By John Leonard

Welcome to our annual series of season previews for each of the eleven Valley League franchises. We will release one preview a day (mostly) in reverse order of final 2018 record.

Our first team is the Woodstock River Bandits!

What Happened in 2018

Woodstock had a lost season in 2018. The team finished 5-37, with a winning percentage of .117, the lowest percentage in franchise history and the lowest in the league since the 1962 Craigsville Cardinals went 3-36 (.077). The Bandits fought almost all the way to the end, though, even playing a doubleheader on the penultimate day of the season with only nine players, but the team finally threw in the towel and forfeited the last game of the season. The Bandits missed the playoffs for the third season in a row.

What's Up for 2019

Owner Robert Bowman cleaned house this offseason, bringing in a new coaching staff and recruiting coordinator. That new coach is someone who is well known in the Valley- Mike Bocock, a member of the inaugural Valley League Hall of Fame class in 2016, and the owner of seven league championships and over 600 victories. Gerald Harman, the new recruiting coordinator, teamed up with Bocock in four of those titles. Mike will be assisted by his son and former Valley Leaguer, Tyler Bocock (Waynesboro 2013).

Coach Bocock is excited about returning to the League. "I’m blessed to be back and to work with some outstanding people," he said. "I’m looking forward to be coaching with my son Tyler."

The leadership is excited to bring in some big bats, including Western Kentucky's Jake Sanford (depending on the draft), Frederick Community College's Jacob Wetzel, Houston's Blake Way, and Arkansas State's Jaylon Deshazier. Austin Bates, from Eastern Florida State and named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in April, further strengthens the team's catching contingent. Sanford is hitting 408/490/890 through May 17, and is currently 8th in batting average in all of Division-I. Wetzel, a freshman two-way player, set his school's record for triples this spring. Way, a junior catcher from Slidell, Louisiana, appeared in over 35 games for Houston in the American Athletic Conference. Deshazier a sophomore outfielder, was a regular this spring for the Red Wolves.

Bocock is also positive about the incoming arms. A pair from Miami, freshman lefty Bailey Mantilla and freshman righthander Alex Ruiz, will help anchor the staff, along with Hunter Hoopes, a freshman from UNC Asheville, and Sean Bretz, from Houston, who can run his fastball up to 97 mph.

One player is returning to the Valley after a break- Norfolk State's Caleb Ward, who played for Charlottesville in 2016, and was MEAC 2nd team All-Conference this spring.

Longwood's Hunter Gilliam and Old Dominion's Mike Marale are following in their fathers' footsteps; Gilliam's dad played for the Harrisonburg Turks, and Marale's for the Staunton Braves. The Bandits will have two players early on with ties to the Valley: both Concord's Trent Abernathy and VMI's Cody Warner played high school ball for Turner Ashby High School, in Bridgewater, Virginia. Brett Whiteman's father played minor league ball for the Detroit Tigers. Whiteman, from Potomac State, threw a perfect game this April in school.

The River Bandits look to have gathered a good roster in advance of their first game, May 31st at Purcellville, and their first home game, the next night, June 1st, against defending champion New Market.

Remember that if you are unable to attend a game, you can always watch games live on Facebook, courtesy of Sheetz and Subway! 

And if you want to read much, much more about the Valley League, check out allthingsvalleyleague.com.