Follow @PBRVirginiaDC 
Facebook + Periscope + Instagram

As 2019 comes to a close, we will look back at the year that was over the month of December as we prepare to turn the calendars to 2020 and start gearing up for the new season.

Every year we make predictions, and every year some are right, and many are wrong. We don't enjoy being wrong, but when we are wrong because a team of players takes the next step in their development and goes beyond their preseason expectations to become part of a special season, we enjoy being wrong and love to celebrate that. Here are a few teams that performed far beyond where we had them pegged in the 2019 preseason.

 

Lake braddock

2019 Record: 26-3
Accolades: Class 6 State Champions
Preseason Rank: Not Ranked
Postseason Rank: 4
Notes: The Bruins had 2018 circled on the calendar for a while as the year they should contend for the State Championship, only to see archrival West Springfield win Region C and the State Title. We liked the talent that Lake Braddock had entering 2019, but it was a young team that was only returning two of its core position players and we wanted to see what the kids would do before ranking them. To begin with, senior Lyle Miller-Green (George Mason) authored a spectacular two-way season, providing power at the top of the lineup and a power arm to close out games early in the season and start during the playoffs. After that, the key for the Bruins was the rise of their young core. 2020 lefty Jay Cassady (CNU) emerged as a good starter, and 2021s Michael Weidinger (William & Mary), Andrew Schaeb (George Mason), and Ryan Cuadros also stepped in to fill the gaps in the lineup and help the Bruins to the Championship.

 

stafford 

2019 Record: 24-3
Accolades: Class 5 State Champions
Preseason Rank: Not Ranked
Postseason Rank: 5
Notes: While we didn't have Stafford ranked to start the season, we had our eyes on them as a team that had the potential to put it together, bringing back the bulk of a 2018 team that had a great regular season but suffered an early upset loss in the playoffs. Senior Michael Tolson (Longwood) was spectacular on the mound, going 10-0 with a 1.54 ERA. 2020s Tucker Sullivan and Robbie Baker (Marymount) helped fill out the rotation behind him while also contributing at the plate. 2021 Eli Lambros (Virginia Tech) emerged at the plate and became a centerpiece in the lineup. The Indians then took down Halifax in the Region D Championship. Tolson shut down Broad Run in the State quarterfinals before the Indians won on back-to-back walkoffs to beat Hickory and Mills Godwin and capture the State Championship.

 

Westfield

2019 Record: 24-4
Accolades: Class 6 State Runners-up
Preseason Rank: Not Ranked
Postseason Rank: 7
Notes: The Bulldogs went from missing the Region D tournament in 2018 to winning the Concorde District and the Region D Championship en route to reaching the State Championship game before falling to Lake Braddock. Senior Joe Clancy (UMBC) put together a special senior season on the mound and a young group of bats joined Clancy and senior Danny Leo to form one of the deeper lineups in Virginia. 2020 Derek Furr (CNU), 2021 Nick Lottchea (William & Mary), and 2021 Kevin Mackmim all were key parts to a season that we did not expect. Add that offense to the fact that the Clancy-led rotation tossed double-digit shutouts during the season and Westfield far exceeded what we were expecting from them.

 

lafayette

2019 Record: 19-7
Accolades: Class 4 State Champions
Preseason Rank: Not Ranked
Postseason Rank: 9
Notes: The Rams were not only not ranked by us to open the season, we had them not even in consideration. As a pattern is likely emerging in the teams on this list, we loved that Geo Rivera (Old Dominion) was back for the Rams in 2019 and what he could offer as a two-way player, but we were not sure at the start of the season about who else would step up around him and we also really liked their stacked Region A foe, Grafton. The Rams knocked off Grafton in the Region semifinals and were able to use the rain-delayed State semifinals to their advantage, getting to start Rivera in the quarterfinals and again to knock off Liberty Christian in the semifinals. 2020 Andrew Ramos (Randolph-Macon) emerged as a strong second option on the mound and 2022 Luke Hansen (Virginia) also made his presence felt at shortstop and on the mound for Lafayette.

 

Fluvanna County

2019 Record: 23-3
Accolades: Class 3 State Champions
Preseason Rank: Not ranked
Postseason Rank: 14
Notes: Like Stafford, we liked the Flucos in our preseason previews, just not quite enough to have them in the Power 25. As expected, 2020 Andrew Ward (VCU) was dominant on the mound and his brother Kevin Ward was very good in the second spot of the rotation. Seniors Jacob Critzer (Lincoln Memorial) and Ryan Groome (Virginia Wesleyan) as well as 2020 Cameron Shields (Hampden-Sydney) filled out a lineup around the Ward brothers that showed it could put up runs in bunches when it needed to. Critzer's walk-off home run in the State Semifinals pushed the Flucos past Brentsville and then the offense exploded early in the championship game, ultimately putting up 16 runs to bring home the title.

 

HONORABLE MENTION

 

Hanover

2019 Record: 19-4
Accolades: Class 4 
Preseason Rank: Not Ranked
Postseason Rank: 18

 

Sherando

2019 Record: 19-4
Accolades: 4C Region Semifinals
Preseason Rank: Not Ranked
Postseason Rank: 20

 

Great Bridge

2019 Record: 18-6
Accolades: 4A Region Runners-up
Preseason Rank: Not Ranked
Postseason Rank: 24

 

More 2019 in Review