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With the conclusion of the public school regular season this week, we have finally made it to the playoffs. This spring, with the adjusted Region Tournament format and eight teams making each State Tournament, we are going to adjust our preview coverage. In this post, we are going to predict who our staff thinks will win and advance out of each Region, and who could be a potential dark horse. We will do a detailed preview of each team that makes the State Tournaments in two weeks.

Without further ado, our staff picks for the Region Tournaments beginning play this week, check back on Monday for the rest of our picks:

 

Region 1A

Nolan-Mathews defeats Northumberland. Power points have done some funny things with the seeding in this region. This region is more wide open than some regions, in that the top six or seven teams in this region are very close and could easily get through this tournament. My Dark Horse is Lancaster, who has the best player in the region on its roster in junior Matt Kleinfelter (James Madison) and could easily get one of the two State Tournament bids from this region.

Shank-Northumberland defeats Windsor. Both of these teams have shown an incredible balance on the year with their ability to score runs and hold their opponents down. Northumberland should continue this trend as they have both the ability to pitch it close and socre runs when needed.

Region 1D

Nolan-Honaker defeats Eastside. These two have split their two meetings so far with Honaker winning the most recent one. Look for them to meet in the Championship game and Honaker to take advantage of the tournament being played on their home field to win. My Dark Horse here is JI Burton.

Shank- Eastside defeats Honaker. Eastside is looking to get back to the state tournament after a year hiatus and I think this season is the one they do it.

 

Region 2A

Nolan-Goochland defeats Randolph-Henry. Both teams get the benefit of playing one less game and Goochland has two arms that can carry them through to the championship game. These two have split their games this season, with Goochland winning a late season showdown last week. My Dark Horse here is Maggie Walker, who spends all season playing in a big school District and was able to hang with them.

Shank- What he said....Goochland has been pretty dominant this season and have two arms that can take them through this tournament set up. They can score runs and the pitching has been solid. Pitching is always the key to making championship runs. Maggie Walker is a dangerous team with their seasoning during the spring going against top programs in Richmond.

Region 2C

Nolan-Chatham defeats Dan River. Both teams get byes into the quarterfinals and Chatham could save ace AJ Potojecki (Longwood) for a semifinal matchup against either Glenvar or Fort Chiswell, giving them an edge there. Chatham had carried an undefeated record until a few weeks ago when the took losses to Dan River and Tunstall in back to back games. Look for them to take the series against Dan River. A Dark Horse here is tough because there has been separation in this region, but give me Fort Chiswell, who has been on deep runs in recent years in Class 1 and could go on another one this spring.

Shank- Dan River defeats Chatham. The defending champs return a strong core from that same team and I think they have the ability to pull off a repeat. Chatham has had a special season this year so you absolutely should not count them out.

 

Region 3A

Nolan-Colonial Heights defeats Southampton. I'll double down on my Dark Horse winning the whole thing. Colonial Heights has shown the ability to beat big schools this spring and has already blown out Southampton once. The Colonials did lose a pair of one-run games to top seed Park View early in the season, so that semifinal matchup should be one of the best games on paper in the tournament.

Shank- Park View defeats Southampton. Park View has been very consistent on the mound this year holding opponent to low scores and that will be key to their region run. Southampton has done the same, but of recent game have started to show some dents in the armor. Park View should pitch it again and I don't think in a rematch Southampton can shut them out again.

 

Region 3B

Nolan-I'm going chalk, Spotsylvania defeats Brentsville. All but one of Brentsville's losses have come against Class 4 and 6 competition this spring and they have been much better down the stretch since getting key players back from injury. Spotsy experienced a run last year and has gotten big seasons out of senior Jonathan Rivard (Virginia Tech) and Max Harper (VMI) and should roll through the top of the bracket. A dark horse here is William Monroe, who could see Reilly Owen carry them on a run like RJ Payne did two years ago. 

Shank-Give me Brentsville defeating Spotsylvania. The Tigers come into the postseason having won 8 of 9 and having swept Warren County and William Monroe during that stretch as well as beating Fauquier.

 

Region 3D

Nolan-Abingdon defeats Tunstall. Abingdon will finally make a State Tournament appearance during the final year of Thomas Francisco's (East Carolina) and Cade Hungate's (Florida State) career. Tunstall should reach the Championship game and has an outstanding record this spring, but they will have a tough semifinal matchup. My Dark Horse is Cave Spring, who comes into the tournament with hot bats that have scored 44 runs during their current four game winning streak.

Shank- Abingdon has a one of the deepest teams in the state and so much talent, plus the fact they will play host to this region semifinals and finals. They have to still have a sour taste in their mouth of coming up short of the state tournament last year losing to eventual champion Turner Ashby. If anyone can de-throne Abingdon this year though, its Tunstall. Cave Spring is definitely a team not to take lightly in this tournament.

 

Region 4B

Nolan-Hanover defeats Louisa County. Despite what has been a down season for the defending State Champs, they haven't missed a State Tournament in a while and have too much experienced senior talent for me to believe they will not advance until I actually see it happen. Louisa has a big one-two punch on the mound with Tristan Snyder (William & Mary) and Lliam Grubbs (James Madison) that is capable of carrying them deep. My Dark Horse is Dinwiddie, the fact that they are the five seed in this reason and Hanover is the six should tell you how deep this region is. I'll also mention that Powhatan is undefeated in Virginia this spring and somehow is the second seed.

Shank- Hanover defeats Louisa. Louisa has the arms to take them to the state tournament and Grubbs is one of my favorite arms in the state. This has not been the typical year we expect from Hanover as finally they appear to be human, but this team is too talented to not make another run.

 

Region 4D

Nolan-Liberty Christian defeats Jefferson Forest. The Bulldogs have been so dominant this spring that we have stopped looking to see if they lost games and have instead been looking to see if their opponents have avoided being run-ruled. LCA outclasses everyone in this region and has all spring. Jefferson Forest has the best player of the teams that are not Liberty Christian in the region in junior Griffin Agee (Virginia). If I had to pick a Dark Horse, I'd still pick LCA, if they don't win this region that will be the biggest upset in Virginia this spring. If you really make me choose a Dark Horse, I'd go with Amherst County, who has some athleticism and explosiveness in their lineup, but unfortunately is on the same half of the bracket as Liberty Christian.

Shank-Ditto. yes LCA has had an amazing season and should continue that run. We don't need to repeat everything on this one. Besides Agee being an excellent arm, keep an eye out for their talented 2020 OF, Jackson Cherry. Kid has potential to be special.

 

Region 5B

Nolan-I'll take Godwin defeating Glen Allen. The Eagles are loaded and had been on a roll until Glen Allen beat them on Monday night, which was only their second hiccup against a team in this tournament all spring. The Jaguars have a ton of good wins and enter the tournament on fire, having won eight in a row.

Shank-This region could either be really chalky or have the most havoc. Deep Run and Lee-Davis have good wins on the season despite being the last two seeds in the tournament. Give me Prince George over Godwin. The Royals' core is back from last year's State tournament team and gets one more shot at a run and they haven't lost since March, having outscored their last 6 opponents 62-9.

 

Region 5D

Nolan-Potomac wins the Region. The Panthers have spent all season playing in the Class 6 Cardinal District and won the regular season championship. They are a scrappy team that finds ways to win with different guys each night. Its hard to pick the championship participants because this region will re-seed once it gets to the semifinals, so we can't see the actual draw. The other team that I think is likely to be in position to win is Halifax County. The Comets are loaded on the mound with a rotation that would make a Division I private school jealous. My Dark Horse here is a bit of a cop out with Mountain View, but the Wildcats were young team coming into the season who have already far exceeded expectations.

Shank-Give me Halifax and that pitching staff as well as a lineup that made it to the 14th inning of the State Championship game last year. As for the rest of the region, Potomac has a knack for winning and has done it against bigger schools all spring. 

 

Region 6B

Nolan-James River defeats Manchester. They've been the top two teams in the region all year and should advance. James River is undefeated in Virginia this year and should continue that trend. My Dark Horse for this region is Cosby. The Titans have a stacked offense and have already beaten Manchester, their potential semifinal opponent, once this spring.

Shank- Manchester defeats Thomas Dale. Manchester has been solid this season and have a nice mix of youth and experience. My dark horse is Cosby who have the ability and talent to make a run.

 

 

Region 6C

Nolan-Lake Braddock defeats Woodbridge. The Bruins are the most complete team in Class 6 and are the easy favorites to win the State Championship. They have a dynamic lineup and are deep and very talented on the mound. Woodbridge doubles as my Dark Horse pick as well, I think the Vikings can make a run with the ability to start Magnus Ellerts twice. They have tough potential path to the title game, but the Vikings have quietly been one of the best teams in Northern Virginia all year and are also a very complete team.

Shank-Lake Braddock for all of the obvious reasons. I think West Potomac comes through the other side with the benefit of a bye, Jimmy Curley (High Point) pitching in the second round and Alec Roberts (Charlotte) in the middle of a monster season.

 

Region 6D

Nolan-You have to love the pre-set brackets that put the top two teams in this region on the same side, meaning that Battlefield or Madison can advance to the State Tournament, but not both. The two have recent history of meeting in Region semifinal games, with Madison winning and advancing in 2015 despite being no-hit for eight innings by Jake Agnos. For my pick, Madison defeats Patriot to win the Region. I think the Warhawks can get by Battlefield as they will have an edge on the mound in any matchup with Jake Nielsen (BYU) and Matt Howat and the best hitter in the region in Kyle Novak (James Madison).

My Dark Horse is half Patriot and half Centreville. I think the winner of that first round game can go on a long run. Centreville has gotten a great season out of John Farley (Eastern Kentucky) and when Cristian Sanchez (Virginia) is on, he can beat any team in Virginia. The Wildcats can pitch, if they can figure out how to score a few runs they could go far. We ranked Patriot highly at the beginning of the season and after a few early season hiccups the Pioneers have put it together down the stretch and feature a deep group of pitchers and one of the most balanced lineups in the bracket.

Shank-Give me Madison over Marshall. All of the reasons above make me think Madison squeeks by Battlefield in the semis. I think Marshall will benefit from getting to use Patrick Halligan (George Mason) twice on the way to the championship game. Watch Chantilly, who is a young team that has improved over the course of the season, they could make some noise in the top of the bracket.