Delmarva Shorebirds at Salem Red Sox Recap June 14th, 2023
SALEM, Va. – It is often said, runs come in bunches. For the Delmarva Shorebirds (26-31) that couldn’t be truer than on Tuesday afternoon.
With summer camps from around the Roanoke Valley packing the ballpark for an 11:05 a.m. start, the Shorebirds were able to lay down the hammer on the host Salem Red Sox (25-31).
The scoring got started for the Shorebirds with a five-spot in the third inning when Red Sox starter Noah Dean (L, 1-3) couldn’t work out of a jam, surrendering a bases-loaded walk to Samuel Basallo before the very next batter Ryan Higgins roped a bases-clearing double into center field.
Delmarva would tack on one more in the inning as Isaac Bellony hit a sac fly that scored Higgins from third to make it 5-0 through three.
The Shorebirds weren’t done yet as two innings later, in the fifth, they would do it again putting up another five-spot. Again it was a Red Sox pitcher, this time Luis Talavera, that loaded the bases before a wild pitch scored Carter Young. An RBI single from Adam Retzbach prompted a call to the bullpen, placing Jhonny Felix in the game for Salem.
However, things didn’t get much better. A wild pitch scored Higgins to clear the bases, immediately followed by a walk to Anderson De Los Santos to keep a runner on board. Noelberth Romero stepped up to the plate launching his first home run of the season to left field to put the visitors up by double digits, 10-0.
The Red Sox would only have a single response in the seventh inning as Lyonell James crushed his second homer of the year over the left field foul pole.
Despite Alfred Vega delivering a solid four-inning start for Delmarva, it was reliever Alejandro Méndez (W, 2-0) who earned the winning decision only going an inning in the fifth. Moisés Chace (SV, 1) earned his first statistical save of the season dealing the final four innings.
The Red Sox used four pitchers each going at least two innings, and all four allowing at least a walk and base hit to Shorebird batters.
Salem and Delmarva next do battle on Flag Day in a doubleheader beginning at 5:35 p.m. Both games will be seven innings with the second game beginning approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one from Salem Memorial Ballpark.
Location: Salem Memorial Ballpark First Pitch: 11:06 a.m. Time of Game: 2:36
Zack Kelly Joins Salem on Rehab Assignment Press Release (September 1st, 2023)
SALEM, Va. – The Boston Red Sox have sent reliever Zack Kelly to Salem for a one-week rehab assignment with the Single-A club.
Kelly, a native to neighboring Roanoke, will be making his first professional appearance in the Roanoke Valley this week after recovering from ulnar nerve transposition revision in his right elbow back in May.
Kelly attended Lord Botetourt High School in Daleville, but attended Division II Concord, before transferring to Newberry where he then signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017 with the Oakland Athletics.
Having just spent 2017 in the A’s organization, Kelly then spent the next two seasons in the Los Angeles Angels organization playing for the Angels’ rookie level through AA before signing with Boston, post-COVID.
Kelly rose the ranks quickly starting with AA Portland in the Red Sox organization, making his MLB debut in 2022.
This season, Kelly has appeared in six games for Boston collecting a 3.68 ERA in 7.1 innings pitched.
The Roanoke native joins the squad with just six regular season games remaining, all at home at Salem Memorial Ballpark as the Salem Red Sox host the Carolina Mudcats.
The rehab assignment from Kelly marks the first time this season Salem will see a player rehabbing from the MLB club.
Tickets can still be bought for the final homestand of the year against the Mudcats at milb.com/salem/tickets.
Anderson Trojans at Carson-Newman Eagles Volleyball Preview November 14, 2024
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman prepares for its regular season finale inside Holt Fieldhouse on Friday night with a lot on the line.
Carson-Newman (16-9, 12-5 SAC) enters needing a win or a Mars Hill loss to secure a top-four seed at the upcoming SAC Volleyball Tournament to host a quarterfinal match on Nov. 19. However, Anderson (17-9, 12-5 SAC) is in the same situation with an identical conference record to Carson-Newman, with this match breaking that tie. The Trojans started the season slow, taking part in two high-profile tournaments where they went 3-4. However, they dropped three of their first five conference matches before rattling off nine straight wins. After that, Anderson dropped two matches to Mars Hill and Wingate, but they have picked up the pace with an active three-match winning streak against Lenoir-Rhyne, LMU, and Erskine.
The Trojans are led individually by Ava Reeves, who averages 3.24 kills per set. The top Anderson setter is Ellie Nieporte, the defending SAC Offensive Player of the Week. She has surpassed 1,000 assists in the season and averages 10.24 per set.
Defensively, Katy Smith is the top libero with 354 digs for 3.5 per set. The top Trojan middles are Brantley Chipley and Emily Campbell, each with over 75 blocks on the season.
Anderson holds an 18-15 series lead over the Eagles, winning three of the last four in Mossy Creek.
Friday's match against Anderson marks both teams' regular-season finales. Carson-Newman has struggled recently on a season-long three-match losing streak but returns to Holt Fieldhouse, where it has a 7-1 record.
Below are Carson-Newman's SAC Tournament scenarios based on the current SAC standings.
Carson-Newman Wins
-if Mars Hill goes 2-0 or 1-1: three-seed hosting Lincoln Memorial -if Mars Hill goes 0-2: three-seed hosting Tusculum
Carson-Newman Loses
-if Mars Hill goes 2-0: five-seed at Mars Hill -if Mars Hill goes 1-1: four-seed hosting Mars Hill -if Mars Hill goes 0-2: four-seed hosting Lincoln Memorial
First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. inside Holt Fieldhouse. Carson-Newman students and faculty can get in for free, as well as any under 18. Anyone else can get in the door for $5. Those not attending can watch the match via a subscription for FloSports or follow along online for free by following @CN_Eagles on X for live coverage. To keep up with Carson-Newman Volleyball, follow us on social media @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram or Facebook at Carson-Newman Athletics.
Transfer Portal Feature with McKenzie Cheynet September 9th, 2023
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - For many student-athletes, the transfer portal is a way to get a fresh start, at a new school, with the potential for better opportunities.
Such was the case for McKenzie Cheynet, a women's soccer player at the University of Mary Washington, a Division-III school in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Cheynet transferred from Radford University, close to her hometown of Blacksburg. However, the jump to "Mary Wash" wasn't as hard for Cheynet who said Mary Wash was an option from the start.
"Mary Wash was my second choice in high school, so once I discovered that Radford just wasn't an environment that I wanted to be in, I decided that Mary Wash was the best option for me", Cheynet said.
For those outside of the student-athlete or college athletics bubble, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what the transfer portal is. Cheynet explains, "It's a pool of players that coaches only can see, and they can see where you're coming from if they want to email you, take an interest in you... It has your information in there: why you transferred, your email, your phone number, and things like that."
Although the move was across the commonwealth from Blacksburg to Fredericksburg, Cheynet said she was ready for a change of scenery. "No it was actually a tough decision to stay close to home", Cheynet laughed. "I always wanted to go far, but then Radford reached out with an exciting offer so I thought, 'Oh, okay, so I guess I'll stay close to home', but it was more exciting for me to move farther away."
However, another option stuck out to Cheynet. Sewanee, another Divison-III school, reached out for an offer to reunite her with her loved ones. McKenzie's brother plays men's soccer for the Tigers and her twin sister Morgan, who was her teammate with the Highlanders at Radford, also entered the transfer portal choosing to join their older brother Connor in Tennessee.
Instead, McKenzie decided what the best move was for her, and instead of following her siblings to Sewanee, made her own choice where she looks to become a known name on campus at Mary Washington.
Although the season and school year is just beginning, Cheynet has seen a positive outlook since moving across the state from Radford to Fredericksburg. Cheynet said, "I got here August 17th for preseason, and everything has been great so far."
Through three games of a young 2023 season for the Mary Wash Eagles, Cheynet is already seeing her playing career change for the better, showing the positive impact of the transfer portal. After not touching the pitch in a Highlanders kit, Cheynet has appeared as a substitution in two of the Eagles' three games, both coming in on defense. Despite the move for Cheynet from Division-I to Division-III, the move does offer hundreds of student-athletes across the nation a chance to go from being a role player off the bench at a large university to being a star player at a smaller one.
Mary Washington added a host of transfer students to bolster the Eagles' roster, besides Cheynet. The situation can also go the other way around, an athlete who got one of their only offers from a Division II or Division III school that has improved exponentially can use the portal to be around more equal talent, and get more eyes on the student-athletes, that could potentially lead to professional opportunities down the road. The transfer portal has gotten many angry eyes from the college athletics world in recent years as it seems the number of athletes looking to jump ship has increased exponentially with the introduction of NIL deals. But, for many athletes, the portal is an opportunity to have a second wind at a career or continue a sport they have grown up admiring and playing for their entire lives. Such as McKenzie Cheynet, a star in high school at Blacksburg for the Bruins, who felt she wasn't getting enough out of being a part of the women's soccer program at Radford University, and used the transfer portal to her advantage to try to become a star for the Eagles.
Minnesota Mud Puppies at Waterloo Bucks Recap July 1st, 2022
WATERLOO, Iowa – The Great Guardino has done it again.
After the Minnesota Mud Puppies (5-11) took a four-run lead heading into the middle of the third, the Waterloo Bucks (8-23) knew they had work to do.
It all started when Kyle Huckstorf hit an RBI single in the third, followed by a wild pitch and a Raphael Pelletier RBI single in the fourth brought it to a one-run ballgame with Minnesota in front 4-3.
That would remain the score through the middle third until the seventh when the Bucks tied the game on another RBI single from Huckstorf that scored Ujimori from third.
Despite the Bucks crawling back from a 4-0 deficit, the Mud Puppies weren’t about to go down quietly scoring on a sac fly in the top of the ninth to take a 5-4 lead and put the pressure on Waterloo, now down to their final three outs.
Carter Hendrickson came in to slam the door for Minnesota, and quickly the Bucks were down to their final out with just a single runner on base. However, with the Bucks down to their final strike, Cameron Cromer singled to push runners to the corners and forced a Mud Puppies call to the bullpen.
It was then up to Ryan Lambert who walked Huckstorf in the first batter he faced. So, with the bases loaded and the Bucks down a run it was up to Ryan Guardino who faced a 3-1 count. Just a single ball would have tied the ballgame, but instead, Guardino launched the next pitch to center field. A grand slam. The Bucks won the ballgame 8-5 on the walk-off grand slam to take the first game of the series over Minnesota. The Bucks will look for the sweep tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. from Riverfront Stadium. You can still buy tickets at waterloobucks.com or stream the game free at Watch NWL.
