HARRISONBURG, Va., August 13, 2009 – Rising junior hurlers Kevin Munson (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring), Turner Phelps (Roanoke, Va./Lord Botetourt), and Trevor Knight (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) helped lead the Bourne Braves to their first-ever Cape Cod League championship.

Bourne wrapped up the title with a 15-5 fog-shortened win over the Cotuit Kettlers Tuesday evening, followed by a 5-1 win to clinch the best-of-three series on Wednesday afternoon.  Established in 1988, the Braves were the only CCBL that had never won the league title.  They were ranked second in the nation in the latest PGCrosschecker.com Summer 25 poll on August 11.  The Cape Cod League is widely regarded as the top summer collegiate wooden-bat circuit in the nation.

Munson, who retired the side in order in the ninth in the title game before being mobbed by teammates, compiled three saves for the season with a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings spread over 16 relief appearances.  He allowed just three earned runs, struck out 24, and limited opponents to a .204 batting average.  Munson was named to the CCBL All-Star Game in Fenway Park and was slated to enter the game before rain shortened the contest. 

Phelps went 3-3 with a 4.62 ERA in 37 innings over eight starts.  He was named as an alternate to the All-Star Game, having allowed just one earned run over one stretch of 22 2/3 innings earlier this season.  Phelps finished with 35 strikeouts to 11 walks.

Knight joined the bullpen at the halfway point of the season and went 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA in seven appearances over 9 1/3 innings.  He struck out 12 and held opponents to a .152 batting average with just five hits off of him.

The trio was part of a JMU-record six players to sign Cape Cod contracts this summer.  They were also three of six Colonial Athletic Association pitchers featured on the Braves’ roster of 27 players.  Munson, Knight, and Phelps were joined by William & Mary’s Logan Billbrough as well as UNC Wilmington hurlers Stephen Harrold and Cameron Roth.

Also in the Cape Cod League, junior shortstop David Herbek (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) began the season with a temporary contract with the Harwich Mariners.  However, his play earned him an extension for the full season.  He finished with a .141 average in 26 games in the pitching-dominated wooden-bat league.  Redshirt sophomore pitcher Sean Tierney (Midlothian, Va./Clover Hill) was invited to the Cape by the Brewster Whitecaps, but injuries prevented any game appearances.

Rising senior outfielder Alex Foltz (Mathias, W.Va./East Hardy) also received a temporary invitation to the Cape Cod League, but he appeared in just five games with the Harwich Mariners.  He later signed with the Luray Wranglers in the Valley League, based in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where he competed in the 2008 summer season.  Foltz hit .271 with six doubles and one homer in 20 games while aiding the Wranglers to a 27-20 record and the third seed in the playoffs.

Also in the Valley League, rising senior Kent Burford (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) earned all-star honors with the Staunton Braves.  He aided the team to a 27-17 record, the South Division title, and the second seed in the playoffs.  Burford led the Braves and ranked third in the VBL with a .348 average and sixth with 38 runs scored.  He had 47 hits, a .435 on-base percentage, and 14 steals in 37 games. 

After playing three regular-season games in New Market, Va. for the first time in school history, four Dukes aided the New Market Rebels to the VBL semifinals, finishing with a 24-25 overall record.  Rising junior reliever James Weiner (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) had a 3.38 ERA in 22 appearances.  Redshirt senior outfielder Matt Townsend (Lorton, Va./Hayfield) started 35 games in the outfield and hit .193 with four home runs.  Junior third baseman McKinnon Langston (Tallahassee, Fla./North Florida Christian) hit .221 in 31 games.  Redshirt junior Kyle Hoffman (Reading, Pa./Twin Valley), who missed the entire JMU season with an offseason injury, joined the Rebels, in the final weeks and had a .386 ERA in four relief appearances.

Incoming freshman Johnny Bladel (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) competed for the Fairfax Nationals in the Clark Griffith League.  He led the entire league with a .356 batting average while also ranking fourth in slugging percentage (.475), second in on-base percentage (.450), fifth in hits (36), fourth in RBIs (21), fifth in doubles (8), fourth in triples (2), seventh in total bases (48), 11^th in walks (16), and fifth in steals (12).  Bladel also pitched for the Nationals, going 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.  Sophomore Evan Scott (Haymarket, Va./Haymarket) was slated to pitch for the Carney Pirates, but instead spent the summer rehabbing from injury.

In the New England Collegiate Baseball League, rising senior second baseman Mike Fabiaschi (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) earned all-star honors while playing near his hometown with the Danbury Westerners.  He hit .261 in 29 games.  His sacrifice fly in the fifth inning of the all-star game ignited a three-run rally that led to a 6-5 victory.  Junior Alex Valadja (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) had a 5.40 ERA in 10 relief appearances spanning 15 innings with the New Bedford Bay Sox.

Four Dukes suited up in the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League.  Sophomore catcher Jake Lowery (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) hit .227 for the Herndon Braves with two doubles, three triples, and two home runs while ranking third on the team with 18 RBIs.  Redshirt senior Jason Kuhn (Stafford, Va./Brooke Point) made 14 relief appearances and compiled a 3-1 record with a 2.49 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings.  Sophomore outfielder Ian Haynes (Danville, Va./Tunstall) hit .300 in six games before an injury derailed his season.  Sophomore right-hander Josh Futter (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) had nine appearances with the Silver Spring-Takoma T-Bolts, including four starts, and went 1-1 with a 4.65 ERA in 31 innings.

Senior outfielder Matt Browning (Mystic, Conn./Fitch) spent part of the summer resting before then signing in July with the Saratoga Phillies in the New York Collegiate League.  He made eight starts and led the team with a .375 average with two doubles, a home run, .583 slugging percentage, and .484 on-base percentage.

In the Florida Collegiate Baseball League, senior David Edwards (Ocala, Fla./St. Cloud) played both ways for the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs.  On the mound, he went 1-1 with a 5.17 ERA in 15 2/3 innings.  Offensively, he his .238 in 21 at bats with two doubles.