Local athlete plays dual role

Billy Barber is a sophomore designated hitter for the University of Richmond baseball team. And the Colonial Forge High graduate is also one of the top pitchers out of the bullpen for the Spiders.

"It is difficult sometimes," Barber said of his dual role. "But it is fun. I like to be able to help the team on both sides of the ball."

Barber said the biggest challenge is getting down to the bullpen to warm up during games in which he is in the lineup as a designated hitter.

"I would like to keep doing both," said Barber, who hit 13 homers last year as a freshman and was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.

Barber had a hit, run and RBI on April 19 for Richmond in a loss at home to Duquesne in Atlantic 10 Conference play. That dropped the Spiders to 16-17 overall and 6-9 in the conference.

The 6-foot-5 right-handed hitter had an average of .242 in 58 at bats in games through April 20 with three homers and 14 RBIs. As a pitcher he had pitched in 11 games in relief with a record of 3-1 and an ERA of 5.40. In 16.2 innings of work he allowed 22 hits and three walks with 12 strikeouts.

Last season he was an all-Atlantic 10 player when hit a homer in five straight games and ranked among the conference leaders in homers, RBI (45) and slugging (.703). As a freshman the right-hander pitched in 15 games with a record of 1-0 and an ERA 6.91 in 14.1 innings.

At Colonial Forge he earned three varsity letters under head coach Shawn Szakelyhidi. Barber was an all-district, all-region and all-state player following his junior year of high school. He had seven saves as a senior and he left Colonial Forge as the record-holder in batting average for one season (.514) and also had a 15-game hitting streak.

Barber picked Richmond over VMI, Lafayette and Davidson. "It was kind of a late-minute decision," he said. "I wasn't fully committed to the military school lifestyle. Richmond didn't really recruit me until late."

He is considered a recruited walk-on at Richmond. "I decided to take my chances," said Barber, who made that payoff with a strong freshman season.

Earlier this season Barber had the game-winning hit against Bryant of Rhode Island as the Spiders won, 7-6, on March 10. The Spiders begin a series April 24 against St. Bonaventure in league play.

Barber, who has played some first base this spring, played last summer in Maryland for the Takoma Park-Silver Spring Thunderbolts in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate League. This coming summer he plans to play in Hampton for the Peninsula Pilots in the North Carolina-based Coastal Plain League.

Next year Barber figures to have a shot at becoming the closer out of the bullpen for the Spiders. But he still wants to be a hitter as well.

"As long as the coaches want me to do both," he said.

David Driver is a contributing writer for the Stafford County Sun. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com.