01/27/2024
LOCAL AUTHORS, FORMER MAJOR LEAGUERS ON TAP FOR BASEBALL BOOK SIGNING FEBRUARY 17
Harrisonburg native and Turner Ashby High graduate David Driver and Lacy Lusk, a graduate of the University of Virginia, will be at Barnes & Noble in Harrisonburg on Saturday, February 17 to sign copies of their book “From Tidewater to the Shenandoah: Snapshots from Virginia’s Rich Baseball Legacy.” Also scheduled to be on hand are three former Major Leaguer players from the area who are featured in the book: TA graduate Brian Bocock, who played in the majors for the Giants and Phillies, Daryl Irvine, a Spotswood graduated who pitched for the Boston Red Sox; and Alan Knicely, another TA product who played for the Astros, Reds, Phillies and Cardinals.
The book by Driver and Lusk includes 92 chapters on notable players, coaches, scouts, and broadcasters from across Virginia, with many stories from the Harrisonburg area and the central Shenandoah Valley. The signing will take place between 10 a.m. and noon and copies of the book will be available to purchase as well as autographs from former players.
Some of the chapters include stories on several Harrisonburg natives who made the Major Leagues, including Alan Knicely (Turner Ashby), Irvine and Travis Harper, who played at JMU. Turner Ashby graduate Brenan Hanifee, who made his big-league debut last season with the Tigers, is also included, as is the late Garland Shifflett, the only native of Elkton to ever play in the majors.
There are also several stories on players from the Harrisonburg Turks and the Valley Baseball League as well as the Rockingham County Baseball League, which will mark its 100th anniversary this summer. Other area residents featured in the Virginia baseball book are Bridgewater College graduate Curt Dudley, the long-time voice of JMU sports and the Turks; veteran Turks’ manager Bob Wease, a graduate of Broadway High; former Virginia Tech pitcher Ian Ostlund, who reached the Triple-A level with the Cardinals; and Josh Tutwiler, who survived a near-fatal fall while hiking 10 years ago and returned to play in the RCBL. He plans to attend the book signing.
Also featured in the book is the late Wayne Comer, a graduate of Page County High, part of the 1968 World Series title team with the Tigers and the former coach at Spotswood and Page high schools.
Another chapter is on Tyler Zombro, who pitched for Staunton High and the Staunton Braves and was struck by a line drive while pitching for the Triple-A Durham Bulls against Norfolk in 2021. Also included is Staunton native Larry Sheets, a basketball star at EMU who was the MVP of the Baltimore Orioles in 1987 on a team that included future Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken, Jr. The cover of the book includes Ray Heatwole, the former baseball coach at Bridgewater College, TA, and JMU who was inducted into the Virginia Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in December.
The book, the first of its kind with stories from every region of the state, also spotlights women in baseball. That includes Harrisonburg High and JMU graduate Amanda Sarver, who worked several years for the Baltimore Orioles; and Samantha Gjormand, a former manager for the baseball team at JMU and now part of the coaching staff at Division I College of Charleston in South Carolina. She is believed to be the first woman to recruit for a Division I baseball program.
The book has been featured in The Washington Post, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Harrisonburg Daily News-Record and the Harrisonburg Citizen and by the Channel 7 ABC affiliate in Washington.
Driver has been interviewed about the book by ESPN radio stations in Harrisonburg, Richmond, and Norfolk and the book was noted in a podcast by the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, The Bucket List baseball podcast, and WTOP radio in Washington.
Lusk, who grew up in the Richmond area, was featured in an alumni publication at the University of Virginia. Lusk worked at newspapers across the state and is a long-time correspondent for Baseball America in the coverage of the Washington Nationals. He was also interviewed by the ESPN radio station in Richmond about the book.
Driver, who played baseball at Turner Ashby, Harrisonburg American Legion Post 27, EMU, and in the Rockingham County Baseball League for Clover Hill, is the former sports of the Daily News-Record. He covered the Washington Nationals for The Washington Times in 2019 when the team won the World Series.
The inside design of the book was done by Harrisonburg resident Russ Eanes, who is the author of two books on hiking in Europe. Driver is also the author of "Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas."
Copies of the baseball book are also available at daytondavid.com and at the website of Barnes & Noble.
For more information, contact Driver at 301 821 2119 or [email protected]
