Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 22, 1993 TAG: 9306220188
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Overall, it's a team that any American Legion coach would be proud to field.
Sounds like it might be a good year for the New River Valley - ahem, Giles County - Yankees.
The Yankees may be moving their home base from Narrows High School to Blacksburg High School next year.
Narrows pays most of the team's expenses right now, but Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford and Narrows would split costs if the team moves to Blacksburg, Head Coach Danny Evans said.
"We get most of our players from the Blacksburg and Radford area anyway," Evans said. "I think it's a good idea."
Evans' reasoning for the move? There's a grand total of zero players from Narrows High School on the squad this year.
The Yankees also hope to be doing another kind of moving, the kind that will put them atop the nine-team Blue Ridge District this season.
"We're gonna get a lot of guys on base, and we can whack it out of the park," Evans said. "We're gonna be real good defensively, too."
The team is already 3-1, with a 10-6 win over Patrick County. Last year, the Yankees started 10-1 but lost nine of their last 10.
This year, things could be different.
Here are the players Evans hopes will make the Yankees movers and shakers in Legion ball:
\ WAYNE CALDWELL: The 6-foot, 220-pound, third baseman from Blacksburg was the co-New River District player of the year . . . "He's a real good hitter and a real good fielder," Evans said. He serves as the team's cleanup hitter and will pitch for the team, too. He has good curveball and slider.
\ JAMES SHEALOR: He was a first-team All-New River District selection for Blacksburg and will play first base for the Yankees, for whom he hit .300 last year. "I'm expecting a whole lot out of him this year," Evans said.
\ LEON HOPKINS: The top home-run hitter in West Virginia single-A ball this year with 10, Hopkins stands 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs only 150 pounds. He hit a three-run homer against Patrick County at Virginia Tech, more than a 330-foot shot, prompting Evans to say: "That's a pretty good lick. I don't know how he hits so well. He's exceptional."
\ DENNY SELF: The first-team All-New River District player for Christiansburg this year will play right field and will pitch. He is the team's only left-handed pitcher and probably has the team's fastest heater.
\ RYAN and ERIC BRITTLE: Ryan, 16, pitched six innings against Patrick County. He had six strikeouts, two walks and gave up four hits. Eric made first-team All-New River District and will play at left field for the Yankees. He weighs only 145 pounds. "He never make mistakes," Evans said of Eric. Both played for Radford this year.
Also on the squad is second baseman CHRIS PRICE, who played for Emory & Henry this year. He'll give the team something it was lacking last year: experience.
"We didn't hit," said Evans when asked what went wrong last year. "We had a lot of young boys out there."
This year, players from Peterstown (W.Va.), Pearisburg, Giles, Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Radford high schools will be on the squad.
Roanoke North won the district last year. It gets players from AAA schools such as William Byrd. The Yankees have AA and A players. Evans doesn't seem to mind.
"We've always hung in there," he said. "We've just got to learn to play together."
by CNB