While coach Jake Wiseman continues to rebuild L.C. Bird’s baseball program, local colleges are watching. Another standout will play at the college level: pitcher Gavin Burton.  The senior is a 6-foot, 177-pound righty has a mid-80-mph fastball and a slider. He is slotted in to be the Skyhawks’ ace when baseball starts up in the spring.  He’ll join L.C. Bird alum and outfielder Jaelen Hines on the Virginia Wesleyan roster. A member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Wesleyan was 22-17 overall, 13-9 in conference play. Burton plans to major in criminal justice.

Caymon Wilkinson takes off his helmet following a first-inning grand slam Saturday night. The team poses with their individual and team trophies following the championship. In its first season as a new organization, Chesterfield Youth Baseball produced a champion at the Hopewell Optimist Club tournament. They followed it up by winning the 62nd annual Boys Invitational Baseball tournament (11- and 12-year-olds) in convincing fashion Saturday night, beating Dinwiddie National 16-0 in a game called after four innings.  “It’s an excellent group of kids who have all put in hard work to play at the high level they play at,” coach…

Caymon Wilkinson threw a no-hitter against Staunton, striking out 14 batters over six innings while allowing three base runners via walks. (Josh Mathews photo) The 59th annual Boys Invitational Baseball tournament kicked off last week with 16 Little League teams vying in a single-elimination tournament. Ettrick, CBC American, CBC National, CBC Heat and CBC Central (Woolridge) all participated.  Through the first round, only Ettrick has advanced so far by way of beating Staunton, 15-0. As impressive as that was, it was only as impressive as pitcher Caymon Wilkinson. He fired a no-hitter, striking out 14 batters over six innings while…

Shortstop Brandon Pond gets ready to throw to first base during recent baseball action. American Legion Post 284 battled their rivals from across the county, South Richmond/Chesterfield Post 137, last week in the district championship. Once it rained it poured for the Buccaneers as they cruised to an 18-8 victory and a berth in the state tournament.  “If we hit the baseball the way we’ve hit the baseball the last three teams, we’re going to be tough in the tournament,” coach Jeremy Cole said.  Trailing 7-5 heading into the top of the seventh, the final inning in Legion ball, the…

Ethan Althaus runs to first base. (Josh Mathews photo) The tenth edition of the Bronco-11 World Series didn’t quite turn out the way that Chesterfield Baseball Clubs envisioned. Try as they might, the team struggled, falling in each of its three contests over the weekend for an eighth-place finish in the tournament. That said, there were many bright spots for CBC and plenty of standout performances. In the tournament’s opener, CBC fell 13-1 to San Antonio, Texas. In the second round, they narrowly lost to Luzon, Philippines, 7-6, and in a consolation game, they succumbed to the Bronx, N.Y., team…

Catcher Andrew Roach gives thumbs up after a meeting with pitcher Kyle Chernault at Shepherd Stadium in Colonial Heights on July 18. (Josh Mathews photo) The American Legion Post 284 Buccaneers started the 2019 season on a tear, winning six of their first eight games. They head into postseason play this week with a record of 8-5. Last week, the Bucs went 2-1. After losing to Powhatan Dirt Sox 14-4 on Tuesday, July 16, they rebounded with a 13-1 win over Lakeside/Richmond on Thursday and an 8-7 win Sunday over Mechanicsville. Thursday’s game was the first of a scheduled doubleheader,…

The Coastal Plain League is no stranger to the Tri-Cities. Once in Petersburg, there will soon be an expansion team just down the road in Colonial Heights. Now in its 23rd season, the league has 26 franchises playing on the East Coast in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The league features college players who play in the summer to stay sharp, and has produced 1,650 professional players and 124 Major Leaguers, according to a CPL press release. Two notable alumni are 2011 American League MVP Goochland native and Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander and 2017 National League Championship…