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Showing posts from 2021

The 2021 Golden Bears 🐻 Senior Class : A Bakers Dozen !

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Dynamic Coaching Duo Cross Paths at PCHS State Semifinal Baseball Game

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Between West Virginia Tech's Lawrence Nesselrodt and Page County High School's Alan Knight there is just shy of 8 decades of coaching experience. These two caught up with each other at last night's playoff baseball game in Page County.

A Unique Look Inside of the Women's Softball College World Series

Click the link to read Jerry Carter's guest article in the Augusta Free Press , A Magical Day in OKC for JMU .

Good Things come to those who wait ! Fighting Bill Meade's advance to post season with 8-2 mark.

 Staunton, Virginia -  Staunton High School closed out its regular season today with a road victory over host Riverheads and will now turn its attention to the post season next week.              Turn back the calendar a few weeks and you would have found head coach Bill "Pappy" Meade faithfully holding practices with two or three players. The school football team was still competing in the postseason which left Meade having to be creative in getting his squad prepared for the regular season opener. When you add the lost season to the Covid pandemic in 2019-2020 it would have been an understatement to say that the Storm would have to ride out the Storm to find any hope of competing thi9s season.                Meade continued to work with the players that he had in the fold and hope for the best. It was not an uncommon occurrence to plan out a practice before making the short drive over to the tennis courts only to find two players waiting for their coach. The football team w

Just a WALK in the Park - An Evening @ Alan Knight Field

 Shenandoah, Virginia - I was returning to one of my favorite places in the Old Dominion for a quick WALK down memory lane yesterday as my path took me to Page County High School. Head Coach Alan Knight and his Lady Panthers were set to host Rappahannock County on Senior Day and the Skipper was looking for some assistance with the pregame ceremonies.                  There had been a stretch of years when I called each and every home game at the beautiful facility that rests atop of the hill in between Newport and Shenandoah. Two constants in those days were the level of intensity in the Coach and  the level of success in the home team. While there is no official stats on the subject my best guess on my record behind the microphone there would be 87-2. You always knew that there would be plenty of fans in attendance and that the majority of them would go home happy.                 Unlike the trips before when the drive started from neighboring Luray this day began on Groundhog Mountai

````As close as you can come to a Hollywood ending : Golden Bears fall in Kokomo to Cougars 11-10

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 Kokomo, Indiana -                  Tuesday started with the West Virginia Tech bus still making its way to the team Hotel and it would be quite the understatement to say that the quick turnaround for the 11:00 a.m. start had the Golden Bears looking like they were in need of hibernation.                 Twenty minutes into the scheduled double header the G-Bears found themselves trailing 9-0 to the Cougars before an out was recorded in the bottom of the second inning. With the team being one loss away from elimination in regards to the River States Conference post season it appeared that the biggest question remaining would not be if Tech would fall victim to a 10-run rule defeat but which inning would be the close out inning. Hope came in that the pitching would settle down in time to stop the bleeding in the second inning and then post four consecutive scoreless frames.                  The deficit was still 9-1 when a Golden Bear found his way to home plate in the top of the fifth

Golden Bear Math Problem - 10 games / 9 Days / 4 States & Final Exams...

               The spring season for the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears has included a plethora of opponents that did not appear on the original schedule for Skipper Lawrence Nesselrodt and company.                 Mother Nature, Covid-19 and rotating home stadiums were just a few of the obstacles that have tried to take the air out of "Big Picture" Nesselrodt's balloon but the veteran refuses to give up the fight when it comes to his ballclub and their season.                  " Out of crisis, there is opportunity." Nesselrodt said. "My Dad was a trucker back in the pre-GPS days and he always would say if you think you are going the wrong way and you drive a little further you will find that you are on the right path. Perseverance and Optimism are the keys to success."                     Ness will need all of the family optimism and a bushel of healthy arms as his G-Bears look to make up lost ground over the final 9 days of the River States Conferen

First Visit to the Home that Joe Goddard Built

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Malamisura's and Bowen Field - It's a Family Thing

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 Bluefield (VA) - One of the first things you will notice when you walk in to historic Bowen Field in Bluefield is a plaque hanging on the wall to the right honoring a lifetime of dedication from Patsy Malamisura. The current General Manager of the facility might pay just a bit more attention to the Memorial each day when he comes to work nowadays.              Patrick is Patsy's son and to say he grew up in and around Bowen Field would be an understatement. Known to all that do business at the ballpark as Rocky, the younger Malamisura stepped up to his current title in early 2017.                From shagging foul balls for a quarter apiece in the early days while his Father ran the baseball operations to returning to the top spot after retiring from his career at his day job, Rocky is known far and wide for his efforts in keeping baseball a huge part in this little corner of the State of Virginia.                There's seldom a dull moment in the constant juggling of the var

8 Years in between Posts ? It's safe to say that a great deal of life has happened !

 Ground Hog Mountain, Virginia -                     I had to smile when I noticed that 8 years had transpired in between my final post in 2013 and the two latest ones from this week. After spending an amazing decade plus in the Northern part of God's own Valley I ended up off the Coast of Washington state in the San Juan Islands. There were a number of reasons that took me as far away from the Valley as one can go without actually leaving the Country but once Life allowed me to return we came back to the Old Dominion at the start of 2021.                   A few things that have changed include the location of the family as following the passing of my beloved parents I wanted to return to their roots. Both of my parents grew up off different parts of US-58 that runs across the bottom of the state. Dad spent his early life in a spot near Buggs Island Lake, just outside of Clarksville while my Mom was raised at the other end of the 500 mile long highway near the Cumberland Gap. Harr

Remember that time when an Empty Chair cost me a rare chance to visit with Bo Trumbo and Allen Fisher?

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 Bluefield (VA) -                  While watching the game of baseball has always been somewhat enjoyable to me I will admit to getting to swap stories about the great game of baseball is where true enjoyment come from. Getting to sit with the right person or people for a nine inning contest brings un-chartable joy to any afternoon or evening.                  When I arrived at Bowen Field in beautiful Bluefield , Virginia I was looking forward to bumping into Allen Fisher after having shared a couple of days of baseball chatter with on Saturday and Sunday up in Princeton when the great folks up there allowed our Wandering Golden Bears to take camp there for our series with visiting Indiana University - Southeast. It didn't take long for the stories to start flowing in the press box early on Saturday and they quickly spilled over into the action on Sunday. It's very seldom that I have trouble matching stories about the game with any individual that I cross paths with but Fisher

Life on the Road with Lawrence Nesselrodt and the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears

            After an unscheduled 15 day layoff due to Covid safety protocols (April 2nd-17th) the Golden Bears returned to the baseball diamond over the weekend by hosting #20(NAIA) Indiana- Southeast in Princeton, West Virginia. While the team came up on the short end of the scoreboard in all 3 contests against the visiting Grenadiers, getting back to playing the game they all Love proved to be a victory in its self.          The 2021 schedule has been interrupted now on multiple occasions but nothing threatens to slow down the enthusiasm of Skipper Lawrence Nesselrodt. Ness will quickly tell anyone listening that "It's a Great Day for Golden Bear baseball."         After returning up I-77 to their Beckley campus late Sunday night the Golden Bears will return to class today before taking to the road Tuesday morning for a non-conference twin bill at scenic Bluefield College (VA). Bowen Field will be the sight for a Golden Bears game for the third time this season but this