The Shadow
COVINGTON – The rosters for the Valley Baseball League All-Star game were recently announced as the South Division will be well represented with five Covington players.
Headed to Purcellville this weekend for the VBL ASG from the Lumberjacks includes 1B/C Jackson Toberman, OF Chenar Brown, OF Kaleb Henry, P Cesar Valera, and P Jorge A. Garcia III.
Jackson Toberman has had quite the first half of the season for the Jacks’. Toberman heads into the All-Star break with a .311 batting average, three home runs, and 17 RBI’s. The sophomore out of St. Johns River State College is tied for the third most RBIs in the VBL.
Chenar Brown, a right-handed batter out of the University of Louisiana Monroe has put together a solid first-half of the season with a .281 batting average, to go along with three home runs, and 13 RBI’s.
Covington’s other out fielding All-Star selection, Kaleb Henry, enjoyed a great start to the season where he hit safely in the first eight games. The right-handed batter out of Georgia Southwestern State University is currently hitting .246 with a home run, and nine RBI’s. Henry’s plate discipline has earned him 12 drawn walks so far.
Cesar Valera, a reliever for the Lumberjacks has been a tough one to solve through his first five appearances out of the bullpen. The right-handed pitcher out of Pasco Hernando Community College has put together a stellar 1.92 ERA, while striking out a staggering 10 batters in just 9.1 innings pitched in. In a 5-4 victory over Harrisonburg on June 7th, Valera struck out four of the six batters he faced.
Jorge A. Garcia III, the second of two Jacks’ pitchers to make the ASG, has been just as effective as Valera. Garcia III, also a reliever, goes into the break with a 2.00 ERA to go along with a 1-1 record and has struck out 11 in just nine innings pitched. The right-handed pitcher out of Atlantis University picked up his lone win on June 12th where he tossed four shutout innings out of the bullpen and struck out a season-high six batters in a Lumberjacks 6-5 win over Waynesboro.
The 2024 VBL All-Star weekend gets underway on Saturday, June 29th at Fireman’s Field, home to the Purcellville Cannons. The festivities kick off at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday with scavenger face painting, corn hole, a live DJ, and fans will be able to meet the players during the afternoon. In the evening on Saturday, there will be a home run derby contest. Then the following day on Sunday, June 30th, the VBL Hall of Fame will take place at 6:00 p.m. and will feature the late Tommy Garten. The ASG itself will follow at 7:00 p.m. All of this takes place this weekend at Fireman’s Field.
