Five area baseball players and contributors were inducted Saturday into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame at the 30th induction ceremony at the Salem Civic Center.
Inducted into the hall as the baseball Class of ’22 were Eric Altizer, Ryan Gilleland, Tyler Lumsden, Keith Mayhew and Doug Pence. “Butch” Craft received the Wayne LaPierre, Sr., award for contributions to the game.
Altizer is a former player and is the current coach at Auburn High School. The Eagles have won three state championships under Altizer.
A 1995 graduate of Jefferson Forest High School, Gilleland played four years as a second baseman at the University of Virginia, batting .337 in 1997. He’s the present coach at Jefferson Forest High and has also been a coach with the West team in the Commonwealth Games.
Lumsden is a 2000 graduate of Cave Spring High School who went on to pitch at Clemson University for three years. He was a first-round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2004 and pitched seven seasons in professional baseball, including three years at the AAA level.
Mayhew is one of just five Ferrum College players to have his jersey retired. He was a three-time All-American pitcher, including a first-team selection in 1995. When he graduated, he held the NCAA Division III records with 350 career strikeouts and 149 in a season. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1995. Mayhew died in 2015.
Pence is a long-time coach and volunteer with the William Byrd High School program who also coached American Legion baseball. He was a tireless worker, maintaining Byrd’s Terrier Field and was a key person in getting the fieldhouse built on the grounds.
The long-time owner of The Roanoker Restaurant in Roanoke, Craft has been a big supporter of the game, sponsoring youth teams for many years. She has been a sponsor for the Hall of Fame since the early 1990s.
The Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame was founded in 1991 and honors players and contributors from the counties of Alleghany, Roanoke, Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, and Montgomery and the independent cities located within the boundaries of those counties. The Hall of Fame building is located on the grounds of the James E. Taliaferro Complex, next to the Salem Red Sox administrative office behind the third base seating area of Salem Memorial Ballpark. It is open to the public on Friday and Saturday nights during the 2022 season and upon request.
