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FALL BASEBALL - JV level

If you are a rising 9th or 10th-grade student interested in playing fall baseball, please email the following to Coach Davenport at rdavenport@ocss-va.org: name, grade, birth date, address, and phone number. The Knights junior level squad will participate in the Rappahannock Fall Baseball League, with games on Saturdays from August 27th to October 15th. There will be seven practices prior to the opening game, followed by two practices per week throughout the season.

League fees (TBD) will be due before August 11th. The first team meeting will take place Wednesday, August 10th from 5:30-6:30, followed by a practice from 6:30-8:00. All meetings and practices will take place at Ross Memorial Field on the campus of Spotsylvania High School.

You may also contact Coach Davenport directly at 540-308-3202.

FALL BASEBALL - Varsity level

Coach Davenport will be in touch soon with details and dates. The tentative plan is to play a 6-10 game schedule similar to last fall, while hopefully competing in two showcase tournaments if everyone is in agreement. With two showcases, fees will likely run $150.-225.00 per player, not including limited travel. Without showcases, fees should not exceed $125.00 per player.

2011 KNIGHTS’ SENIORS SET FOR COLLEGE BASEBALL

Each of this season’s seniors will continue their time on the baseball field in the fall, as all have committed to successful and respected in-state college programs. Congratulations are in order not only for their talent and work ethic but also for being part of a 2011 class that will now send 100% of it’s baseball players into the college ranks!

Chris Ardiente (SS, P) will matriculate to the University of Mary Washington for the fall of 2011. A three-year starter renowned for his glove work at shortstop, Ardiente will join former Knights’ teammate Travis Payne as a member of the Eagles, eleven-time NCAA Division III tournament participants under Head Coach Tom Sheridan. Chris finished 2011 with a .345 batting average, scoring 15 runs with 6 doubles, 1 homerun, 15 runs-batted in, 5 stolen bases, and only 3 strikeouts in 62 plate appearances, earning Honorable Mention All-Battlefield District honors in a year loaded with solid shortstops. His performance at the plate evolved from .213 as a sophomore to .328 as a junior and .345 as a senior, so the sky is the limit at the next level. He closed out his career with a final average of .301, also providing the Knights with 46 runs, 16 doubles, and 32 RBI. He will also be reunited at UMW with Eagles Assistant Coach Brad Kocher, Chris’s high school coach from 2008-2009, as well as Eagles’ pitcher Zach Hendrix, an assistant for the Knights during the 2011 season who will return to the playing field in 2012. Congratulations Chris!

B.J. Collins (OF, P) will continue his baseball career for Coach Paul Menschner at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, VA. Collins started at shortstop during his first two seasons with the Knights and spent most of his time in the outfield as a senior, the position he expects to play at Patrick Henry. Another tremendous talent, B.J. finished at .345 in 2011, scoring 16 runs and adding 3 doubles, 3 triples, 1 homerun, 11 runs-batted in, and 16 stolen bases. The 16 stolen bases are good for fifth all-time in the Knights’ record book. Collins also contributed a 3.94 ERA in 16 innings of work for the 2011 Knights, striking out 18 along the way. He earned Second Team All-Battlefield District honors following the 2011 season. Patrick Henry, a Division II JUCO, participates in the ultra-competitive Region X, which is mostly comprised of North Carolina junior college programs. A legitimate up-and-coming program in the JUCO ranks, Patrick Henry has sent or will send 12 players from it’s last two classes to Division 1 programs. The program also saw two players drafted in 2010, exceptional for a program in only it’s sixth year of existence. Congratulations B.J.!

R.W. Payne (1B, P) will continue his time on the diamond for Coach Hank Banner at UVA-Wise, a member of the NAIA Mid-South Conference in the NAIA talent-rich area of the Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky highlands. UVA-Wise won it’s division in 2011, but did not qualify for the NAIA tournament this season. R.W., the Knights’ 2011 MVP and a Second Team All-Battlefield District honoree, led the Knights in most offensive categories as a senior. Always an outstanding teammate and leader, Payne finished with a .457 batting average, scoring 16 runs on 6 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homeruns, 25 runs-batted in, and 12 walks, good for a .576 on-base percentage and .957 slugging percentage. R.W.’s .457 batting average is good for 11^th all-time, while his 5 HR ties him for 3^rd in the record books, his 25 RBI ties him for 7^th, and the .576 OBP is 6^th all-time, etching his place in the Knights’ record books many times over. R.W. also contributed 2 wins and 23 strikeouts on the mound in 2011. He finishes his career a .351 hitter with 15 doubles, 9 homeruns, and 53 RBI. Congratulations R.W.!

A fourth senior, Spencer Hockaday, would have continued his playing career at the college level also. Spencer was making plans to secure a spot with a junior college program, any of which would have been glad to have a heady, contact-hitting middle infielder who played the game ever-enthusiastically and had a great knack for turning 2. Each of us is better for having known Spencer and spending the time with him that we did.

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