Strasburg's Smith Named Signs USA Player of the Week
Strasburg Express pitcher Brendan Smith is the second Signs USA Player of the Week for the 2017 season.
Smith struck out 11 of the 16 batters he faced, compiling a 0.00 ERA in three relief appearances while allowing just one hit and one walk.
Smith earned a six-out save in a 4-2 win over Front Royal on Saturday night. He also closed out a 6-2 victory over Winchester earlier in the week with a perfect ninth, and threw two perfect innings in an eventual extra innings win over Purcellville.
In a week where bats were down a bit across the league, Strasburg went 4-1 and had a team staff ERA of 1.83 in those five games.
Signs USA is sponsoring the Valley Baseball League Player of the Week for the second season in 2017.
Honorable Mention:
Alec Aleywine, SP/1B, New Market Rebels- Contributed both at bat and as a pitcher. Hit .304 with a homer, four RBIs and six runs scored, while also getting a win on the mound- striking out six and scattering four hits over six innings pitched.
Ty Andrus, OF, Harrisonburg Turks- Tied for the team lead with three runs scored, and knocked in one run.
Kyle Battle, OF, Charlottesville Tom Sox- Led the Tom Sox in batting (.429) and RBIs (four) for the week, and led the league in slugging (.643).
Danton Hyman, OF, Woodstock River Bandits- Led the league in both hits (12) and RBIs (eight) for the week, while batting .444 with six runs scored.
Alejandro Rivero, 2B/SS, Winchester Royals- Hit .407 and led the league in RBIs (eight), while ranking second in hits (11).
Malik Stephens, OF, Waynesboro Generals- Ranked second in the league in batting (.455) for the week, while knocking in five runs and scoring five times.
Thomas Sutera, SP, Purcellville Cannons- Went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two appearances, striking out seven and scattering two hits.
Richard Miller, 1B/3B, Staunton Braves- Hit .375; led the Braves with four RBIs and ranked second on the team in hits (six) and runs scored (three).
Ryan Watson, SP, Front Royal Cardinals- Went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in his start, striking out five in a win over the first place Tom Sox.
Caleb Wells, OF, Covington Lumberjacks- Hit .368 with a team-high seven hits and five runs scored, adding three RBIs.
