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Five Senators take the field at VBL All-Star game
Of all the days to throw the ball way, way over the head of the first baseman, Haymarket Senators third baseman Greg Hopkins just had to pick the Valley Baseball League All-Star game when he was in front of more than a dozen Major League Baseball scouts."It's baseball," said Hopkins, who laughed off his sixth-inning fielding error Sunday night in the Appalachian foothills town of Woodstock.
Granted, batter Rayan Gonzales reached base on the error and ended up scoring the only run of the game as the VBL South won 1-0 over Hopkins and the North All-Stars. However, the point of an all-star game is not earning a W as much as it is putting on a show for the guys who may help determine whether they will become professional baseball players.
"We're not really representing ourselves, more as the team and the program," said Jack Leathersich.
The southpaw from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell made good in his one-third of an inning of work by striking out the only batter he faced in the top of the eighth. Leathersich was the third and final Haymarket pitcher to make an appearance in the game.
Second-year Senator Grant Sasser was charged with the loss after facing two batters, the first of whom he struck out, as the one unearned run reached base on his watch. Sasser worked his way up from being a reliever in his rookie season with Haymarket to being a starter this year.
Sasser entered the game as the league's seventh-best pitcher, sporting an ERA of 2.45 and a perfect 3-0 record.
Teammate Matt Benedict (2.41 ERA, 2-1) pitched a scoreless second inning, giving up one hit and one walk against five batters.
"He's got that good size that everybody's looking for," Detroit Tigers scout Bill Buck said of the 6-foot-5 junior right-hander from Western Carolina University.
Buck is responsible for sizing up local talent for the Tigers and referring names to other scouts in the organization all across the country. Buck previously has been seen at Battlefield High School scouting players on the varsity baseball team.
Benedict has an "okay" breaking ball and an MLB "fringe fastball" of about 89 to 90 mph.
"I mean, you know, realistically, one inning, you're only going to get a little bit of a picture," said Buck. "But what we're looking for is to see guys we would want our people in our organizations ... in this case, the guy who handles [North Carolina], to go see."
Because Benedict plays college ball in the Tar Heel State, Buck has the option of telling the Tigers' scout handling that particular area to check out Benedict when he returns to the mound for the Catamounts in the spring.
"And I put the ball in his court," said Buck.
Most players have a limited amount of time to play in all-star games because every player on the roster ideally will get at least some time on the field. Hopkins put up a 2-for-4 showing at the plate with two singles, though he ended up being stranded on base both times. Second baseman Zeth Stone struck out in his only plate appearance.
For Leathersich, while his limited time meant facing only one batter, he executed when presented the opportunity.
"These guys are pitching an inning. There's no reason for them to pace themselves," said Buck, referring to pitch selections.
Five Senators made the all-star team this year – an organization best, according to the team's co-owner Robin Schaffler. She and other Haymarket staffers could be seen in the bleachers behind home plate, cheering for their boys at they came to the plate or the mound.
"Wooo, let's go 2-4!" exclaimed Schaffler when Sasser took the mound in the sixth.
"Good pitch, Grant!" she yelled back to the field after his first pitch went for a strike.
The highlight for the Haymarket organization was not a specific performance but was instead the moment when Stone and Hopkins lined the infield at the same time Sasser was pitching in the sixth inning. At that moment, exactly half the infield of the all-star game was loaded with Senators.
Having five Senators total on the roster, along with manager Ryan Fecteau acting as a first-base coach, is "a great representation of how far our team's come along and how well they've played together as well," said Schaffler.
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