The second annual “The Last Inning” baseball game was held at Salem Memorial Ballpark last Saturday. Two games for graduated senior players were played around the presentation of the annual Ray Bellamy Award in an event presented by the Salem Red Sox and the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame.
The first game was between teams wearing Navy and Red shirts. The Navy team consisted of players from Glenvar, Lord Botetourt and William Byrd, and they took on the Red team with players from Hidden Valley, James River, North Cross and Eastern Montgomery. The Red team took a 7-1 win in the game.
The Navy team was held to four hits, and all four were by Byrd players. Isaac Fix was two-for-two and also walked, and he had a hit from both sides of the plate. Tyler Martin and Tyler Dean had one hit apiece. Dean’s hit was lefthanded, even though he batted from the right side for his whole high school career. Tyler also walked and was hit by a pitch to reach base three times.
Martin started on the mound and pitched the first two innings. He gave up one unearned run and one hit while striking out a pair.
In the second game the Gray team took an 11-2 win over the Green team. The Gray team consisted of players from Cave Spring, Franklin County and Northside while the Green was comprised of players from Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Patrick Henry, Staunton River and Liberty. Jake Weaver of Northside hit a three-run home run over the left field wall to lead the Gray.
Between games the five finalists for the Ray Bellamy Award were recognized. The Bellamy Award is presented by the Salem-Roanoke Hall of Fame to the Player-of-the-Year in the area served by the Hall. It’s voted upon by the board members of the Hall of Fame and the high school coaches from an area that includes the counties of Alleghany, Roanoke, Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin and Montgomery and the independent cities located within the boundaries of those counties.
William Byrd’s Tyler Dean was chosen as the Bellamy Award winner and other finalists included Isaac Fix of Byrd, Cory Sigmon of Northside, Holden Wilkerson of Cave Spring and Michael Williams of Franklin County. There was also the presentation of the Posey Oyler Scholarship, sponsored by the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame and awarded to a player who will go on to play in college and has shown a dedication to the game. Davis Yeaman from North Cross was the recipient of that scholarship.
A nice crowd was on hand on a beautiful Virginia day and the Red Sox not only had the concession stands open but provided between inning entertainment like at a Carolina League game. The game is planned to be an annual event.
