Seven Braves picked for VBL All-Star Game

Seven members of the Staunton Braves have been selected to play in the annual Valley Baseball League All-Stat game scheduled for July 12. The game will be hosted by the Woodstock Riverbandits.

Selected from Staunton were pitchers Aaron Swenson and David Gibson, first baseman Todd Brazeal, third baseman Kent Burford and outfielders John Dishon, Chris Clinton and Blake McDade.

Swenson, Clinton receive VBL weekly honors

Staunton Braves teammates Aaron Swenson and Chris Clinton were named the Valley Baseball League South Division Pitcher and Player of the Week by the league office Monday.

Swenson (Youngstown State) earned the Pitcher of the Week award for the second time this summer. Swenson pitched a complete game two-hitter to defeat Haymarket, 6-2. He allowed two runs, both unearned while striking out eight and walking two. Swenson is now 4-0 on the season with a 0.97 ERA.

Clinton (pictured) hit .579 this past week (11-for-19) to earn Player of the Week honors. Clinton had an on-base percentage of .600 and a slugging percentage of .737 for the week. He leads the Valley League in hitting with a .429 average.

Braves No. 21 in Summer Top 25 poll

The Staunton Braves are ranked No. 21 in the Summer Top 25 in the recent rankings posted by Perfect Game.

The Braves, 13-6 on the season, were ranked No. 14 last week.

Luray is ranked No. 17 in this week's rankings.

Brazeal named to freshman All-American second team

Staunton Braves first baseman Todd Brazeal (South Florida) has been named to the Freshman All-American second team by Baseball America.

Brazeal is batting .295 and leads the Braves this season with five homers.

Brazeal hit .348 with five homers and 50 RBIs at South Florida.

Swenson, Dishon earn Player of the Week honors

Youngstown State righthander Aaron Swenson (bottom photo) and LSU outfielder John Dishon have earned South Division Player of the Week honors for the Staunton Braves over the past two weeks.

Swenson is currently 3-0 on the season and ranks third among the league leaders in ERA with a 1.27 mark. He is also ranked third in the league in strikeouts.

Dishon leads the Braves and ranks third in the VBL in hitting with a .404 average. He is also third in the league in runs scored, fourth in slugging percentage and fifth in on-base percentage.

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.