The Virginia High School League announces its 2022 Class 1 All-State baseball team. In addition, Grayson County senior Andrew Shaffner is the Class 1 Player of the Year, and Rappahannock head coach James Bieger is the Class 1 Coach of the Year.
Shaffner, who will play at North Carolina State in the fall, batted .545 with 11 home runs, 39 RBI, and 51 runs this spring with a .664 OBP, 1.114 SLG, and a 1.778 OPS. His season stats included 48 hits, 13 doubles, and two triples. Shaffner also compiled a 6-0 pitching record with three saves, a 0.156 ERA, and 94 strikeouts in 45 innings. Bieger guided Rappahannock to a 20-4 record and a 9th inning walk-off 1-0 win over Rappahannock County in the Class 1 state championship game. It’s Rappahannock’s fourth state title overall and its first since 2016. The other championships came in 2010 and 1993.
Fourteen players are selected first-team all-state and second-team all-state (three pitchers, one catcher, one 1st baseman, one 2nd baseman, one 3rd baseman, one shortstop, three outfielders, one DH, and two at-large players). Only those players selected to the first-team all-region teams are eligible for selection to the all-state team.
Other local players named to the first team include Daniel Hutton, a senior from Chilhowie, who was selected at third base, and Galax senior Ian Ashworth, who was picked as an outfielder. Fellow Blue Devil Caleb Cheeks was picked as a designated hitter. Cheeks is a junior, one of only three selected.
