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Previewing Tonight: June 3

June 3, 2016

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By John Nolan
Assistant Director of Scouting/Content Management 

6A North Championship
No. 14 Chantilly at No. 8 Battlefield, 7:00
Chantilly will play in its third straight 6A North Region championship game this evening, having won the Region in 2014. Both teams have ridden a dominant one-two punch on the mound and clean defense to this point in the postseason. Expect much of the same again tonight as Chantilly will likely start senior lefty  Forrest Wagner (Roanoke) and Battlefield will probably go with senior  Keagan McGinnis (Virginia Tech) with fellow senior  James Beasley available as well. These teams met in a non-conference game in April, and Battlefield was winning that game 4-1 after five innings before Chantilly rallied in a big way to pick up a 14-5 win.



6A South Championship
C.D. Hylton at Cosby, 4:00
Hylton and Cosby have taken different paths to get to the same place. Hylton was very hot early in the season, sitting high in the Power 25 for the first half of the season before its bats went cold and the Bulldogs went through a bit of an up and down stretch in Conference play. The Titans got off to a slow start by their standards which was punctuated by a four game losing streak in early April. Since that losing streak, the Titans have been on a tear. Hylton is a solid defensive team that is anchored by a very talented group of senior pitchers, expect  Trey Shepard (Walters State CC) to get the ball today for the Bulldogs. Cosby has won shootouts, pitcher’s duels and anything in between, as the Titans have just figured out how to win baseball games down the stretch, a trait that was on full display in Wednesday’s semifinal as the Titans fell behind early 5-2 and scoring two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to rally to the win on  Christian Hague’s (Mary Washington) walk-off single.

 

5A North Championship
Potomac at No. 23 Mountain View, 3:00
This is a rematch of the Conference 15 championship game, and will be the third time these teams have met this spring. Mountain View won the championship game 6-5 in walk-off fashion and the regular season meeting as well. This game will be Mountain View’s first Regional Championship game in program history, and it is the first time Potomac has been in this game since 2000.

 

5A South Championship
No. 22 Mills Godwin vs. Nansemond River, Deep Run HS, 7:00
Godwin has been the best 5A team in the Richmond area for most of the season and has relied on very good pitching all year to carry it to this point in the season, as was exemplified when they shut down the potent Glen Allen offense for a third time in Wednesday’s semifinal victory. Nansemond River started the year in the Top 10 in our Power 25 and has been one of the teams with the deepest pools of talent in all of Virginia all year. The Warriors struggled out of the gate as top arms Michael Blanchard (Old Dominion) and Matt Holt (LaSalle) missed time with injuries. With those two back in the rotation plus the youngsters that gained experience in their absence, Nansemond River has been one of the hottest teams in Virginia down the stretch.

 

4A East Semifinal
Lafayette at No. 2 Hanover, 7:00
Lafayette finally got to play its quarterfinal game Thursday as the Rams beat Great Bridge in a pitcher’s duel. Lafayette’s task doesn’t get any easier as they go on the road to take on Hanover. The Hawks are loaded on the mound and in the lineup, and haven’t lost to a team from Virginia this spring.


4A West Championship
No. 3 Liberty Christian at No. 11 Kettle Run, 6:00
Liberty Christian continues to handle every challenge it has faced this spring, beating a tough Millbrook team in Winchester on Wednesday night. Kettle Run only has one loss early in the season this spring and has an explosive lineup led by seniors Brenton Doyle (VMI) and Hayden Lilek. That lineup allowed them to explode late in Wednesday’s semifinal win over Salem, turning a 1-1 game into a 15-1 victory quickly. Liberty Christian’s calling card all season has been its dominant pitching, and it will likely have to turn to its third option tonight with Garret Price (Liberty) unavailable after a complete game Wednesday and Zach Hess (Louisiana State) limited after a no-hitter on Monday.

 

3A West Semifinals
Staunton River vs. Rustburg, Fluvanna County HS, 11:00
Rustburg is the Conference 30 champions, finishing second in the regular season before beating Tunstall in the Championship game. The Devils enter the game 17-4 overall after their win Tuesday over Western Albemarle as they look to return to the State Tournament for the second year in a row. Staunton River finished third in Conference 31 in the regular season and was the runner-up in the tournament, clinching their Region tournament bid. The Golden Eagles pulled a big upset in the quarterfinals, knocking off an Abingdon team that had won 20 games already. 

 
Blacksburg vs. Turner Ashby, Fluvanna County HS, 2:00
This game was suspended in the bottom of the third inning with Turner Ashby leading 5-0. The game will be resumed after the completion of the other semifinal.


2A East Championship
Maggie Walker vs. Goochland, J.R. Tucker HS, 6:00
These two teams met earlier in the season and played a back and forth classic. Goochland took a 5-0 lead before Maggie Walker rallied back to take a 7-5 lead. Goochland tied it in the bottom of the seventh and walked off for an 8-7 win in the eighth. Goochland’s pitching staff has been on fire down the stretch, allowing its first run of the playoffs in its 4-1 win over Strasburg, snapping a streak of four straight shutouts.


2A West Championship
Grayson County vs. Virginia, Tazewell Sports Complex, 3:00
This will be a rematch of the Conference 39 Championship game and the third time these two teams have met this spring. Virginia has won both meetings so far, 6-4 and 14-5. 

 

1A East Championship
Rappahannock at Windsor, 6:00
Windsor is the Conference 41 runner-up and entered the Region tournament as the third seed on power points. The Windsor bats have been rolling, scoring 17 runs in their two Region victories. Rappahannock won the Conference 43 Championship and was the fourth seed in the Region, based on power points. Rappahannock is averaging just under ten runs per game in the postseason. 


1A West Championship
Fort Chiswell vs. Eastside, UVA-Wise, 6:00
Both teams got well-pitched games in the semifinals to punch their State Tournament tickets. Conference 48 champion Eastside hasn't allowed more than two runs in a playoff game this spring. Conference 46 champ Fort Chiswell is also a team that plays clean defense and pitches well.
 

 

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