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Herald Courier correspondent Anthony Stevens just reported that rain has postponed today’s Group A baseball quarterfinal between Honaker and visiting James River.
The game has been rescheduled for a 2 p.m. start Wednesday at Harding Field. The postponement won’t help either team’s chances in this weekend’s state tournament, as the survivor will now have to win three games in four days and perhaps not have their No. 1 pitcher available for anything but relief duty on Saturday.
As of 4:23 p.m. Tuesday, Abingdon athletic director Tim Duncan confirmed that the Falcons’ Group AA baseball quarterfinal with Waynesboro was still on for a 7 p.m. start tonight in Abingdon.
Duncan and the Virginia High School League will allow the James River team, which is spending the night in Abingdon, to attend tonight’s Group AA game for free. Nice gesture on the VHSL’s part, by the way.
More thoughts on Abingdon’s game in a bit before I leave for the ball park. 

Posted by The Continuous News Desk
High School Sports Baseball

A pair of baseball players from Bristol will try to help lead their teams to a berth in the College World Series.

Former Virginia High star Justin Grimm and Tennessee High graduate Marcus Nidiffer will both play in NCAA Regional tournaments, which run from May 30-June 2.

Grimm and his University of Georgia teammates will be at home for the regionals. The Athens regional includes Georgia Tech, Louisville and Atlantic Sun Conference champions Lipscomb.

A freshman, Grimm is 0-1 with a 9.10 ERA in 15 games (six starts) for the Southeastern Conference regular-season champs. The right-handed pitcher has mainly been used in relief as of late.

Meanwhile, Nidiffer and the University of Kentucky will be in Ann Arbor, Mich. for a regional that includes Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Arizona. Nidiffer has compiled a .224 batting average with five home runs and 17 RBIs for the Wildcats.

The University of Virginia will make the long flight to Fullerton, Calif. for a regional that includes UCLA, Rider and Cal. State-Fullerton.

Sophomore third baseman Tyler Cannon, a Pigeon Forge, Tenn. native and the son of John Battle High School baseball coach Larry Cannon, has started every game this spring for the Cavaliers.

The winners of each regional advance to the super regionals. The super regional victors secure a trip to Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium for the prestigious CWS. 

Posted by Tim Hayes

Former John Battle High School star and current Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Jimmy Gobble threw two shutout innings of relief on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Twins.

Since allowing four runs (including a Mike Lowell grand slam) on May 22 at Boston’s Fenway Park, Gobble has pitched well.

In his last three outings spanning five innings, Gobble has yielded just one hit and struck out three for the struggling Royals.

Overall, he has a 4.80 ERA and one save in 19 appearances.

--- One of the most tragic stories of the year occurred on Sunday in Venezuela when former major league pitcher Geremi Gonzalez passed away after being struck by lightning on a beach in his home country.

Gonzalez pitched parts of six seasons in the major leagues and was 30-35 with a 4.93 ERA in 131 games.

Gonzalez spent the 2003 season with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was actually the opposing starting pitcher when Gobble made his big league debut in August 2003 for the Royals. Gonzalez pitched extremely well that day in a complete-game effort in Tampa Bay’s 2-0 loss.

--- Former Sullivan East High School star Nick Hill has pitched in 12 games (seven starts) for the High Desert (Calif.) Mavericks, an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Hill is 1-4 with a 4.56 ERA while splitting time between the starting rotation and the bullpen. He earned his first victory of the season on May 23 against Inland Empire, firing 4 1/3 strong innings of relief.

Hill’s numbers are good considering that High Desert is one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the minors. Not to mention the hitter havens in the rest of the California League.

--- Pitcher Chris Mobley (Dobyns-Bennett) continues to dominate opposing hitters in Class AA. The right-hander is 3-1 with five saves and a 2.91 ERA in 18 games for the Carolina Mudcats, a Florida Marlins affiliate.

Mobley was roughed up in a brief stint with Class AAA Albuquerque earlier this season, but if he keeps pitching well he should get another shot at facing Pacific Coast League hitters. 

--- Virginia High graduate C.J. Lee had one of his most memorable days as a professional baseball player on May 26 in Hickory, N.C.

Playing for the Low-Class A Rome (Ga.) Braves of the South Atlantic League, Lee reached base in all five of his plate appearances. The final tally: 4-for-4, RBI, triple, walk.

The outfielder is hitting .261 with nine RBIs this season for the Atlanta Braves farm team.

--- In the former Bristol White Sox department, former BriSox pitcher Tim Bittner is still plugging away in the minor leagues.

The left-hander from Wilmington, Del. is 1-2 with one save and a 3.81 ERA in 16 relief outings for the Class AA Harrisburg Senators, a Washington Nationals farm team.

Bittner made an impressive professional debut in the summer of 2001 at DeVault Stadium in Bristol. He went 6-1 with a 1.10 ERA in eight starts for the BriSox and seemed destined to climb up the minor league ladder.

However, Bittner has never gotten above the Class AA level and is now in his eighth minor league season. Yet, you have to admire the former Marist University star for still chasing his dream and working hard to eventually get a shot at the big leagues.

--- Finally, I am still seeking information on former locals in the pros (see blog post below). E-mail me at if you have info. 

Posted by Tim Hayes

This summer I plan on doing a series of stories for the Bristol Herald Courier on local players who formerly played in the major leagues. I’ve already gathered information and contacts on such ex-big leaguers as Abingdon’s Gail Harris, Jim Archer of Wythe County and Coeburn’s own Tracy Stallard.

However, I was trying to find out information and possible family relatives that I could contact regarding other Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee natives that reached the majors. If you have any information or any old photos or baseball cards, or know relatives of the players, please e-mail me at and fill me in:

Deacon Phillippe: The Deacon was born in Rural Retreat in 1872 and enjoyed a successful major league career that lasted from 1899-1911. Pitched in the very first World Series.

Bernie Creger: Wytheville native played in 15 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1947.

Limb McKenry: Born in 1888 in Piney Flats, Tenn., the right-handed pitcher played for two seasons in the major leagues.

Scotty Barr: Bristol native hit .112 in two seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908 and 1909.

Nick Cullop: The southpaw from Smyth County had a solid major league career, highlighted by a 13-6 record with the New York Yankees in 1916.

Lefty Thomas: Washington County, Va. native was a teammate of Walter Johnson’s in 1925 and 1926 with the Washington Senators.

Dave Hillman: Dungannon, Va. native spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues.

Frank Walker: South Carolina native had family in Bristol and spent most of his later life in the area. Was an outfielder for three big league teams.

Charlie Caldwell: Born in Bristol in 1901, later moved to the New York/New Jersey area and was a two-sport star at Princeton University. Played just one season in the big leagues.

Lew “Noisy” Flick: Played with Philadelphia of the American League in 1943 and 1944.

Johnny Watson: Tazewell, Va. native’s big league career consisted of just four games and 12 at-bats with Detroit in 1930.

Billy Baldwin: Another Tazewell, Va. native along with Watson and current New York Mets closer Billy Wagner. Baldwin played with the Detroit Tigers (1975) and New York Mets (1976).

Walker Cress: Born in 1917 in Ben Hur, Va. in Lee County, Cress played two seasons with Cincinatti in the late-1940s.

Again any help and information regarding the aforementioned players would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by Tim Hayes

Melanie Troxel defeats Mike Neff.

Troxel takes it in 5.066 seconds at 310.27 miles-per-hour.

Posted by Brian T. Smith