SECTION
wednesday, July 24, 2013
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ANDREW WIN
I
S;
Staff report
........ ....... ith a Sunday sweep of Winchester at Sager Field, the Charles
Town Cannons of the Valley Baseball League remained in
second place inthe summer circuit s North Division. Af-
ter downing thg.ovisiting Royals in two seven-
inning games, the Cannons had an overall record of 22-20 with only two
regular season games remaining.
OOK: G BACN
The Charles Town Cannons maintained
their hold on second place Wednesday
with a win over Woodstock. On Friday
the Cannons were crushed by Strasburg
Express, 12-3. See Page B2.
LOO:K|MG AHEAD
The Cannons close the regular
season tonight at home with a
7 p.m. game against Front Roy-
al. The Valley Baseball League
playoffs begin on Sunday.
Strasburg (18-20) was two games behind
the Cannons, but had six games left. Front
Royal (18-22) had four games to play and
trailed the Cannons by three games. The A1-
die Senators (17-21) were also three games
behind Charles Town and had six games to
play.
Woodstock had locked up the North Divi-
sion regular season title with its 25-13 over-
all record and a five-game lead over the sec-
ond-place Cannons.
In its 4-2 win over Winchester, the Can-
nons got two-hit pitching from winner Lo-
gan Boyd, who didn't allow any earned runs
and fanned seven. Clayton Payne got credit
for the save.
Kraig Kelley went 2-for-2 and scored
twice while Pat Ammar and Emmanuel Mar-
rero each drove in a run.
The Cannons' 6-5 win saw Matt Durst go
3-for-4 with a solo homer. Tyler Hibbert,
Cody Hoffner, Spencer Rahm" and Marrero
all had two hits. L.K. Thompson drove in
two runs. The Cannons snapped a 4-4 tie in
the sixth to make a winner of reliever Steven
• See CANNONS Page B2
By BOB MADISON
sports@spiritofjefferson.eom
WVUSPORTS.COM
Infielder Ryan
TunUand has
signed a pro-
fessional con-
tract with San
Francisco,
After making significant
strides this past season, West Vir-
ginia University's baseball team
had five players selected by Ma-
jor League Baseball in the free
agent draft held in early June.
When the deadline to sign a
professional contract passed in
mid-July, only one of those five
players had become a play-for-
play minor leaguer and would
leave the Mountaineer program.
Ryan Tuntland was a junior
third baseman from Des Plaines,
Ill. and had played just the 2013
• See TUNTLAND Page B4
BLEACHERREPORT.COM
WVU will rely on Andrew Buie (shown here against Baylor) and its other running
backs to offset the inexperience of whomever wins the team's quarterback battle.
WVU FOOTBALL PREVIEW
9
D
By BOB MADISON
sports@spiritofjefferson.eom
Dana Holgorsen was able to
maintain his reputation as an of-
fensive mind who can create lots of
points on most football weekends.
Holgorsen had his reputation
as able to win games at an aston-
ishing rate smudged some by last
year's 7-6 overall record.
And nobody wanted to go
around that dark bend where West
Virginia's defense was flailing
away, trying to keep any oppo-
nent from scoring over 45 points.
Holgorsen has advocates who
believe his fast-paced offense
with its even-split of the pass-
ing-mshing plays Can succeed
no matter the personnel using it.
Those believers will be given the
proof one way or the other this
season when the Mountaineers
come out with so many newly
minted starters that fans will be "
scanning their programs to find
out who they are. t2 teams
There are now three possibili- owned
ties at quarterback, and the most
experienced tosser last played West
at Florida State (Clint Trickett). Virginia,s
Paul Millard and Ford Childress
are the other two candidates, defense
There are four possibilities at l&st sea-
running back. Two of them are
familiar in Andrew Buie and SO~
Dustin Garrison. Two of them are
Houston transfer Charles Sims
and junior college transfer Drea-
mius Smith. All four of the run-
• See HOLGORSON Page B2
BOB MA.I)ISON
has
S
Former WVU infielder Jedd
Gyorko was providing the San
Diego Padres with enough of-
fense to give the National
League team tangible evidence
that he could be a long-term ma-
jor league player.
Gyorko is a rookie second
baseman who was converted by
the Padres from his more natural
positions of shortstop and third
base. Before the 2013 season
began, the Padres went to their
spring training camp and joined
with Gyorko, a native of Mor-
gantown who graduated from
University High School before
playing for the Mountaineers, in
a cram-course learning regimen
that lasted for hours during most
days. He had never played sec-
ond base in college or in the mi-
nor leagues.
A starter on Opening Day, Gy-
orko was rarely rested during the
first two-and-half months of the
season. His batting average had
steadily risen and was at .284 on
June 9.
But then the stocky 5-foot-
10, 187-pound infielder pulled
a groin muscle and was placed
on the disabled list on June 10.
His comfort level was such that
from May 14 through June 9 he
had batted .330 in a sparkling
25-game skein of accomplish-
ments. In going 34-for-103 dur-
ing his hitting surge, Gyorko also
had five homers, eight doubles,
• See GYORKO Page B4
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