Organization Details

Last VBL title- None in Charles Town or Purcellville; the franchise last won in Luray in 2010

President of Baseball Operations (includes General Manager and Recruiter)- Ridge Fuller (who gave the info for this preview)

Head Coach- Brett Fuller

Key alumni in pro baseball- Sheldon Reed (2017) is blowing batters away at Low-A Myrtle Beach (Chicago Cubs system), and Luke Berryhill (2018) is at Houston’s Double-A Corpus Christi. His bat has a chance to carry him to the major leagues.

Season Recap

The ‘21 Cannons went 12-29, 7.5 games behind fourth place New Market, and 14 games behind North-winning Strasburg. The team had two outstanding pitchers last summer; Joe Vogatsky (JMU) and Matt Poston (Florence-Darlington, UNC commit). Vogatsky was one of the best starters in the league, and Poston was up to 97 mph in Purcellville (and finished his summer winning a title with Strasburg).

Returners

Purcellville’s 13 possible returners is astonishing; this is the most I’ve ever seen.

Luke Stone, Motlow State (2021)

Matt Poston (2021)

Carson Bell, JMU (Front Royal 2019)

Mikey Brinton, Western Oklahoma State (2021)

Will Portera, Alabama (2021)

Jordan Crawford, South Carolina Beaufort (New Market 2021)

Brady Drawbaugh, Mt. St. Mary’s (2021)

Wyatt Miles, Frederick CC (2021)

Brook Byers, Wallace (2021)

Dane Black, Nova Southeastern (2021)

Brendan Roney, VCU (New Market 2021)

Jose Aquino, Southeastern (2019)

Joe Vogatsky (2021)

Hitters to Watch

(Stats are through Saturday, May 7)

Aquino- The best hitter in the Cannon lineup in ‘19, Aquino is hitting .302/.449/.528 in limited time this spring.

Brett Ahalt, George Mason- Considered by some as the best all-around player at GM, Ahalt is hitting .359/.422/.500 in 128 at-bats, with 10 doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 12 stolen bases.

Carson Bell- He’s hit seven doubles and eight home runs for the Dukes this spring.

Ryne Guida, Indian River State (Florida International commit)- .341/.437/.605 in 129 at-bats, with seven doubles and nine home runs.

Cullen (Bear) Horowicz, West Point- won a showcase home run derby in high school, and has homered once in 23 at-bats this spring.

Jose Torres, San Jacinto- A tremendous defensive catcher, Fuller said, “One of the best this team has ever had.” He’s also hitting .271/.385/.329 in 85 spring at-bats.

Pitchers to Watch

Brooks Byers, Wallace- Pitched for the Cannons as a rising college freshman in 2021. He’s struck out 28 batters in 23 spring innings.

Agyei Quinichett, Kennesaw State commit- A high school senior, he throws in the low-90’s with a good slider

Matt Poston- Electric stuff

DJ Burke, San Jacinto- Up to 95 mph, 2-1, 1.71 with 23 K’s in 21 innings.

Luke Jackson, Virginia Tech- Reaches low-to-mid-90’s, is redshirting this spring.

Vogatsky- He’s struck out 25 batters in 23 innings.

Other Notes

Ahalt’s father, Dell, played for NC State in college and for the Baltimore Orioles in the minors in 1988 and 1989. 

Most teams would love to have one player nicknamed “Bear;” this one has two. Bear Horowicz is nicknamed thus because he is a large man (6-foot-4, 230), while Bear Madliak (Georgia) was nicknamed because he was, reportedly, a hairy baby, which led to the nickname “Teddy Bear,” later shortened to “Bear.” He does not use his given name Garrett. 

The team has quite a number of local players suiting up: Stephen Vazquez, Tyler Kaltreider, Isaac Van Meter, Horowicz, Ryan Dooley, Ahalt, Drawbaugh, Miles, Tyler Muscar, Jackson, and Vogatsky.   

If you’ve never been to Purcellville, it’s worth the trip. The team averages between 700 and 1,000 fans every night, and often has music and special vendors at the park. I was very impressed when I visited last summer.