Covington's Michael Cowgill led the VBL with 14 hits and a .538 batting average last week. |
Northern Division
Northern Division Player of the Week honors went to junior infielder Doug Nelms (West Virginia) of Luray. He led the Wranglers to a 4-2 overall record while batting .375 with nine hits. Nelms led the Valley League with 12 RBI and tied for the lead with three home runs. He was also second in the league with 18 total bases and fifth with a .750 slugging percentage.
Sophomore right-hander Matt Chambless (West Alabama) of New Market garnered Northern Division Pitcher of the Week honors after helping the Rebels to a 5-1 week. He recorded two saves in three scoreless outings with three strikeouts. He surrendered just one hit and walked two in three innings of work. Chambless leads the VBL with eight saves and 10 games finished and he shares the lead in appearances with 10.
Southern Division
Michael Cowgill (James Madison) earned Southern Division Player of the Week honors after leading the Covington Lumberjacks to a league-best 7-0 week. Covington vaulted into first place in the Southern Division and has taken over the best record in the Valley League at 16-6 with a nine-game winning streak. Cowgill, a junior infielder, went 14-for-26 at the plate, leading the league with a .538 batting average and 14 hits. In addition, he was tied for second with three doubles, third with 17 total bases, and first with two sacrifice flies. For the week, he knocked in six runs, scored seven runs, and had one stolen base.
Pitcher of the Week in the Southern Division was Woodstock freshman right-hander David Stringer (Stanford). He made three relief appearances last week, going 2-0 with no runs allowed in 7 2/3 innings. Stringer allowed one hit and struck out six in two and two-thirds innings in an 11-9 win over Haymarket on Tuesday. He then struck out four and surrendered one hit in two innings of a 9-2 win over Staunton on Thursday. He closed the week on Saturday with three innings of one-hit ball and two strikeouts in a 4-3 win over Waynesboro. For the week, Stringer was fourth in the VBL in opposing batting average (.120), fourth in strikeouts (12), and tied for first in wins (two).
