by John Leonard

A pair of Woodstock River Bandits, outfielder Aidan Nagle and pitcher Tristen Bayless, along with Waynesboro coach Zac Cole took home the major awards as the VBL announced its 2019 All-League teams.

The All-VBL teams are chosen by a vote of team and media representatives across the Valley. Nagle is the 2019 Most Valuable Player, while Bayless earned Pitcher of the Year honors. Cole is the Maynard “Mo” Weber Manager of the Year.

Nagle, from Lewis-Clark State, started off his Valley League experience with a bang- he hit in his first seventeen games played. He finished third in the league with a .406 batting average, third with a .492 on-base percentage, and first in slugging, at .675. He led the lead in runs, hits, home runs, and total bases.

The lefty from Houston, Bayless, finished second in ERA, at 1.92, second in batting average against (.156), and second in strikeouts per nine innings, 13.8. He struck out 50 total batters in 32 2/3 innings pitched.

Waynesboro's Cole led the Generals to a 31-11 regular season record, setting the franchise mark for winning percentage (.738), and tying the team mark for most wins.

2019 All-Valley League Teams
1st Team

C- Wes Clarke, Waynesboro, South Carolina: .364/.500/.645, 6 HR, 29 RBIs
1B- Andrew Czech, Staunton, Walsh: .344/.453/.611, 9 HR, 47 RBIs
2B- Dylan Menhennett, Front Royal, West Florida: .331/.395/.544, 4 HR, 21 RBIs
SS- Jose Aquino, Purcellville, San Jacinto North: .348/.408/.685, 8 HR, 19 RBIs
3B- Christian Torres, Covington, UMBC: .338/.424/.542, 4 HR, 26 RBIs
OF- Aidan Nagle, Woodstock, Lewis-Clark State: .406/.492/.675, 11 HR, 33 RBIs
OF- Caleb Ward, Woodstock, Norfolk State: .385/.519/.607, 6 HR, 30 RBIs
OF- Cayman Richardson, Charlottesville, Virginia: .344/.420/.435, 1 HR, 19 RBIs
DH- Thomas Francisco, Charlottesville, East Carolina: .412/.439/.526, 1 HR, 30 RBI
UTIL- Bryson Horne, Strasburg, Columbus State: .317/.361/.476, 5 HR, 21 RBI; 1-1, 2.02 ERA, 1 sv, 9 K's
SP- Tristen Bayless, Woodstock, Houston: 3-2, 1.92, 50 K's
SP- Jacob Ferris, Harrisonburg, Eastern Kentucky: 3-1, 1.98, 32 K's
SP- Shane Scott, Front Royal, Arkansas Tech: 3-1, 2.43, 27 K's
SP- Austin Koehn, Harrisonburg, UNC-Greensboro: 3-1, 1.80, 24 K's
RP- McClain Harris, Waynesboro, Young Harris: 1-1, 0.85, 3 sv, 31 K's
RP- Bryce O'Brien, Strasburg, Young Harris: 4-1, 1.60, 1 sv, 39 K's

Second Team

C- Logan Amiss, Covington, Virginia Commonwealth: .410/.475/.590, 4 HR, 18 RBIs
1B- Lael Lockhart, Woodstock, Houston: .342/.469/.631, 7 HR, 27 RBIs
2B- Joe Fortin, Covington, Rhode Island: .318/.439/.393, 1 HR, 10 RBIs
SS- Willy Escala, Woodstock, Barry: .348/.400/.446, 0 HR, 15 RBIs
3B- Connor Norby, Waynesboro, East Carolina: .333/.425/.549, 4 HRs, 18 RBIs
OF- Aaron Palensky, Winchester, Nebraska: .301/.383/.512, 5 HR, 32 RBIs
OF- Jackson Tate, Waynesboro, Alabama: .292/.399/.511, 4 HR, 31 RBI
OF- Joshua Cox, New Market, Louisiana Lafayette: 323/373/426, 1 HR, 24 SB
DH- Tyler Johnson, Strasburg, Eastern Oklahoma State: .328/.426/.592, 9 HR, 27 RBI
UTIL- Trey McDyre, Charlottesville, Liberty: .325/.424/.442, 3 HR, 19 RBI
SP- Eli Ellington, Harrisonburg, UNC-Charlotte: 1-1, 2.31, 54 K's
SP- Seth Konkle, Woodstock, Lee: 3-0, 2.48, 25 K's
SP- Reid Celata, Staunton, UMBC: 2-0, 3.07, 39 K's
SP- Logan Walters, Winchester, Memphis: 3-1, 3.55, 42 K's
SP- Deven Judy, Waynesboro, Gannon: 3-0, 3.21, 27 K's
RP- Alex Hoppe, Harrisonburg, UNC-Greensboro: 3-1, 1.68, 1 sv, 39 K's
RP- Conor Miller, Woodstock, York: 1-1, 0.47, 2 svs, 18 K's