Robertson has given over $200,000 in college scholarships and $100,000 to the First Tee of Roanoke Valley. Former champions of the event include PGA players Webb Simpson and Hunter Mahan as well as LPGA standout Paula Creamer.
Softball fans can head to Salem’s Moyer Complex in the next two weeks as the City of Champions adds a couple more notches to its number of NCAA championship title events. The Division III tournament is set for May 20-24, while the Division II tournament follows May 26-30.
The Salem Red Sox continue to lead the Southern Division of the Carolina League after taking three of four games from second place Myrtle Beach. The Sox return home tonight (Fri, May 13th) to begin a seven day homestand with Winston-Salem and Wilmington.
Now to the mailbag.
Dear Mr. Bill: Why don’t you have a high school baseball and softball Top-10 instead of a Top-3 ? (Bob/Roanoke)
Answer: Pretty simple, Bob. We cover 11 Roanoke-area teams. Two don’t play softball, so filling the #10 spot would be tough. All eleven play baseball, so a Top-10 list is going to get somebody real mad. I’m no fool.
Quotation of the week:
“ Always go to other people’s funerals… otherwise they won’t come to yours.” – Yogi Berra
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