After the “oopsie” Sports Desk host Jim Sacco and TNV Sports Writer Corine Gatti chat about soccer and softball.
Then it’s time for interim sports editor Robert Sisk to join Sacco as the two talk about Southern Valley District baseball:
When you have the speed of Terrell Thompson leading off for your baseball team, the obvious question to ask Waynesboro skipper Jim Critzer is why isn’t the speedster plopping down a bunt when he steps up to start things off? Every. Single. Time.
It would work. Thompson can beat out anything slower than a hot shot to the corner or second base and with an every-now-and-again slow dribbler, the Little Giants could begin almost every game with a runner on first and nobody out. (Throw in the very good possibility that there are few, if any, catchers in the Southern Valley, and probably the region, that can’t throw Thompson out trying to snag second, and Waynesboro can start every game with a man in scoring position if they so desire.)
But Critzer said he couldn’t do it. Not with Thompson batting just above a .600 clip. “How can I ask the kid to bunt when he’s hitting like that?” he said after practice Monday.
Yeah, but still … wait … never mind. Thompson went 3-for-3 Tuesday with three stolen bases and he scored twice. So, yeah. Forget that question, coach. Next …
And another thing: Thompson isn’t the only Little Giant whose bat is coming alive as the team veers toward its Tuesday match up with Southern Valley rival Stuarts Draft. (Or the only player named Thompson with a hot stick.) Jay Thompson, arguably the best pure hitter in the Southern Valley (he was, after all, the best hitter in the, cue music, then-Valley District last season), kicked his average above the .700 mark with an RBI double in the Little Giants’ 10-3 shellacking of Harrisonburg on Tuesday.
Said Critzer: “We didn’t hit the ball as well as we should have.”
What!? Seriously, coach? After last year’s Group AA Final Four finish, don’t blame Critzer for placing lofty expectations on a team led by a big-gun arm (Jeremy Hahn, who recorded the win over Harrisonburg), a tough-out bat (Jay Thompson) and a speedy leadoff man (Terrell Thompson). But it makes us wonder what it’s going to take to make Critzer happy. A box of stogies? Ten-to-zip wins every night? A Southern Valley title? A Region III title? More? What? OK? How about getting the Waynesboro baseball program back to where it should be? Oh, he’s done that already. So, yeah. Forget it. Don’t know what it’s gonna take to make Critzer happy with his ball club.
Ah, we got it. A win over Stuarts Draft on Tuesday and being in the driver’s seat of the district. Though a box of good stogies probably wouldn’t hurt.
Speaking of Stuarts Draft: Before Rockbridge came to town Tuesday, Josh Podgorski said his Cougars were in a little bit of a hitting rut. Then the fourth inning rolled around, Draft batted through its order three times and scored 17 runs.
So much for that.
Added bonus alert: All of this came during Draft’s first district game. Now that’s what we call timing.
With a team ERA hovering around 7, watching his ace Cameron Cook only give up three runs in the complete-game win had to be nice for Podgorski as well.
In Greenville, Taylor “There” Yego was 4-for-4, but the Gladiators lost. Why did I put that in here? Easy. So I can type Yego.
Don’t look now, but you know that Stuarts Draft softball team everybody likes to complain about? Well, they just won their second straight Southern Valley District game. Hey, I’m just saying.
“I have to say that I am very pleased with [the] team’s performance tonight,” said Waynesboro girls soccer coach Robin Hersey after his Little Giants gave R.E. Lee its first loss of the year. “We just need to keep passing …”
Bree Simonsen, your table is ready. And no, somebody can pass HER the bread.
“We have a very solid team here,” said Waynesboro boys soccer coach Bill Meicke on Monday after his Little Giants beat Stuarts Draft 4-1.
Solid? You bet. You can call your team whatever positive you want after you dismantle — and let’s be honest here, when you win 4-1 in soccer it qualifies as an official “dismantling” — a Cougar squad that features more seniors than a Thursday night bowling league.
Wanna know what else is solid? Keeping the Cougars out of your end of the pitch for most of the second half.
We hear this is pretty solid too: Holding an at-times electrifying Stuarts Draft offense to one first-half goal the entire match.
You betcha this is solid: Having two choice goalkeepers to choose from. In the first half Meicke went with Sam Crickenberger who stopped one shot, then in the second half, he inserted Jose Cruz who, well, all he did was stop two shots.
Two good goalkeepers? That’s a solid problem to have if you’re Meicke. “It sure is,” he said.
Cruz is a sophomore, Crickenberger is a junior. Looks like the Giants’ defense will be anchored very solid for a few years to come.
Solid years, you say? You know it. Cougar senior keeper Matt Sundeen is no joke himself — evident by his sweet stop of a Hugo Fernandez shot. But, on one goal the Giants put in the net past him, freshman Alex Farrington hooked up with sophomore Orlando Marin to give the Giants a 2-1 lead. That’s three years of combined high school experience scoring on four years. Yep, you guessed it. That’s pretty solid too.
Waynesboro junior Martin Mandujano, the Giants’ all-(then)-Valley District 2007 forward powered in a penalty kick with 7:56 left to play Monday that, for all intents and purposes, sealed the proverbial deal for Waynesboro.
“Martin is a workhorse,” Meicke said. And Mandujano is pretty solid himself.
Gotta give Draft coach Chris Loomis his ups, though. With all the hype surrounding his old-man team, he kept it in perspective throughout the start of the season. Yep, he knows his team is good and has the experience, but he told everybody excited about Cougar soccer to keep their Umbros on. He said, after all, that his team is still in the same district at Waynesboro.
You know, that team that’s pretty solid.
Of course, you have to give it up for Meicke too. He knows one win over Draft hasn’t given his young Giants anything other than respect. “We still have to play them over there,” he said.
Respect doesn’t win titles. It does, however, make you more solid.
And another thing: First Katie Botkin set up Sara Lamneck for the score. Then, using superior defense, Brittney Roberts made sure the lead stuck.
No, silly pants, we’re not talking about Buffalo Gap’s run to a girls Group A, Division 1 basketball title. We’re talking about the Bison girls soccer team that, don’t look now, is off to a 5-0 start and has its eyes on Riverheads.
A question: Does anybody at Buffalo Gap only play and excel at one sport? Hey, I’m just asking.
The Giants couldn’t finish their business Monday in a 10-6 Southern Valley District softball loss to Stuarts Draft. After watching Brittnie Siron cruise through five innings and the offense push out a 5-0 lead for its ace, the Cougars finally got to her in the sixth as they scored six runs.
The end result? A 10-6 loss to Draft. A win the Cougars needed badly.
“We started to become excited in the dugout and we needed to cheer,” said Amber Christy, who took a break from driving in three runs to chat it up with the press after the win.
Staying solid: Waynesboro’s boys soccer JV team also beat Draft. That match ended 2-0 and gave the Little Giants their fifth win in six tries. Looks like we know what Waynesboro is going to be for years to come.
Yep. Solid.
Jim Sacco is taking Monday off. The Daily Pooch Punt will be back Tuesday.
Seriously, next time all the yokels that run the Virginia High School League get together (you know, the administrators at schools that split the “money” sports like basketball and football into divisions so more Johnny and Susies can get state trophies, but give the proverbial middle finger to the other sports because, well, they don’t bring in money) they should talk about moving baseball and softball to the fall.
The weather is better and, by that point, there’s no issue with rain because Virginia is the midst of yet another drought for the umpteenth straight year.
Anyway, that idea will never float (even if it’s on the caked red-clay of a dried up lake), so we deal with the rain. And how does a local sports blogger deal with rain, you may or probably may not ask? We’ll he dips into the comments again with the hopes that, for the second time in as many weeks, it can carry the blog.
“But Jim,” you say (or don’t say, or write, or don’t write, whatever), “what could anybody possibly have to say about your Thursday post? I mean, all you talked about what how sweet some girl’s socks were and how badly you wanted a pair.”
Let me rubs my hands together and present to you …
Say What?
Jim Sacco, Just a little note, your article on the track meet with Draft ... umm so what they wore socks with lots of colors … if you’ve never been to track meets before ummm they (majority of the girls) wear those socks. And because they wore them and won the high jump let’s not take away their glory and of winning period. Maybe you should buy you a pair and then we can blog you! Good job girls!!!
-- Marie Hart
Say in your best Allen Iverson voice, “We’re talking about socks.”Seriously, we’re talking about socks. Yes, they’re sweet socks and yes, they probably are 100-percent cotton (or some sort of cotton-polyester blend), should be washed with like colors (good luck with that) and I betcha they feel real good with some Downy (with Febreeze) fabric softener (either add it in the rinse cycle or get yourself one of those nice Downy balls). Really, we’re talking about socks. I didn’t go to the track meet Wednesday, but the first thing I saw when I picked up our sports section wasn’t Christina Fenske, but her socks. You know, socks. Yep, socks. Love those socks. I’m pretty sure, with the year she’s gonna have, you’ll read a lot more about Fenske on the sports pages, no matter what color socks she’s wearing. Socks.
thanks jim, for making christina’s head just that much bigger by giving her extra unneeded attention. by bringing up the sock issue, youve done nothing for her but proving that she was right by saying that the stupid colored socks would make her stand out. keep in mind, if your good enough, people will notice you. it doesnt matter what color your socks are. also, for the record, jumping on a Wednesday will not tire your legs out for a meet on the FOLLOWING saturday. yes, following. as in a week and a half away. sometimes i wonder about high school kids these days. they dont act like we did back in the day.just a few thoughts…
-- anonymous
“Anonymous” followed up the post minutes later with …
j/k… were all friends here.
My response? Socks.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was Stuarts Draft’s first home track meet in five years, so go ahead and give the school a Bozo Button and all.
So, sure. The Cougars have two dominant high jumpers in Caitlynn Filla and Christina Fenske, yada, yada, yada.
And, blah, blah, blah, Waynesboro’s 4x100 relay team of Tim Brown, Will Walter, Terrell Thompson and Ian Henneman ran in their first meet of the season and finished with the gold.
Of course, yawn, R.E. Lee’s Rajah Jenkins, who could be Virginia Military Institute’s version of Devin Hester next year, says he’s going to focus more on track now that the season has started.
I guess what I’m saying here is, yep, all this stuff is fine and dandy. Good on you. Hand out kudos and what not. But let’s take a few seconds to examine the real story that took place Wednesday in the quiet hamlet ot Stuarts Draft on that asphalt track we’re sure those kids love hammering their ankles and knees on — what’s up with Fenske’s socks? Seriously folks, did you see those things?
She had them pulled up to just below her knees and had enough hues to make Joseph and his amazing technicolor dream coat blush. What are these socks called? Where can I get a pair? And, it is wrong that as a man, I would wear of pair of socks like hers with pride and confidence knowing that no matter how dark it was someone could see me walking down the street a mile away? I think not.
So let’s get to one of the other issues here: After the rest of the high jump field was gone, kaput, see ya’ lata’, Fenske and her friend in flops Filla, passed on the 5-foot mark and upped the bar to 5-foot-4. Neither of them were able to clear it, but hey, at least they tried.
“That way we didn’t have to wear our legs out before next week,” Fenske may or may have said. I couldn’t quite tell since it was tough to hear her over those sweet, I-Want-A-Pair socks.
And another thing: Wilson Memorial softball hammers away at Group AA Draft for a 20-0 win the same day Waynesboro goes all crazy on Charlottesville 23-1 — the latter game saw Brittnie Siron and Kayla Bartley combine for a no-hitter and push the Little Giants’ record to 3-3 on the season. Siron had seven strikeouts whilst picking up the win and, for Wilson, Summer Ramsey (enter a sarcastic “surprise, surprise” right here please) picked up the win for the Hornets while recording five Ks (and allowing only two hits). But 43 runs for two teams in one day? Silly me, I thought football season didn’t start until the the end of August.
Let’s ask an expert: OK, so Mr. Glorified Ad Director, is it time to blog about how Waynesboro and Wilson run up softball scores? That’s OK, just tell that parent to stop interrupting you (you remember how to take control of an interview when you decide to play sports writer for a night, right?) and let us know. Please.
OK, here’s your answer: No, it’s not running up the score. Now go back to glad-handing at your Chamber of Commerce meeting and leave sports writing to the big boys. Capisci? (Yeah, let us know how your brackets are doing because, you know, we all really care about that. It’s the spring season after all, so I understand if there’s not enough local sports to write about.)
But it wasn’t just pitching for Waynesboro in its win Wednesday. The Little Giants also got 3-for-3 days from Brenda Price and Jonquil Brown. Brown knocked in a three runs and scored one herself and Price added two RBI and scored three times.
OK, we’ll go there: Looks like the Price is Right. (Booooooo!)
Living the cliché: Mickie Holbert slaps an RBI single for Stuarts Draft, giving the Cougars two of their three hits on the day as they pick up a 4-1 win over Wilson Memorial. Yep, with the way things have been rolling lately for Draft baseball, that win was just what the doctor ordered. (Or something like that.)
Back to track: That new-look Little Giants’ relay team bobbled its first exchange yet still managed to win thanks to Thompson’s first leg that saw the speedster jump out to a 30-meter lead. “Terrell got us ahead and we just kept going, that’s pretty much it,” Walter said.
Yeah, but Will, did you see Fenske’s socks?
We all know the formula when it comes to Stuarts Draft football coach Rod Bowers. It involves holding the Bible in one hand and a playbook in the other. Of course, this is Bowers we’re talking about and that means, much like the American flag in a state color guard, the Bible is held higher than his on-field version of the state colors. But what a lot of people don’t know is that, when you sit down and talk to the humble Bowers, he also puts his kids on a pedestal as long as they work hard and work right. And, when the don’t work right, there’s heck to pay. (Remember the Cougars’ lone unsportsmanlike showing of the season in a win over Wilson Memorial? A win that had Bowers ready to pull his team off the field and forfeit any game the rest of the way if his boys acted in the same manner? Yeah, that game.)
So go ahead and meet Josh Wilson, J.D. Rines and Chris Mahanes. Three of the 28 Cougars that worked hard and, with the exception of that Wilson game, worked right. All three are going to play football in college with Rines (a four-year starter) heading to Ferrum, Mahanes (another four-year man) heading down the Valley to play at Shenandoah and Wilson, a kid who never played football until this season, heading to Bridgewater. Yep, that’s what happens when you work hard and, more importantly, work right. Right?
And another thing: Wilson, never expecting to play college football, will be joining an Eagles team that’s already secured a quarterback from Augusta County. The QB’s name? Jacob Hutchinson from Riverheads. Nice.
From frequent Daily Pooch Punt visitor Jim Critzer, Waynesboro’s baseball skipper: “Joe [Lucas] didn’t have his good stuff today,” he said after the Little Giants edged past Fort Defiance 1-0 on Tuesday. Really? If seven strikeouts and scattering five hits in a shutout win isn’t Joseph Lucas’ “good stuff” then the Southern Valley District may be in some trouble. Because, and let’s face it, I don’t wanna see his good stuff from the batter’s box.
Oh, and look:Waynesboro is 3-0 in the district. Maybe Critzer wasn’t kidding when he said the Little Giants have the capability to reload instead of rebuild.
Seriously, there should be a law against being this good of a coach in two sports. If there isn’t, let’s look into it and call it the “Coffey Rule.”
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, let us present to you exactly what a young Little Giants’ girls soccer team needed — a 3-0 win over Spotswood.
And finally: “We were afraid of [Lucas’] curveball and we let the fastball go by us,” said Fort Defiance skipper Vic Spotts.
Which leads us to T-shirts that must be made for Lucas and the Little Giants: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
Start with The Sports Desk host Jim Sacco and News Virginian Sports Writer Corine Gatti talking about boys soccer.
Then click play and watch Jim and NV Interim Sports Editor Robert Sisk talk about baseball and girls tennis. Yes, we said girls tennis.
If Waynesboro’s boys soccer team wants to score nine goals in four matches, that’s fine with me.
If Waynesboro’s boys soccer team wants to put six of those goals in during a blowout win over Group A (Division 2?) Wilson Memorial, that’s fine with me.
If Waynesboro’s boys soccer team wants to score two goals against the always-tough Blue Streaks up in Harrisonburg on Monday, that’s fine with me.
If those two goals Monday are enough to beat said Blue Streaks, that should be fine with everybody. Right? Good.
And another thing: If you’re three tennis matches into the season and think you have a heck of a shot at making a run at the Group A (Division 2?) girls title like Wilson Memorial, that should be just fine with everybody too. Of course, there are those who will label this as “cockiness” or “arrogance.” But, hey, let’s do everybody a favor and just call it confidence.
“The start has really been awesome,” said Wilson’s Christine Coffield. “We have been changing things up this year and taking it a lot more seriously. Our level is so much higher than anytime in the past.”
The start can be as awesome as it wants to be, here’s hoping the end is just as gnarly. (Do the kids still say that? Just asking.)
Of course, if the Hornets’ Kala Guy is only half as good at tennis as she is in volleyball, well, um, that’s kind of scary.
If first-year Wilson baseball coach Derek McDaniel is still looking for “that” arm to slap on the hump, he may have found another hurler to take into consideration. Enter D.J. Curry and his six-strikeout performance against R.E. Lee on Monday in the Hornets’ 5-1 win. Curry only walked two in five innings of work.
“This is our rebuilding year,” said Riverheads softball coach Jenn Colvin, “we lost seven seniors last year and we have a freshman pitcher out there.”
My question: When did they start rebuilding in any sport in Greenville? That’s a joke, of course, not a knock on Colvin who is without star pitcher Annie Sandridge thanks to a little something called “graduation.”
Leah Pagett, you know, the girl that went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Wilson’s 5-4 softball win over R.E. Lee on Monday, your table is ready.
By the way: If you don’t know who the first San Francisco Giant rookie to start at shortstop on opening day since Royce Clayton did it in 1992 was, then ask anybody who played baseball in the old Valley District. They’ll tell you.
Who says the Little Giant baseball team is still looking for swagger?
With veteran coach Jim Critzer looking for someone to step up and walk with an air of cockiness that comes hand in hand with playing baseball, freshman Drew DeMoss teamed with Joseph Lucas (a perfect 3-0 on the mound so far this season) and chucked a one-hitter in the Giants’ 10-0 win over Broadway on Friday. It would have been a no-hitter, but a hot shot went just out of the reach of Jay Thompson. Forget about that for a second folks, because the Little Giants, once again, played great defense and look to be erasing a lot of the fears that came with their two-game, nine-error performance during the first week of the season.
“[We] just had a good ball game and played great defense,” Critzer said. “We had a lot of ground balls …” And nine putouts thanks to those grounders. So, yeah, looks like defense won’t be a problem anymore for the Little Giants. And, by the looks of it, swagger shouldn’t be either.
So, we’re wondering, if pitcher Jeremy Hahn was waiting for the Little Giants’ break-out game, was Friday’s win over Broadway exactly what he was looking for?
OK, so is Joseph Lucas coming into his own or what? Of course Thompson, the Little Giants’ hit machine, went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, but Lucas, whilst doing it on the mound, decided to go 4-for-4 from the plate and drove in three runs. Folks, for those of you not in the know, that’s called helping yourself. You’ll be tested on this later in the week.
OK, so you’re Riverheads softball, right? And, you head up to Harrisonburg to take on the Group AA Blue Streaks, follow me? Then, you go out there and knock the ‘Burg around and score 10 runs, still with me? But there’s a problem, you give up 16 and you lose. Just thought I’d throw that you for your. That is all.
There are four words that always seem to be used together in the English language: Don’t Doubt Derek McDaniel. So give the guy the benefit of the doubt when, four games into the season, the first-year Wilson Memorial baseball coach is still looking for a dominant arm to chuck on the mound.
“We are using this time right now to find the right mix,” he said. Again, just throwing that out there for you.
Waynesboro’s boys soccer has played three matches and haven’t been on the pitch since March 17. They scored seven goals on the season. The problem? Six came in a win over Wilson Memorial. That can’t be good, can it?
Why no blogs yesterday?
Um, I was called into service on the news side for all that Interstate 64 stuff.
Oh, so you’ll be back today?
No, I pulled a long day yesterday and will be going home and sleeping when I leave today around noon.
Oh, so you’ll be back to blogging next week?
You know it. Every day. Sorry.
When he slapped R.E. Lee leadoff man Ryan Shull with an inside pitch, you could have heard the collective groan of Giantdom from the other side of Afton Mountain.
But Waynesboro starter Jeremy Hahn quickly recovered, induced two Lee batters into easy outs and took care of another himself with his first strikeout of the game.
You heard the sigh after that wacky, wild first inning that began somewhere in the third circle of hell for Hahn, but by the seventh the Giants were in heaven with their second straight Southern Valley win and the added boost of confidence that comes with it.
“If we play our ‘A’ game, I don’t think anybody is going to touch us,” Hahn said after his seven strikeout, two-hit performance in Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the Leemen.
How’s that for swagger, coach?
The most important thing about Tuesday’s win, and trust us, pitching on this team is going to be pretty darn important, was the lack of errors. After a two-game total of nine errors last week, the Little Giants were flawless in the field Tuesday. Though veteran coach Jim Critzer, in so many words, told everybody to keep their pants on when it came to jumping on the defensive-problems-had-been-fixed bandwagon. Hahn’s new-look, off-speed pitch got six Leemen to fly out and the pitcher took care of most of the rest — picking off a runner at first to go with his seven Ks.
“I think he did a great job,” Critzer said of Hahn. “He did a whale of a job the other night against Spotswood. He was cruising in that game …” Until, well, we all know what happened there.
And another thing: With the addition of the off-speed pitch (thanks to some off-season work with former Waynesboro MLBer Reggie Harris), Hahn is quickly finding it to be his favorite. “I go to it more than my curve ball now,” he said. “It’s good now. It’s in there. That’s my pitch.”
A pitch that sent Shull to first when Hahn plopped him to open the game. “Shully, I know, struggles with the off-speed,” Hahn said, “so I was figuring I was going to get an off-speed call, but I got a fastball call so I was changing it up in my grip and it just slipped out my hands, got away from me.”
Few pitches got away from him the rest of the way.
Wouldn’t you like to have this problem? Critzer has three catchers to choose from, all of which, he says, are pretty even when it comes to defense. So the veteran skipper, who is looking for some extra pop in his lineup, has decided that the sticks may decide who gets to set up shop behind the plate. “We’re going to find out who swings the bat,” he said.
Jordan Weatherholtz, Jimmy Eavers and Kendall Wolfe, your table is ready.
Another problem you’d like to have: Hahn starts to get tired in the sixth inning and, when he started getting tired, “he starts getting the ball up,” Critzer said. So the coach brings in Joseph Lucas, you know, the kid whose older brother played a sport or two before he left for Clemson (or so we’ve heard) and was a dangerous lead-off man for the Giants (at least that’s what people tell us), and he strikes out three in the ninth (including freezing Lee’s Chandis Geoff) to end the game.
A problem Southern Valley opponents are going to have: Jay Thompson drove in a run with a triple to the wall then, in his next at bat, brought another run home with a double. Surprise, surprise, he walked in his third at bat.
Yeah, a lot of coaches would like to have those problems.
Hey, look who kicked in three goals and helped Wilson Memorial boys soccer win its first match of the season. Then, Josh Miller (despite those three goals, remember) shakes the credit off himself and toward the rest of the team. “It’s really everybody,” he said.
Sure, Turner Ashby’s powerhouse softball program (yes, they’re good in that up there as well) hammers away at Stuarts Draft 17-0 and picks up its second no-hitter of the season. And Knights coach Craig Miller says, “We have a different team. We lost a lot of our power, but we have a lot of speed.”
A speedy Turner Ashby softball team? Man, I bet we may have found the one sport that’s happy with the Valley split.
But, then again, if you’re in the Southern Valley, you’re stuck with having to beat Fort Defiance. A team with two returning players — one saddled on the bench with an injury — that’s hasn’t looked too shabby. Oh, and freshman Lindsey Shifflett drove in two runs in the Indians’ 3-0 win over Broadway.
“[Shifflett] is doing really well with her hitting,” said Fort coach Max Hill. Um, yeah. Ya’ think?
So it’s Spring Break and with no local sports happening until later today after the long weekend, what’s an all-local, daily sports blogger to do?
Well, the same thing all bloggers do when they have nothing to write about — time to dip into the e-mails and comments with the hopes that they can hold the blog together for just one day. Pinch your nose, we’re diving in.
Say What?
Just wanted to say “Thank You” for the excellent article you did on Jacob Hutchinson and Jeremy Heizer. I know I have been critical of you about some coverage but this was great and the two young men really enjoyed it. — Randal Almarode
Seriously, people say “thank you” for doing something you enjoy doing. As I said in last week’s column and blog, sitting down for an interview with Riverheads’ two Bridgewater-bound athletes (Heizer for hoops, Hutchinson for football) was less an interview and more a comedy hour. These to guys are down to earth, sincere and very funny. They made for an enjoyable story and were a blast to cover for four years. Just think, we get one more season of Heizer who doubles as the goalkeeper for the always strong Riverheads boys soccer team. As for the critical part. Trust me, people have said a lot worse than what Mr. Almarode ever said for wrote.
The battle last year between the “boro” and TA at Waynesboro was the best high school baseball game I have ever seen, and it will be a while before you see two talented teams of the caliber play like the again. — Bob Buckley
Agreed, but up at Turner Ashby they just seem to reload. In Waynesboro, it takes time to get back to the top. But Waynesboro has a nice one-two punch with its pitching in Joseph “I’m-Not-Just-James’-Little-Brother” Lucas and Jeremy Hahn. The Little Giants made it very clear last week that they can win games in the Southern Valley and, more importantly, will be one of the top three teams in the district. Oh, and yes they can field. Not surprising that under veteran coach Jim Critzer the defense cleaned up its act in the field.
I have noticed that there has been quite a stir about Waynesboro’s coach not being named “Coach of the Year”! Having coached, I attended district and regional votings. If a coach did not show up for any of those votings, then I would have a hard time voting that person as “Coach of the Year” unless that individual had a very valid reason for not being in attendance. — Tim Byars (Former Wilson Memorial girls basketball coach)
I still don’t understand what attendance at a meeting has to do with how good of a season you had as a coach. I just don’t get it. If someone coaches his or her team to an undefeated district season after years of mediocrity, that coach doesn’t need to show up to get my vote.
[Waynesboro freshman LaToya] Diggs is not the best guard in the state. Spotswood and TA both have better guards than her. As well does Hidden Valley. All teams that beat them at one point this year, all because they forced turnovers off of the freshman. By her senior year, she could be the best in the state—but only time will tell. — Brad
Don’t tell me. Tell coach Secrett Stubblefield. Though I will say for a 15-year-old, her defense on the Siegel Center floor was nothing less than tenacious. I’m sure when Hidden Valley’s Abby Oliver saw that a freshman was going to be guarding her in the Group AA championship game, she started to salivate. But Diggs held the Richmond-bound guard to her season average of 16 points. Not too shabby. I’m sure, over time, the turnovers will take care of themselves since Diggs is a student of the game and has a Liberty-bound cousin (Devon Brown) to look up to and ask for advice.
I still haven’t heard why the VHSL puts such an emphasis on sportsmanship but yet Secrett Stubblefield can demonstrate a poor example of it and be lauded by the media. — Old Fart
The VHSL also won’t let students use body paint during the state championship games, they couldn’t hold up signs or use artificial noisemakers. Fans also can’t do any “mooing (really? Mooing? Seriously?), barking” and you can’t use the time-honored cheers of “you, you, you” after a foul, “over rated” when your knocking off the state’s best team or “warm up the bus” during a game’s waning moments. I don’t know how much emphasis the VHSL puts on sportsmanship, it seems more like they want to turn high school sports into a funeral. (Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. You can read it for yourself here.)
I’m just saying.
Sports blogger Jim Sacco is off today (Monday) and will return with the Daily Pooch Punt on Tuesday.
Got a problem with that? Then e-mail him at jsacco@newsvirginian.com and give him heck.
You don’t step on Superman’s cape.
You don’t spit in the wind.
You don’t wear an authentic Yankee jersey into the heart of Boston.
And, when you have Turner Ashby baseball on the ropes you totally, unequivocally and with authority, have to slam the door on the perennial state power. These are all things you need to know in life.
Really? You don’t believe me? Then ask the R.E. Lee baseball team that held a 2-1 lead over the Knights heading into the sixth inning Thursday at Moxie Stadium.
“We didn’t get beat today,” said first-year Lee coach Bobby Humphrey. “We lost this game. We just gave it to [TA].”
That’s seems to be the problem for Augusta County teams in recent years, namely last season when the Little Giants did the same thing at the KC in their first meeting with the Knights. Sure, that game in 2007 had a lot more meaning since, back then, Waynesboro and Turner Ashby were in the same district. (Cue reminiscing music as you slowly turn your head toward the sky, let out a deep sigh and whisper, “Ah, the old Valley District.” ) But, and this is the truth, yo. It doesn’t matter what you call it, the Southern Valley (bleh), the Massanutten (a little better), the Shenandoah (tops, baby. Tops.) or whatever, if you want to establish yourself as a legitimate state-title contender then, when the Knights and that minor league baseball program they call a varsity team, come to your house you do not give the game away. The Leemen learned that Thursday.
And another thing: “We missed our opportunities today,” Humphrey said. Um, yeah. You think?
Hey look: Waynesboro baseball commits only two errors (down from five and four in the last two games) and manages to hammer Rockbridge 13-1 for its first Southern Valley win. Connect the dots, people.
OK, after striking out seven batters in five innings whilst giving up only four hits in the win, can we stop calling Joseph Lucas James’ little brother?
“You can’t ask anything better from a kid,” coach Jim Critzer said of his No. 1 gun. “That kid doesn’t brag, he doesn’t tell you what he’s going to do, he does it.”
Hey, I just said we can stop calling him James’ little brother. I never said he wouldn’t act like his older brother.
Sure, it’s forgone conclusion that Fort Defiance will run away with the Southern Valley softball title (barring nuclear war, injuries and a SARS outbreak), but I thought football season didn’t start until August? What, you ask? The score people. Indians 24, Blue Streaks 7. Wow.
If Waynesboro softball is looking for some legitimacy to its 1-0 district and 2-1 overall record, guess who the Little Giants have to beat? Yep, you guessed it.
At least we now know Waynesboro can win a softball game and a Whiffle Ball contest.