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Hultzen earns Pitcher of the Week honors

April 28, 2012 By

Danny Hultzen (LHP Braves 08′), continues to impress.  Below is a snippet from MLB.com on Danny winning the Minor League Player of the Week award last week.  Go Braves!

A number of pitching prospects are doing impressive things in the Minors of late, but it’s hard to find anyone who was more impressive in the past week than the Mariners’ Danny Hultzen.

Seattle’s first-round pick (No. 2 overall) last June is No. 2 on the Mariners’ Top 20 list and No. 16 on the overall Top 100. Making his pro debut in the Double-A Southern League, Hultzen won both of his starts this week (Thursday, April 19 through Wednesday, April 2).

The University of Virginia product didn’t allow a run in 12 total innings of work. He yielded only four hits for a .103 batting average against while allowing five walks and striking out 10. For the year, spanning four starts, the southpaw has a 2.08 ERA (fifth in the Southern League) and a .122 BAA while compiling 26 strikeouts (fifth in the SL) in 21 2/3 innings.

Leland Clemmons Named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week

April 20, 2012 By

Leland Clemmons was rewarded for his outstanding weekend with an A-10 weekly honor.

Charlotte freshman outfielder Leland Clemmons (Chesapeake, Va. / Portsmouth Christian HS) was named the Atlantic 10 Baseball Co-Rookie of the Week, officials announced today.

After drawing a walk in a pinch-hit appearance in Wednesday’s home loss in the late innings to Wake Forest, Clemmons stepped into the starting lineup due to injuries and helped Charlotte to a pair of wins to take their first A-10 series of the season at Temple.

He entered the weekend with five total hits this season and he tallied six for the series, including a career-high three on Saturday and he scored a career-high three runs in the Friday win. Clemmons had two triples and two doubles and two singles for the weekend, stole four bases in as many tries and drove in four runs, the most of any player in the series in those categories. He started the series 5-for-5, reaching base in his first eight plate appearances over the first two games. He reached base 12 times total in the series, most of any player from either team. He raised his season average from .119 to .212 in the series.

For the season, he is one of five players on the roster with at least one double, triple and a homer. He homered for his first collegiate hit back on February 18. His sixth stolen bases are fourth on the team, which he has done in 52 at bats over 23 games.

He is the second freshman to be awarded A-10 Rookie of the Week from Charlotte, joining Brad Elwood, who was honored on March 5. Charlotte has also landed a Player of the Week (Shane Basen, February 20) and a Pitcher of the Week (John Hamilton, April 2).

Player Spotlight: Jacob Mayers

April 12, 2012 By

Jacob Mayers - Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week

 #16 – Jacob Mayers

  Richmond Braves 2008

  RHP/1B

  6’2/210 lbs

  Junior - University of Richmond Spiders

 

After tossing one of the most dominant and impressive pitching  performances in Richmond baseball history this past Friday, Spider Baseball’s Jacob Mayers was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week for his second conference honor this season.  (He was also named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on March 5th.) 

Mayers allowed just one unearned run on the afternoon on only two hits.  The junior was unhittable in stretches, retiring 16 straight batters at one point while matching his career high with 11 strikeouts. The 10-inning, complete game effort is the first in the modern era for Richmond baseball.

“Jake’s game on Friday was one of the best pitching performances that I’ve ever been a part of,” Richmond head baseball coach Mark McQueen said.  “The A-10 accolade is well deserved for Jake and a great honor for our program.”

On the season, Mayers leads the team with a 5-2 record and a 4.80 ERA.  The junior has struck out a team-high 53 batters in 54.1 innings pitched and is allowing opponents to hit just .229 against him this year.  Offensively, Mayers is excelling as well, hitting .321 with 10 doubles, eight home runs, and a conference-best 30 RBIs.

As a member of the Richmond Braves National since he was 9 years old, Jake was no stranger to success and has a list of accomplishments too long to highlight here.  Here are a few highlights:

Accomplishments:

  • A-10 player of the week
  • A-10 pitcher of the week
  • Louisville Slugger National player of the week
  • No. 1-rated prep player in the Commonwealth by VirginiaPreps.com in 2009
  • 2009 State, Regional and District Player of the Year
  • Member of the 2008 Braves multi championship team
  • 2 time WWBA MVP

Conner Kaufmann Throws No Hitter for Cornell!

April 2, 2012 By

Congratulations to Braves 2010 Pitcher Connor Kaufmann for throwing a no hitter against Dartmouth last weekend!

Kaufmann Throws No Hitter!

Connor was a key pitcher on the Braves 2008 16u WWBA championship team and is now 4-1 for Cornell this season.  Click here to read the full article.  Go Braves!

Mayers Selected as Coastal Plains League All Star

July 20, 2011 By

Jake Mayers, former Richmond Brave and current 3B/RHP at the University of Richmond, is making the most of his summer with the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plains League. Jake was recently selected as the starting third baseman for the American squad in the mid season classic. He went 1 for 2 on the evening with a clutch two-out single in the bottom of the third. Mayers is currently hitting .288 with 21 RBI for the Sharks.

2011 Draft: Three More Braves Selected

June 7, 2011 By

Former Braves, Jackie Bradley Jr., Will Roberts, and Tyler Wilson were all taken in the first 10 rounds of the 2011 MLB Draft. After Danny Hultzen was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the second overall pick, the 2011 Draft proved to be exciting for several other former Braves as well. USC outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. was the 40th overall pick to Boston. On Day 2, UVA pitching star Will Roberts was the 158th overall pick to Cleveland. UVA pitching star Tyler Wilson went to Baltimore in the 10th round.

Draft 2011: Hultzen Taken Second Overall

June 6, 2011 By

Former Richmond Brave LHP Danny Hultzen was taken with the second pick in the 2011 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. Hultzen, Virginia’s Ace and two time ACC Pitcher of the Year, is among the NCAA leaders in both ERA and strikeouts. This is the highest any former Braves player has ever been selected in the Draft.

Perfection, Perfection, Perfection!

May 20, 2011 By

Seeing one ‘Perfect Game’ in the course of a decade seems reasonable, but THREE in one spring? Richmond Braves pitchers have set the bar high in 2011 turning in three perfect games in just over a month.

Will Roberts (RHP/Virginia/Richmond Braves 2008) threw the eighth 9-inning perfect game in the history of NCAA Division I baseball. Roberts, a weekend starter and junior at Virginia, cruised through the evening unscathed and struck out 10 as the #1 ranked Cavaliers defeated George Washington 2-0.

Just a couple weeks later, Sam Kmiec (LHP/Richmond Braves 2011) followed suit with a perfecto of his own while pitching for Hurricane High School (West Virginia). The senior lefty struck out 13 as Hurricane took care of Capital High School 8-0.

After hurling two no-hitters already this season, sophomore right hander, A.J. Powell (RHP/Richmond Braves 2013) tossed a perfect game for Broad Run High School (Virginia). Powell struck out six and walked none as the Spartans beat Dominion High School 11-0 in five innings.