Southeastern District Games: April 21-26

GF 9. KF 0. Stallings got the W. Struck out 10 in 6 innings. GF swung it well and had10 stolen bases.

Has Grassfield only lost the 4 games against WB, GB, NR, and Hickory? 

Lost the last game in SC. 8-5 record.

Lakeland 6-3 over Wilson

NR 8-4 over Indian River in extra innings.

Grassfield 12. Bethel 1.

Grassfield Max Burcham was 3 for 4 5 RBI's 2 doubles Dwight Riddick was 3 for 4 2 doubles 4 RBI's!

If I'm not mistaken, the Pilot is reporting a 6-5 Oscar Smith win over Kecoughtan.  Up to this point, I think Kecoughtan has been the 2nd best team on the Peninsula, behind Woodside.

Pilotonline.com also reports that Kecoughtan had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the 7th when Thomas Packert came on in relief to strike out the final batter. 

Oscar Smith was up 6-0 going into bottom 6 and in control of the game up to that point, outhitting Kecoughtan 12-7.  Nate Matheson (signed with ODU) of Kecoughtan then hit a solo HR to lead off the bottom of the 6th to make it 6-1.  In bottom of 7, the leadoff batter for Kecoughtan got on by error by the 2B (the only E of game for OS), then after a Fielder's Choice, a single, and another Fielder's Choice (which would have been 3rd out and ended the game), Matheson hit another HR to make it 6-4.  After a double, a walk, and a single to load bases, Packert came on in relief and hit the next batter with the pitch in a 0-2 count to make it 6-5, then struck out the next batter on 4 pitches.

 

Kecoughtan's record was 9-3 going into the game and played Woodside to an 8-inning, 2-1 loss a week ago.

Wb lost to woodside 6-4

Drew Moyer from Woodside threw an absolute gem of a game.Congrats to him and a bright future at Old Dominion. Western Branch had several chances with runners in so,however could not capitalize.Moyer finished the game by striking out D Fisher with 2 on and 2 out in the top of the seventh. Good game on a nice Saturday afternoon.
Just remember guys!! One game at a time and let's get the next one.
#one in a row#bruins

First of all, I'm shocked at the WB/Woodside outcome. 

 

Having seen both, there is no doubt which team has more talent and depth.  But this is why we play the games.  As I said earlier this season, I thought it to be highly doubtful that WB would go undefeated.  I would be lying if I said that I thought Woodside would be the team to beat them though.

 

In other news, NR defeats Dinwiddie 8-2.  Matt Holt threw 5 solid innings.  NR pitching combined to give up 4 hits.  Shane McCaw had 2 hits and 3 RBI, while Chase Williams had another two hits and continues to swing it well since returning from injury.  NR continues to be very solid defensively.  

WB is definitely the most talented team in the Region but a good pitcher can shut anyone down.  Apparently, Drew was that pitcher.  He is a very good get for ODU who plays for the EvoShield Canes during the summer.  Drew threw for the EvoCanes North team that made it to the 16U WWB Championship Game last summer against the EvoShield Canes.

 

I guess the 15 runs per game and an undefeated season predictions from Week 1 of the season are no longer valid?  

 

I don't agree that they are 3rd in VA but that's just how baseball rankings are....dumb.

Should be some pretty good games coming up this week as well for the area.

Hmmmm...I recall someone saying if a pitcher come along to minimize WB lineup....they don't have the stud arm to match that.   

Rematch will be a good one.

WB is still the best team in the region and the state. I dont think we understand how hard it is to go undefeated. I also expect WB to score more than 10 runs off of Moyer the second time around next tuesday.

GB,  I think you might just get a little competition from the fine teams in Richmond and NOVA as to who is the "best" team in the State of Virginia... WB is a strong bunch who is capable of winning it all this year, but there have been other teams that were just as good that never won a Virginia State Championship...

They'll still hang up a few more big numbers before the season is over but scoring 10 runs consistently is not an easy thing to do.  With Grassfield looking like it has gotten their legs underneath them WB still has a few more tests in front of them before they get out of the conference. 

 

Does the conference winner get a bye?  If not, WB could find itself facing GF in a 1 and done deal in the conference tourney.  That could be very dicey a month from now.

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/0...eason-baseball-guide#

In that conference tournament, top 2 seeds get a bye, while 3 plays 6, and 4 plays 5.

1 and 2 seeds get quarterfinal bye.

So if the Conf. Regular season champ doesn't get a bye to the regional a team could go 19-1 or 20-0 and lose to a good arm in a 1 and done...and never get out of the conference. 

 

Scary.  

Winner of that conferences regular season gets an automatic bid to regionals.

According to the Pilot, the conference with Grassfield and WB, the regular season winner does get an auto bid to the regional tournament,.

 

In the Ironclad, with NR, there is no automatic berth.  So what you describe could very well happen.  (It actually happened in basketball, where Heritage and NR were the consensus top two 4A teams in the state.  Neither made it out of the conference

tournament).  

WB did not need a "stud arm" to beat Woodside.

 

For my money, I'll take Rutherford on the bump, in that matchup, 10 times out of 10.  From what I'm gathering it seems that one team played their A game, and the other didn't (not that WB played poorly). Simple as that.

 

This is why all the undefeated talk was silly.  When you consider the challenging schedule; when you consider that it is difficult to maintain your focus and intensity each and every game; when you consider that a very good arm can beat a quality lineup on any given day...

 

Everyone has to remember that we are talking about teenagers!

In the end, I see WB being a better team.  Getting a game like that out of the way will be good for them.

 

I don't expect the rematch to be as good a game as the first edition.

Maybe Woodside might be better than people thought.  Teams rarely get to 12 or 13 and ohhh and have a lot of holes in any league.  For those of us that are SED based we should remember as Driller points out...there is a ton of good baseball in VA.

 

Just ask Brian O'Connor who has built a top 10 program on a backbone of players from the state and not just from the south side.

I think people get carried away.

 

* First, Grassfield had the best 1-2 punch in the country.

* Then, Western Branch was going to "mercy rule" everyone they played.  "Best 1-9 lineup in many years", I recall.

 

Woodside is 13-0 against the schedule that they have played.  Good for them!

 

They are a quality club.  I maintain that they are not better than Grassfield.  I refer to Grassfield because they have lost 5 games due to a difficult schedule.  Nonetheless, I see them as a team that could beat anyone on any given day.  Just as Woodside did on Saturday.

 

 

Heels - No doubt people get carried away.  Both examples are way over the top.  The point I was after is there is great baseball outside the SED that should not be forgotten.

 

Sometimes I think of that old New Yorker cartoon where people in NY think the world ends at the Hudson.  Folks pulling for the SED should remember baseball doesn't end at the James River either.

 

 

 

 

Luv,

  You are spot on with your latest remarks fella. I would venture to say that there are at least a half dozen or more baseball programs in the Richmond and NOVA regions that would compete for the SED title year in and year out IF they were located down here. It is truly unfortunate that with the new State playoff set ups we will not get to see a lot of these potentially great match ups !

In future years maybe we'll get to see more regular season games between these teams.  Especially the ones that are not in the same Group.  Over the years seeing James River, Lake Braddock or South County etc. against south side teams would be much more entertaining than some of the traditional district mismatches that happened twice a year. 

The examples I used were definitely over the top...but just a summary of multiple comments made on this board, by others, in previous weeks!

 

I completely agree on the quality of programs across the state, and made reference to that earlier in the season when folks were pounding the WB "we're going undefeated" drum.  Locally though (Southeastern VA), there is no doubt as to the quality depth of the SED in relation to the other districts. 

 

A Norfolk Academy, or a Maury, or a Greenbrier, being ranked over a Grassfield is laughable.  So, in some circles the strength of the district is underappreciated.  In others, perhaps, the rose colored baseball goggles of the SED contingent, reign supreme!

 

I just state what I see.

Heels i agree with you that WB will win that conference and grassfield will finish second. As we have seen in recent years, pitchers with strong arms are a little less effective towards the end of the year depending on how much their coach allows them to throw.