From the RCBL Staff. 
Grottoes 3, Broadway 2 (7 innings)
Ryan Mannion had two hits while Luke Keister, Clayton Michael, and Tucker Garrison all had one RBI each as Grottoes picked up their first win of the season with a 3-2 win over Broadway in a game that was stopped after the top of the seventh inning due to rain.

Grottoes got solid pitching from four different arms – Eli Lam, Stuart Barrett, Jonas Franti, and Dillon O’Connor. Lam and Franti each went two innings and each allowed a run, while Barrett (win) and O’Connor (save) each threw a scoreless inning of relief.

Broadway pitcher Michael Meyers, who just finished up his college career at Shenandoah University, was the tough-luck loser for the Bruins as he threw six innings (a complete game in the rain-shortened game) and allowed three runs while throwing exactly 100 pitches with 70 of them going for strikes.

The Bruins were led at the plate by Sam Pearne who had two hits, while Carl Keenan, Connor Michael, and Seth Moomaw all had one hit. Michael and Moomaw also had one RBI each.

Grottoes (1-1) plays again on May 30 when they host Massanutten, while Broadway (1-1) will look to bounce back on May 30 when they travel to Elkton.

Montezuma 9, Bridgewater 2
Dalton Hall had two hits and drove in four runs as Montezuma started their 2026 campaign with a 9-2 win over Bridgewater.

Logan Hicks drove in two runs while Evan Leese, Logan Austin, and Wyatt Griffith each had one RBI in Montezuma’s Chris Smith’s first game as an RCBL manager. Those three aforementioned players, along with Trevor Shifflett and Caden Swartley, all had one hit each for the Braves.

Carter Mills went the first five innings and allowed just one earned run before turning it over to Blake Argenbright who went the final four innings of scoreless baseball and picked up the save.

Bridgewater only mustered up three hits against Mills and Argenbright – singles from Brett Tharp, Chris Huffman, and Terry Staton. Huffman threw three scoreless innings to start the game for the Reds, but Montezuma would score nine runs off of two Bridgewater relievers between the fourth and seventh innings. Corbin Lucas threw a scoreless inning of relief in the eighth.

Montezuma (1-0) is scheduled to be back in action on May 22 when they host Elkton, while Bridgewater (0-1) is right back in action on May 21 when they travel to Stuarts Draft.

Broadway Scores Three in Ninth, Walk Off Elkton
Broadway trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but the Bruins were able to plate three in the inning to earn a walk-off win against the Elkton Blue Sox, 5-4.

The game was scoreless heading into the bottom of the seventh, but Broadway would get two runs in that inning on a two-run single off the bat of Jayden Nixon that scored Carl Keenan and Seth Moomaw.

But the Blue Sox would respond with four runs in the top of the eighth and would maintain that lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.

In Broadway’s half of the ninth, Keenan and Moomaw led off the inning with back-to-back singles before Nixon came up and hit an RBI double that scored Keenan and moved Moomaw to third. Peyton Davis and Gavin Cunningham drew walks, with Cunningham’s walk forcing in a run to tie the game at 4-4. Lance Rhodes would then come up and hit a walk-off single to win it for the Bruins.

On the mound for Bruins, Shea Kushner threw the first six innings and didn’t give up any runs. Keenan ended up picking up the win as he threw the final 1.2 innings and struck out three. Elkton got a great start on the mound from Kaden Johnson as he also threw six shutout innings.

Offensively for Broadway, Nixon went 2-4 with three RBIs while Keenan went 3-5 and scored two runs. Cunningham drew a walk in all five of his plate appearances. Elkton was led offensively by Jacob Cude’s two hits and two RBIs.

Broadway (3-0) and Elkton (0-3) play each other again on Tuesday night at Elkton, which is the next game for both teams.

Clover Hill Defeats Bridgewater

Clover Hill scored seven runs in the seventh inning and took care of Bridgewater by the same score as when the two teams played on May 22, 10-1.

Issac Sumpter had three hits for the Bucks, while Kevin Navedo, Christian Harris, and TJ Johnson all had two hits. Nick Stavros had three RBIs had two. The ten runs were more than enough support for the Bucks pitchers in this game. Reid Long threw the first three innings and retired all nine batters he faced. Tyler Truslow then threw the next three innings, while lefties Tyler Conley and Anthony Arrichiello both also had scoreless outings.

Bridgewater was led offensively by Corbin Lucas as the RCBL veteran had two hits.

Clover Hill (2-0) will take on Grottoes on Tuesday on the road while Bridgewater (1-2) will next play on May 31 when they host Montezuma.

Lucas’ Two Home Runs, Seven RBIs Lead Bridgewater Past Montezuma
Bridgewater’s Corbin Lucas smashed two home runs and drove in seven as the Reds won a slugfest against Montezuma, 17-13.

Reigning league MVP Chris Huffman had two hits, drove in three, and scored four times for the Reds. Cayden Clements also had three hits for Bridgewater, who only had eight hits in the game but took advantage of 15 walks and two hit by pitches from Montezuma pitchers.

For the Braves, Wyatt Griffith went 4-6 with three RBIs and also stole four bases. Tyler Smith hit a home run and drove in three, while Dalton Hall had three hits and one RBI.

Bridgewater (1-1) is back in action on Sunday when they host Clover Hill, while Montezuma (0-2) is off until May 30 when they travel to Grottoes to take on the Cardinals.

Broadway’s Bats Stay Hot, Knock Off Stuarts Draft
For the second straight night, Broadway scored over 15 runs. They picked up the win at Stuarts Draft by a final score of 18-4.

Carl Keenan went 4-6 with three RBIs and three runs scored and Jared Neal went 3-4 with three runs scored. Conner Michael had two hits, two RBIs, and scored three times for the Bruins.

For the Diamondbacks, Zach Roberts had two hits while Will Decker, Maddox Warren, and Ryan Farris each had one hit.

Broadway (2-0) will host Elkton on Sunday night while Stuarts Draft (0-1) will play at Elkton tonight.

Grottoes Defeats Elkton on Opening Night
 
Grottoes got three hits from Clayton Michael and two hits each from Austin Nicely, Jaden Rose, Natty Solomon, and Kevin Saylor as the Cardinals defeated Elkton at Stonewall Memorial Park by a final score of 13-3 in seven innings.
 
The Cardinals (1-0) scored one run in the third inning, but then scored multiple runs in innings four through seven while accumulating 13 hits.
 
Rose hit a home run and had two RBIs, while Grottoes also got two RBIs from Michael and Cam Irvine. Michael, Austin Nicely, Rose, Solomon, and Saylor all scored two runs each.
 
Eli Lam started for Grottoes and went the first four innings and allowed just two hits and one run while striking out seven. Eli Elgersma went the next two innings before turning it over to Cam Irvine who pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
 
For Elkton (0-1), Asher Peterman had two hits and one RBI and the Blue Sox got one hit each from Grayson Smith and Tyler Stobbs.
 
Grottoes is back in action on Saturday night when they host Massanutten while the Blue Sox will also play Saturday when they host Stuarts Draft.

Big First Inning Propels Broadway over Montezuma
 
Broadway scored six runs in the first inning despite not collecting one base hit and cruised from there as the Bruins defeated Montezuma by a score of 15-1 in seven innings.
 
The first seven batters of the game for Broadway reached via walks, and those runs were more than enough for Bruins’ starting pitcher Gavin Cunningham. He went five innings and allowed just three hits, one run, and struck out seven. Landen Lewis pitched the final two frames without allowing a run and gave up just one hit while striking out four.
 
The Bruins had six hits on the night: two from Conner Michael, two from John Copenhaver, and two from Jared Neal. Copenhaver had three RBIs, while Brody Bower had two, and Carl Keenan, Jayden Nixon, Chase Ford, Miguel Fajardo, and Joey McNamara had one each.
 
For Montezuma, Jacob Barber, Wyatt Griffith, Tyler Smith, and Blake Argenbright each had a hit.
 
Broadway (1-0) plays at Stuarts Draft tonight, while Montezuma (0-1) will host Bridgewater tonight.
 
Clover Hills Takes Rematch Of Last Year’s Finals

The defending champion Clover Hill Bucks scored five runs in the fourth inning and three in the fifth as they pulled away from the Bridgewater Reds on opening night and won the game by a final score of 10-1.
 
Bridgewater got on the board in the first inning when Reds’ veteran Corbin Lucas hit a home run on his first swing of the season, but that would be the only run the Reds would muster the rest of the evening. From there, the only two hits Bridgewater collected the rest of the night were both off the bat of Jordan Yankey.
 
Joe Christopher took the loss for the Reds, but got a great relief outing from left-hander Jared Peake who threw 3.2 scoreless innings while striking out four Bucks.
 
Clover Hill got great pitching from four different players. Jaden Isidro went the first three innings and allowed just the home run to Lucas before Clay Guyer, Sam Imeson, and Grant Thomas each threw two innings of scoreless baseball.
 
For the Bucks offensively, veteran Luke Shiflett went 3-5 with 3 RBIs, while TJ Johnson and Issac Sumpter each had two hits. Sumpter drove in three runs, while Josh Eberly drove in two. Eberly, John Siciliano, Colton Harris, and Nick Stavros each had one hit.
 
Clover Hill (1-0) will travel to Bridgewater on Sunday night for their next game, while Bridgewater (0-1) is right back at it tonight as they’ll play at Montezuma.

We sat down with Commissioner Jeremy Washington to talk about the 101st year of RCBL Baseball. After a successful celebration of the 100th anniversary season, the RCBL is set to start play tonight.

With all the excitement and celebration of 100 years, now what? Can the league keep the momentum going? 

I live by this philosophy…’every day is the first day of the rest of your life’. May 22nd will be the first day of the next 100 years of RCBL baseball; the only difference is now we have 100 years of experience. The league has moved into a good place in the last few years.  I feel like we have a good presence amongst the valley baseball players and interest in the league keeps growing.

How do you see the competition shaping up?  

I expect a few changes within the standings this year.  There have been some significant changes to a few teams that may impact their performance.  On any given day, any RCBL team can beat any RCBL team.  All 8 teams in our league are very competitive and have some of the valleys most talented players.  The difference in our 8 teams is not so much who has the most ABILITY as it is who has the most AVAILABILITY.  I can’t wait to see who can field the best team the most often!

Has the league considered expansion? Where would you like to see the league expand?  

We’ve had some interest from a few groups recently.  Location was a big issue that ultimately prevented a new team from joining us last year.  We have a large footprint and lengthy travel to game sites for some players creates a big problem.  I think getting established in the Greene/Madison County area could be a benefit.  There is great baseball in that area, and it is very central to our teams.

The league is playing a 24-game schedule again this year. Is this the new normal? 

Our league uses players from high school and college, as well as a few old guys.  Fitting our schedule into a window that accommodates both sides of that demographic creates a lot of issues for those players.  An earlier start date makes high school aged players not eligible until their high school season is over.  A later end date makes many college players ineligible due to returning to college and starting fall practice.  I expect we have found that 24 games can work well for everyone.

Last year the league switched statistic programs from PointStreak to GameChanger. Now it is switching back. What is the reason for this? Will fans be able to see stats from last year?  

A few years back we implemented a real-time scoring expectation for our teams.  Pointstreak, for some scorers, proved to be difficult to navigate and that created some issues with finding reliable staffing that could accurately use their [somewhat] difficult system.  Switching to Game Changer alleviated some of the staffing issues due to their product being easier to use, but we found that Game Changer did not offer as thorough of a statistical package [or technical support] as the league desires.  2024 stats will only be viewable from Game Changer at this time.

Rosters sizes have been expanded to 35 players. Why? 

For many players within the league, LIFE gets in the way of the ‘most important thing’, baseball.  Increasing to 35 players per team will allow teams with less-than-available players to be more competitive by having more players at the games to create their lineups from.  However, only 30 players of the 35 will be available for the playoffs as teams will be required to cut their roster down at the start of each playoff round.

Last year the league changed to college rules. How did that work out?  

Our league is comprised of a large quantity of college players and many players that will be going to college.  We found that the transition from MLB rules to NCAA rules was very seamless.  The league reserves the right to exempt many of the college rules that do not apply to our style of baseball. We have done a great job identifying those rules. I do not anticipate any issues moving forward.

Are there other rule changes this year?  

There have been very few changes to the NCAA rule book for this year, and I expect to find that those changes will not be very impactful to the league.  One change that may show itself more than others is the batter must be in the box, alert and attentive to the pitchers’ actions by 8 seconds of the 20 second pitch countdown. Last year it was 10 seconds.  The batters will be given a few more seconds to prepare between pitches.

Where will the All-Star game be played this season?  

Elkton will be hosting the All-Star game, and I expect their group will have a great event planned for us.

Any final thoughts?  

My focus as commissioner is to assure that our players, fans, and sponsors are provided the best possible product available.  Our community-based baseball games are some of the finest around and I am very proud to be part of this organization.  The fans and sponsors are as much a part of each team as the players.  I feel we are doing a very good job of providing that quality product!

…………………the 100th anniversary exhibit of RCBL Baseball can be seen on the RCBLBaseball.com website.

By David Driver, Special Correspondent
TAMPA, Florida - "I kind of weighed my options. I really didn’t have a career plan after college. I was going to college to play baseball," pitcher Brenan Hanifee said in an interview with this reporter at spring training in Florida in 2017.

Baseball as a career path turned out to be a wise move for the former RCBL two-way player for Clover Hill - he signed with the Orioles out of high school in 2016 instead of attending East Carolina, moved to the Tigers in December 2022, made his Major League debut with Detroit in 2023 and has now cracked the Opening Day roster for the first time.
 
Hanifee, 26, played infield and pitched for Clover Hill from 2013-15 while in high school at Turner Ashby. "He had a very calm demeanor on the mound," said Clover Hill manager Kevin Chandler, a teammate with Hanifee with the Bucks. "He knew what he was doing. He is a very calm, competitive person."

A right-hander, Hanifee did not allow a run in nine spring training appearances this year, covering 10.2 innings. On Opening Day against the host Dodgers on March 27, he allowed one run in one inning (he pitched the seventh) as the Tigers fell 5-4 to the defending World Series champs.

Hanifee is one of three former RCBL stars to make an Opening Day roster for this MLB season. The other two were outfielder Brendan Doyle (New Market), who won a Gold Glove with the Colorado Rockies again last year, and infielder Will Wagner, who played with Montezuma in 2020, was drafted out of Liberty University by Houston then hit .305 in 24 games with Toronto in his first MLB season a year ago. Wagner, 26, was 1-for-3 as the DH on March 27 as the Jays lost at home to the Orioles 12-2. The Rockies and Doyle opened the season on March 28 at Tampa Bay.

​"I remember he was fast," Chandler said of Doyle, who is also 26. "He still is. He was good." 
Nolan Potts, a former New Market teammate, agrees.

“He only played 17 games with us that summer, but as a young player, getting those at-bats in the summer can really help you when you get back to school. I’d like to think that his time in the RCBL helped a little in his development, but he obviously put a lot of time and work into his game blossomed into an phenomenal player at Shepherd, and to see him have so much successful early on in his MLB career and turn into one of the premier centerfielders in the game has been so amazing to see,” according to Potts, a teammate in 2017 with Doyle.

Wagner is the son of Marion native Billy Wagner, a former MLB closer who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year. The elder Wagner is the sixth native of Virginia to be honored in Cooperstown, following Culpeper native Eppa Rixey and former Negro League stars Leon Day, Ray Dandridge, Pete Hill, and Jud Wilson.
​
Last season was the first time in more than 30 years that three RCBL alums played in the majors in the same season. In 1990, Reggie Harris, Daryl Irvine (Spotswood High), and Larry Sheets all appeared in The Show at some point. Harris made his MLB debut in July 4 of that year with Oakland; Irvine broke in on April 28 with the Red Sox while Sheets played his first game in 1984 with Baltimore.

This is believed to be the first time that three RCBL alums were on Opening Day rosters in The Show in the same season, according to available material. Hanifee began the 2024 season with Triple-A Toledo before he was called up to Detroit in August. From western Rockingham County, he pitched in the playoffs for the Tigers against Houston.

Other RCBL alums to play for Detroit included the late Wayne Comer (Grottoes), who was part of the 1968 World Series champs with the Tigers, and Sheets (Shenandoah), who hit 10 homers with Detroit in 1990 and was the Orioles MVP in 1987. Sheets, like Hanifee, was drafted by the Orioles. Former TA, RCBL and Virginia Tech pitcher Ian Ostlund, who began his college career at VMI, played at Toledo in 2007-08 in the Detroit system.

Hanifee was the eighth native of Harrisonburg to reach The Show, following the late Doug Neff, Nelson Chittum, Alan Knicely, Daryl Irvine, Travis Harper, Brian Bocock and Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, the son of former JMU assistant coach Todd Raleigh. Chittum, who passed away in 2024, Irvine and Harper were also pitchers. He is also the third TA product to play at the highest level, following former RCBL players Knicely and Brian Bocock. Hanifee is the first TA grad to make an MLB Opening Day roster since Bocock broke camp with the Giants in 2008 at short.

Last year, Hanifee had an ERA of 1.84 in 21 games with the Tigers - three of the outings was as the opener.

Hanifee was never considered a top 10 prospect while coming up through the Baltimore system. But he kept progressing - and impressing. "I feel like he has it in him for sure," Justin Lord, his pitching coach in 2019 with Single-A Frederick, said then when asked then if Hanifee had a chance to make the majors. "I definitely see him pitching in the big leagues. He has a lot of good years ahead of him."

Hanifee was projected to be part of the starting rotation with Double-A Bowie in the Baltimore system in 2021 – but he had Tommy John surgery that spring. He made it back to Double-A with the Baysox at the end of 2022, then signed with the Tigers after the season.

While at TA, he played for Clover Hill for three seasons. Hanifee saw action at shortstop in five games for the Bucks in 2013 and hit .250. He saw limited action in 2014, then pitched 18 innings and hit .308 for Clover Hill in 2015.

"Top five rounds was most likely a definite yes” to turning pro, Hanifee said in 2017. That worked out well, as he went in the fourth round out of TA in 2016. 

Doyle, who is from Warrenton, will be the Rockies’ center fielder again this year. He played in the RCBL in 2017 and hit .347 in 72 at-bats with the Shockers in regular-season and playoff contests.
 
“As players, we didn’t know much about him,” Potts noted of his time with New Market. “We had heard he was young, strong, and athletic, and anytime you can add a player like that to your roster, you’ve got to do it. As soon as we saw him warm up before his first game with us, you could tell he had all the physical tools in the world. He had legitimate power at the plate, and he was truly special in the outfield. The reads he would get off the bat, the amount of ground he covered, and his arm strength were really something to behold in the time he was with us that summer. I don’t know if any of us at the time thought he’d end up being a fourth-round draft pick and making it to the big leagues and winning two Gold Gloves in his first two seasons, but we knew he was a tremendous talent. He went to Shepherd and obviously had a stellar career there and was able to develop into what he is today – a starting centerfielder in Major League Baseball. It’s been really cool for me personally to be able to watch a Rockies game or see highlights online of some of the incredible plays that he’s made and say that I got to play with a player of his caliber.”

NOTES: Hanifee’s father, Sean, was the TA head coach for three years and was a former assistant at Bridgewater College under Curt Kendall, a former RCBL standout with the Reds … TA has won seven state high school titles, tied for the second-most in the state. With a combined total of seven titles and three MLB alums, TA is tied with James Madison High (six titles, four MLB alums) of Vienna for the most of any public school in the state for a total of 10 … Hanifee entered this season as the No. 20 prospect in the Detroit system, according to Baseball America. Wagner is No. 22 in the Toronto system and former JMU and Broadway Bruins star Chase DeLauter, the RCBL MVP in 2020, is ranked fifth in the Cleveland system. The outfielder underwent core muscle surgery, Cleveland announced in early March, and will miss several weeks … TA won its 1,000th game in program history on March 25, beating Wilson Memorial. The first Knights season was in 1957.
 
Editor’s note: David Driver is the former sports of the Daily News-Record and the co-author of “From Tidewater to the Shenandoah: Snapshots from Virginia’s Rich Baseball Legacy,” which is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and at the Rocktown History Museum in Dayton. He was part of the 1980 Valley District champions at TA and played infield on the Clover Hill team that won the RCBL title in 1982. He can be reached at [email protected].

By Nolan Potts
Clover Hill scored four runs in the fourth inning and then added another in the fifth and two in the sixth as they pulled away from Bridgewater and took Game 2 of the RCBL Finals by a final score of 9-4 and now have a 2-0 lead in the series.

Bridgewater scored first when they put up two runs in the second inning courtesy of a Malachi Simmons RBI groundout that drove in Noah Cornwell, and Ryan Williams reaching on an error that brought in Grey Sherfey.

The Bucks would respond in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Brooks Bowman that scored Lucas Bauer, and an RBI groundout from Issac Sumpter that scored Kevin Navedo.

Sherfey would hit an RBI single in the top of the third to drive in Chris Huffman and put Bridgewater ahead, 3-2.

In the fourth, Josh Eberly hit an RBI double to tie the game, and then the Bucks would take the lead for good later that inning on a Bryce Suters RBI single, followed by RBI singles from Luke Shiflett and Bauer.

Huffman drove in a run in the fifth to make the score 6-4 in favor of Clover Hill, but in the bottom of the fifth, Eberly would hit another RBI double to extend the lead back to three.

Clover Hill went with three different pitchers to start the game going two innings each. Cole Freeman got the start before turning it over to Clay Guyer in the third (who was credited with the win), who then turned it over to Tyler Hill in the fifth. Grant Thomas pitched the final three innings to pick up the save.

At the plate, every Clover Hill starter had at least one hit, and the team got three hits from Suters, as well as two hits each from Eberly, John Siciliano, and Navedo.

For Bridgewater, All-RCBL team pitcher Nick Griffin took the loss on the mound, with Eric Yankey and Pat Burke also getting work out of the bullpen. Offensively, the Reds had seven hits as a team and got two hits each from Huffman, Sherfey, and Corbin Lucas.

Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Wednesday night at Ray Heatwole Field at 7:00 PM.

By Nolan Potts
Clover Hill stole home field advantage in the RCBL Finals and held off Bridgewater in the final two innings of Game 1 and won, 4-2.

The Bucks opened the scoring in the top of the second when an Alex Knicely groundout scored Luke Shiflett, and an error on the play enabled Lucas Bauer to score and make the score 2-0. The Bucks would extend the lead to 3-0 with a run in the sixth inning on a Bryce Suters RBI single that drove home Drew Easter.

Bridgewater would finally get on the board in the bottom of the seventh when Mason Hamilton reached on an error that scored Grey Sherfey, and then again in the eighth inning on a bases-loaded walk to Cam Herron. The Reds left the bases loaded in the eighth and trailed 3-2 heading into the ninth.

Derek Shifflett took over for Huffman in the eighth for the Reds and threw a scoreless inning, but the Bucks were able to add one in the top of the ninth on an RBI double off the bat of Drew Easter that drove in Kevin Navedo to make it 4-2.

But the Reds did not go down without a fight. Tyler Conley, who started Game 4 of the semifinals for the Bucks, came in to try to pick up the save. Brett Tharp led off with a walk. Mason Hamilton grounded into a fielder’s choice for out number one. The next batter (Huffman) singled, but Conley got a groundout and a strikeout to strand the tying run at second base.

Both starting pitchers (Chris Huffman for Bridgewater, and Reid Long for Clover Hill) were strong in this game. Huffman went seven innings, allowing five hits, three runs (two earned) while striking out eight. Long went 6.2 innings and allowed eight hits, one run (zero earned) and struck out six.

For Bridgewater, Huffman had three hits while Corbin Lucas, Sherfey, and Herron each had two hits.

Clover Hill was led offensively by Luke Shiflett’s two hits, while six other players had one hit.

Game 2 is scheduled for Monday night at Buck Bowman Park at 7:45 PM.

                         R      H      E
Clover Hill       4      8      2
Bridgewater    2     10     2
Win: Reid Long
Loss: Chris Huffman
Save: Tyler Conley