Braves edge 'Jacks; McDade named Player of the Week

Following Sunday night's tough 3-1 loss to Woodstock, the Staunton Braves bounced back Monday and snapped their two-game losing streak with a 7-6 win over Covington.

Luke Padgett (Virginia Tech) belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Braves the 7-6 lead.

Padgett finished the game with three hits while Cameron Brown (Richmond), Todd Brazeal (South Florida) and Donovan Huffer (Concord) added two hits each.

Donal Howell (Bluefield) pitched the final 1.1 innings to earn his second save of the season.

Also Monday, Braves' first baseman/outfielder Blake McDade (Middle Tennessee State) was named the Valley Baseball League South Division Player of the Week. McDade (pictured) had 10 hits in his first six games and leads the VBL with 13 RBIs.

Braves improve to 4-0 on the season

The Staunton Braves improved to 4-0 on the season with a 9-3 victory Thursday over the Front Royal Cardinals. The loss with the first of the season for the Cardinals.

Blake McDade (picture) was 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Braves offense.

Four Staunton pitchers combined to limit Front Royal to just four hits. Harrison Slutsky pitched two innings in relief to get the win and Nate Eppley finished with two scoreless innings to record the save.

Three more Braves go in the draft

Three more former Staunton Braves were selected on the final day of MLB draft.

Justin Dignelli a RHP from George Washington University was selected in the 34th round by the Dodgers. John Housey, a righthander from Miami was taken in Round 36. Housey played briefly for the Braves two years ago before finishing the season in Woodstock. Jamie Hayes (pictured), a righthander from Rider, went in Round 48 to the Atlanta Braves.

Huffer named to All-American First Team

Donovan Huffer, a pitcher/shortstop for Concord University, was named by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association to a first-team NCAA Division II All-America spot as a utility player.

Huffer's .439 batting average and 54 runs scored ranked first in the West Virginia Conference. He also managed a 6-2 pitching record with a 3.50 earned run average as the Mountain Lions qualified for the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

Huffer played with the Staunton Braves in 2008 and is back with the team this summer.

Squatrito, Hernandez picked in draft

The Staunton Braves had two players selected in the first 30 rounds of the Major League baseball draft.

Josh Squatrito, a righthander from Towson was drafted in the 25th round by the Cardinals and Bobby Hernandez, a righthander from Barry, was selected in Round 28 by the Dodgers.

Squatrito pitched for the Braves in 2008 and was one of the top relief pitchers in the Valley Baseball League.

Hernandez, who pitched for the Braves in 2007, was also drafted in last year's draft.

Copeland helps send Southern Miss to Omaha

Former Staunton Braves pitcher Scott Copeland helped send Southern Miss to the College World Series with three strong innings of relief in an upset victory over Florida.

Copeland picked up the win with three scoreless innings in which he allowed just one hit during Southern Miss' 7-6. The Golden Eagles took two straight from the Gators to advance to Omaha.

Swenson pitches Braves past Waynesboro

The Staunton Braves improved to 2-0 on the season by defeating Waynesboro,10-1, Sunday night.

The Braves received another strong pitching effort as starter Aaron Swenson (Youngstown State). Swenson (pictured) went six innings and allowed just three hits and one earned run. He struck out three and walked one.

The Braves finished with 11 hits and took advantage of four Waynesboro errors to take control of the contest.

Blake McDade (Middle Tennessee State) was 2-for-3 with four RBIs and Todd Brazeal (South Florida) was 1-for-3 with three RBIs. Johnny Dishon (LSU) and Anthony Porter (Youngstown State) added two hits each for the Braves.

Braves win season opener

Todd Brazeal (South Florida) belted a solo homer in the first inning and Shane Pysh (Radford) allowed just four hits in seven innings as the Staunton Braves opened the 2009 Valley Baseball League season with a 4-1 victory at Rockbridge.

The Braves scored three runs in the top of the first. Chris Clinton (Eckerd) led off with a bunt single and stole second. Clinton scored on a double by Luis Llerena (South Florida). Llerena moved to third on a passed ball and scored on Cameron Brown's grounder for a (2-0) Braves lead. Brazeal then belted a towering homer to put Staunton on top 3-0.

Pysh (pictured), who struck out four and walked three, lost his shutout in the seventh.

With the score, 3-1, Staunton added a run in the eighth on a single by Brown and run-scoring double by Blake McDade (Middle Tennessee State).

Donovan Huffer (Concord) struck out two in the eighth and Donald Howell (Bluefield) fanned two more in the ninth to nail down the save.

Brazeal named Feshman All-American

South Florida first baseman Todd Brazeal was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team presented by Collegiate Baseball.

Brazeal, a third-team All-Big East pick, hit .348 and led the Bulls with 50 RBIs this past season.

Brazeal is playing with the Staunton Braves this summer.