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Team Notes

Dinwiddie is the Region B champions and has surged down the stretch after a small lull in early May. The Generals are riding a six-game winning streak and have won some big games against tough opponents this spring. Senior Tomas Sanchez (VCU) has been carrying the Generals down the stretch as the team's ace and a dynamic bat in the middle of the order. Seniors Zack Donovan and Ryan Kelly have also provided quality innings and Donovan's bat has been important to Dinwiddie's success as well. 

Jamestown is the Region A runners-up and is 17-2 when not playing Grafton this spring, unfortunately they have not yet beaten the Clippers in three tries. EA Woolwine and Spencer Pietruszynski have been the Eagles' top arms and have also been key lineup pieces around Matt Lansford.

Grafton is the Region A champions and has essentially been perfect this spring except for a pair of hiccups in back-to-back games in mid-April. The Clippers have dominated their competition most of the spring with most of their tighter games coming in their three wins over Jamestown. Grafton might be a year early to their success as the strength of the roster from a talent standpoint is the sophomores and juniors, with Zachary Wojnarowski being a key bat and closer and sophomores Tyler Cotten and Trey Gibson having big seasons at the plate and Gibson on the mound around senior outfielder Justin Bowers (NC Central).

Powhatan is the Region B runners-up and their loss in the Region championship was their first loss to a team from Virginia in 2018. The Indians are loaded with talent in their lineup that features Logan Amiss (VCU), Brad Eike (Virginia Tech), Brad Painter (Hampden-Sydney), and Nic Rini (Lackawanna JC). Rini and senior Trenton Tiller (Hampden-Sydney) give them a pair of arms that can carry them deep. The Indians have a ton of quality wins this spring and are one of the remaining favorites to win the State Championship.

Fauquier is the Region C champions and has been carried by the bat of senior Blaze O'Saben (UMBC) as well as strong seasons from two-way juniors Lane Pearson and Carson McCusker. O'Saben was co-Region Player of the Year and has put together a spectacular season that we will discuss in more detail in our postseason awards. Pearson has thrown a lot of big games this spring and McCusker has shown the ability to close in big spots or start and give Fauquier's offense a chance to work. The Falcons have shown they can score against good pitching and leadoff hitter Cole Western has been a tone-setter for them this spring.

Amherst County is the Region D runners-up and recovered from an April stretch that saw them drop 7 of 8 games before finishing the season and first two rounds of playoffs on an 8-2 run. Amherst's season has been all about offense this spring, with the Lancers allowing under three runs just twice during that ten game stretch to finish the season. Timmy Byers and freshman Christian Martin (Virginia Tech) have put together strong seasons near the top of the Lancer lineup. 

Woodgrove is the Region C runners-up and has been carried this spring by its pair of aces in senior Jarrett LoRusso (Roanoke) and junior Nick Lockhart (Virginia Tech). LoRusso is 5-1 with a 2.38 ERA and has gotten all of the toughest assignments on what was a very hard schedule for the Wolverines this spring. Lockhart has a 1.76 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 43.2 innings this spring. Offensively, shortstop Justin Hanvey (Radford) has led the way, hitting .408 with five home runs and 30 RBIs so far this spring. Ryan Badillo (Bridgewater) is second on the team in RBIs and has also hit .378.

Salem is the Region D champions and has some impressive wins this spring, including beating Jefferson Forest and Amherst in back to back games in the Region tournament. Caleb Lingenfelter threw a complete game in the Region championship and Zion Honaker shut down a very good JF squad in the game before, giving the Spartans a good 1-2 punch on the mound. Salem likes to run and has stolen six bases in three of their last four games down the stretch

 

Staff Picks

Nolan-This tournament is missing a few teams we expected to be there, but despite that it might be the most fun bracket of the six different classifications. All of these matchups on paper should be good and this should be an exciting week of play. I think Dinwiddie and Powhatan will faceoff in a rematch of last Friday's game, with Powhatan winning this time. On the western side, I think Fauquier keeps doing what it does and Salem scratches just enough offense to get past LoRusso and Woodgrove. I like Salem over Powhatan in a championship game that could be a slugfest. The Spartans' lineup depth and speed make them tough to beat.

Shank- I see Woodgrove taking the championship over Powhatan. Powhatan will get by Grafton in what might be the best matchup of the Class four tournament on day one. Dinwiddie will face off in a rematch, but I think playing at Kiwanis is going to be more of an advantage for Powhatan and their offense as opposed to playing at home. Fauquier should keep their hot play going but it will be tough to get past Lockhart in his second matchup. Lockhart did not have his best stuff that day on the mound and Fauquier took advantage of it. I don't think that will happen again. The battle testing that Woodgrove has had this year will prepare them. Darkhorse: Grafton. I really like this team but I think they might be a year away. I could easily be wrong though.

 

 

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