CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Valley Baseball League announced today (June 20) the full roster of players that will represent the league at the tenth annual NACSB Prospect Games (formerly the Southern Collegiate Prospect Showcase) next Monday and Tuesday (June 27 & 28) at Liberty University.
The list features six Tom Sox players: middle infielder Kyle Edwards (Old Dominion) and pitchers Logan Forsythe (Mississippi State), Davian Garcia (Pasco-Hernando State College), Zach Root (East Carolina), Jordan Little (East Carolina), and Liam Best (State College of Florida).
Edwards, the lone Tom Sox position player selected to the team, will be one of four middle infielders on the roster. He has shown his tools throughout his two seasons in Charlottesville, with the ability to make difficult plays at shortstop and elite speed on the bases. He has also shown his hit tool this summer, batting .313 with five doubles, a triple, a home run, and nine RBI. He has scored 13 runs on the summer with nine stolen bases and has 21 stolen bases over his 57 games in a Tom Sox uniform.
Forsythe and Garcia will represent the league as pitchers in the Monday game. Forsythe has shown velocity and command, working three pitches. He leads the team with 16 strikeouts in his three starts, walking five in eight innings.
Garcia has also shown the velocity. He is third on the team with 11 strikeouts in 6.2 innings and has held opponents scoreless in three of his four outings on the season. He worked to a team-leading 2.65 ERA in 34 innings for Lyndon Coleman’s Bobcats on the season, striking out 13.7 batters per nine innings.
East Carolina teammates Root and Little, alongside SCF Manatee Best, will pitch in the Tuesday game. Root has made one start for the ‘Sox since the Pirates were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament but made a large impact on the bump for ECU this spring. He worked to a 5.53 ERA in 53.2 innings on the season, striking out 54.
Little has made two appearances for Charlottesville on the summer, finishing games against Strasburg and Front Royal. He has nine strikeouts in four innings and has not allowed a run or hit on the year.
Best has lived up to his name so far on the year for Charlottesville, allowing one earned run in six innings with nine strikeouts. He had a 3.56 ERA in 30.1 innings for the SCF Manatees in the spring, striking out 49.
The Valley League roster will open play on Monday at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium, facing the New York Collegiate Baseball League at 2 P.M. Their second and final game will take place on Tuesday, facing the Florida Collegiate Summer League at 5 P.M. The team will be coached by Staunton team president Lance Mauck, VBL coaching veteran George Laase and Purcellville assistant Ridge Fuller.
