BY NATALIE RETALEATO

The defending champion Charlottesville Tom Sox are entering their 2018 season with 11 returning players including the 2017 VBL MVP, infielder Michael Wielansky, and 2017 1st team All VBL pitcher Sean McCracken.

Wielansky is a rising senior shortstop at The College of Wooster. Last year, he led the VBL with .489 on-base and .677 slugging percentages. He was also best in the league in hits, runs (38), and doubles (18). Perfect Game ranked him the fourth-best prospect out of the VBL.

McCracken is a RHP for Johns Hopkins, where he made 13 appearances with 10 starts in his 2018 season. He held the second most number of strikeouts with a total of 45. Last season, he led the Tom Sox with 38 innings pitched, allowing an ERA of only 1.65.

In addition to the returning players, General Manager Jeff Burton says that there are many key additions to the 2018 roster- including nine freshmen that ranked among the top-500 high school graduates in 2017. This group is led by pitchers Drey Jameson, Hunter McMullen, and Evan Justice, who have all hit at 96 MPH or higher this past spring.

Four out of five coaches will be returning for the 2018 season, including VBL Manager of the Year Corey Hunt, who helped lead the team to their first VBL Championship with an impressive record of 38-11.

“In baseball, consistency and dependability are so important and our guys in 2017 were exemplary. We hope our 2018 team, led by a similar coaching staff and with 11 returners, will do similar,” Burton said.

The Tom Sox will be missing 12 players to start the season. “But we plan for that,” Burton said in regards to the eight players that are currently participating in the NCAA D-I postseason. This includes players from schools like top seed Florida, Stanford, Clemson, NC State and LSU.

The team will start their season on the road against the Staunton Braves on June 1st. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.