NEWS

With a record of 11-9, the Front Royal Cardinals have relied on the strength of their pitching staff to put them in second place in the North division, just two and a half games behind the Strasburg Express.

With a combined team earned run average of 3.25, the Cardinals have deep talents in the pitching rotation. However, one player in particular has opened the eyes of Front Royal fans.

Corey Sessions hails from Sparta, Michigan. This past spring, the rising senior was an ace for the Davenport University Panthers, going 5-0 with a 2.88 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 34 and one-third innings. The Panthers’ ended their historical season at 51-12 after they were eliminated by the St. Thomas Bobcats 8-3 at the Avista-NAIA World Series.

After Davenport was eliminated, Sessions worked hard to translate his skill and talent to the Valley League for the summer. It has paid off for Sessions, who is 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA and has 12 strikeouts in just 24 innings.

“My fastball has a lot of movement and I rely on it to get outs,” Sessions said. “Being able to locate my change-up and slider has helped a lot.”

Cardinals head coach Brad Neffendorf speaks very highly of Sessions.

“I think he’s only walked three guys in 24 innings, so when you go out and throw strikes in the bottom half of the zone it is extremely effective,” Neffendorf said. “His speed is around 88 or 89 MPH but sometimes he throws a two-seam that runs away and his four-seam also cuts in a little bit.”

On June 28 he threw a complete game, giving up six hits in the Cardinals’ 14-1 win over the Waynesboro Generals. Sessions received help from his potent offense in that game as Edgar Lebron (Lindsey Wilson College/Richmond Hill, N.Y.) went 4-for-6 with three RBI while Bobby Lang (Drury University/St. Louis, Mo.) also contributed three hits and three RBI. Altogether, the Cardinals are batting .291 on the season.

Despite having success this summer, Sessions gives a lot of credit to his teammates. “I pitch to contact so I’m always relying on my defense to make plays and I know they will back me up if I make a mistake,” Sessions said. “When I can trust my defense, it makes it a lot easier.”

Sessions is also well aware of how the pitching has been for the Cardinals this summer. “It helps a lot when you can rely on guys who can get out of tough situations with men on base,” Sessions said. “When we have shut-down relievers who can come in, it not only helps me out but it helps the whole team out.”

Patrick Coffin (Alabama State University/Rockledge, Fla.) has been one of the dominant pitchers out of the bullpen for the Cardinals. Coffin has just a 3.15 ERA in 20 innings pitched with 22 strikeouts. Indalecio Romo (Campbellsville University/Campbellsville, Ky.) is another starter who has been outstanding. In 22 innings, Romo has strikeout a total of 28 batters while giving up seven walks.

“We’re second in the league in base-on-balls and we rarely walk anybody,” Neffendorf said. “Our infield is as good as any team and they can back us up if we need them to.”

The Cardinals’ next game is on July 1 when they travel to Winchester to take on the Royals.

 

-Kim Fucci