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I think it will be a competitive year for ye ol' Concord District (5): there's really no one that jumps out as the clear leader. But whereas in many previous years the run to the state title goes through the Concord, I don't think that will be the case this year.

LB, West Springfield, Madison and Battlefield: those are the four that I'm watching. 

Two sophs to watch: Zach Agnos (Battlefield) and Seth Richards (Oakton).

It's an ambitious task to try to list top players, especially since, unless you really know a kid, it's hard to say someone is going to have a breakout year.  Or, maybe you have a kid who was on JV last year, or backed up behind a senior last year, who's ready to step up.

So, I don't blame anyone for missing a few key guys.  But here are some fairly prominent guys that I couldn't find on any of the lists (though because I have trouble keeping track of who's 4A, 5A and 6A, I may have overlooked them by scanning the wrong list):

Aaron Robinson, 2017 C at Monacan, is the area's most feared HR threat, committed to Norfolk State.

Hunter Andrews, 2018 OF/RHP formerly at Monacan but now at St. Chris, is a premier hitter and will carry a fair share of innings as well.

Logan Amiss, 2018 C at Powhatan, is a good bet to hit .450 or better; committed to VCU.

Drew Camp, 2017 1B at Thomas Dale, figures to follow in Robinson's footsteps as a HR threat this year and next.

I don't see any Prince George guys on here (?) and that means they missed conference POY Tevin Tucker (2018 SS, committed to WVU), 2018 OF Michael Peterson (Longwood), and 2019 C/3B Justin Starke.

Preston Eacho, 2018 LHP at Atlee, missed a lot of last season and so is easy to overlook.  Don't.

Scott McDonough, 2018 RHP/3B at Godwin.

 

The above comes with the disclaimer that I haven't tried to ID everyone, and I am also not including those already listed by PBR.

 

joemktg posted:

I think it will be a competitive year for ye ol' Concord District (5): there's really no one that jumps out as the clear leader. But whereas in many previous years the run to the state title goes through the Concord, I don't think that will be the case this year.

LB, West Springfield, Madison and Battlefield: those are the four that I'm watching. 

Two sophs to watch: Zach Agnos (Battlefield) and Seth Richards (Oakton).

I have personally made the "Concord" bet these last couple years and will double-down again this year for a few reasons I need not get into st the moment. With that said, I think Madison is the clear 6A North favorite in my humble opinion.

I really don't have a feel yet for which teams will rise to the top.  It's always nice to have highly regarded individual players, and they correlate to which teams do well, but a lot more goes into who wins as a team.

For example, I've seen Cosby twice now.  They seem to have some good young arms and some respectable older arms.  Their sticks haven't really shown up just yet.  But experience shows us we should count on them being around come playoff time.

Manchester has been hot throughout the lineup thus far.  I'm not sure how their pitching will hold up, though.

Among private schools, I wonder if anyone has a lineup as loaded as Benedictine's.  Cal Sigler is the premier leadoff guy in our area and, for my money, simply the fastest player in RVA.  Will Simon, Eli Ottinger and Greg Ryan make for about as solid a set of 3-4-5 sticks as you could ask for.  Eli is surely one of the leading pitchers around in this, his senior year.  But again, there are so many teams I haven't seen yet, I really can't say how it'll all shake out.

Midlo Dad posted:

I really don't have a feel yet for which teams will rise to the top.  It's always nice to have highly regarded individual players, and they correlate to which teams do well, but a lot more goes into who wins as a team.

For example, I've seen Cosby twice now.  They seem to have some good young arms and some respectable older arms.  Their sticks haven't really shown up just yet.  But experience shows us we should count on them being around come playoff time.

Manchester has been hot throughout the lineup thus far.  I'm not sure how their pitching will hold up, though.

Among private schools, I wonder if anyone has a lineup as loaded as Benedictine's.  Cal Sigler is the premier leadoff guy in our area and, for my money, simply the fastest player in RVA.  Will Simon, Eli Ottinger and Greg Ryan make for about as solid a set of 3-4-5 sticks as you could ask for.  Eli is surely one of the leading pitchers around in this, his senior year.  But again, there are so many teams I haven't seen yet, I really can't say how it'll all shake out.

Indeed, Cal is one speedy hombre ... I believe Manchester has Dylan Gentry holding down their middle infield ... high quality kid, especially as a teammate ... his dad is a stand-up guy too so easy to make the connection.

1)  Battlefield has the inside track I believe in the north....quality everywhere up the middle, depth, deep pitching, and playoff experience.  They have had some tough playoff luck too-they are due.  

2)  Lake Braddock has a wealth of pitching, Darcy among others can play, and they have speed and depth.  

3) Madison is always good, but appear to lack playoff quality pitching depth, are weak behind the dish, and SS, none of which helps in the playoffs.  Jake Nielsen is somehow below most radars, but is capable of dominating on the bump and is a real deep threat at the plate, Novak is a hit machine when locked in,  lots of depth away from pitching there.  

4) Patriot has a nice right/lefty combo of starters, an experienced stud catcher, and good depth.  Great lineup, might not have enough high quality pitching.  Young Eikhoff can hit.   

After that, I think it falls off to the "good" Concorde/5 district teams, but they are all flawed.  Centreville has good pitching, but lacks pop and has a a ton of question marks defensively.  Chantilly just can't do it again, I don't see a ton there, but clearly they have a coach!  I just don't see it.  Robinson, eh.  Oakton is interesting.....they don't have a complete team, but with 3 D1 caliber pitchers they can be in any game.   If Toma recovers and someone (anyone) other than those pitchers and Davis steps up they could surprise....or they could go 2-12.  That could be a fun team to watch/coach as they could do great things or implode.    

In Liberty/6:  Madison is no doubt big favorite, but has some chinks in the armor.   Hosley at Langley is a beast, and that team has parts, not sure if they can put it together consistently enough to make any run though.   South Lakes has developed enough pitching and fields a tough 9-they can compete.  After that most of the teams are 1 pitcher and not truly 9 deep.  Check that, Mclean with Slade and Groppe is a nice combo.  Projected:  Madison, South Lakes, Langley, W&L, Mclean, Fairfax, Yorktown, Hayfield.  

In 7:  Lake Braddock, a Spartan team I don't really know, a likeable West Po team, and South County.....dropoff to Woodson, and another dropoff to TC, Annandale, and another drop to Mt. Vernon.

In Concorde/5:  I dunno, not as clearly defined IMO as compared to prior years, low confidence as I think it is open.....Centreville on pitching, Chantilly on coaching, Robinson, Westfield,  Oakton, Herndon.    

Away from local 6A Kettle Run, Marshall, Briar Woods (though I don't know them).  PVI is very good, but there are D1 commits and there are D1 commits if you know what I mean-they are off from last year-still better than publics though.  

Combined Top 10:  PVI, Battlefield, Lake Braddock, Madison, Kettle Run, Patriot, Chantilly, O'Connell, West Springfield, Marshall/Centreville.

***All uninformed opinion, no harm intended, best viewed March 2018***   

Allinfun posted:

Projected:  Madison, South Lakes, Langley, W&L, Mclean, Fairfax, Yorktown, Hayfield.  

***All uninformed opinion, no harm intended, best viewed March 2018***   

Well, my son is the starting catcher at Hayfield so I'd love to prove your prediction wrong... First game tonight against Langley, if the field is playable, which is not a given at all.

I'd like to be proven wrong, love the folks at Hayfield!  Langley was pretty sloppy against W&L defensively to let that game get away. (and that was excellent base running by W&L in the end)  Make 'em throw strikes, give some OF depth and make the plays!  Starting to get "game on!" texts for tonight, so hopefully you get yours in too-good luck!

Allinfun posted:

I'd like to be proven wrong, love the folks at Hayfield!  Langley was pretty sloppy against W&L defensively to let that game get away. (and that was excellent base running by W&L in the end)  Make 'em throw strikes, give some OF depth and make the plays!  Starting to get "game on!" texts for tonight, so hopefully you get yours in too-good luck!

Thanks. Game moved to Lee HS since their field is playable (ours is NOT, nor is Langley's). Weird to be the home team at a different diamond. Also, Hayfield will play there again tomorrow as the away team against Lee. Big kudos to HC at Lee for letting this happen on such short notice!

Since a couple have weighed in on the Concord (6A Conference 5) district, here are my thoughts ...

Centreville:  Head Coach Scott Findley had a great run last year, punctuated by their upset victory over a talented Madison team in the playoffs. This season, Carter Egbers, John Farley, and Brandon Luke will hold down pitching duties with Egbers, Cameron Edwards, Gavin Collins, and Ethan Busenitz guiding their offense. I believe Centreville lost the live arm of Cristian Sanchez to PVI.

Chantilly: In the interest of full disclosure, I am a parent. That said, I believe I know the core of this team (8 Seniors) very well having watched most of them compete against many of the players I cite elsewhere in this post. All told, this is a very talented group of boys with starting pitching being their only considerable question mark compared to last season. Coach Kevin Ford deserves a lot of credit for building this program to the point where they have been to the Virginia 6A State Championships in 2014, 2015, 2016 and finally winning it all last year in dramatic fashion against Battlefield. This game gave me the same goosebumps I felt watching my NY Mets win it all in 1986. This season, I expect Seniors Jack Fitzhugh, Bret Caslavka, Hayden Dux, and Robert Sallberg to hold down the pitching. In addition, the pitching future looks very bright as Junior Kyle Pasquale and Sophomores Dylan Siesky, Connor Pennell, and Nicholas Zampiello having impressed me as I watched them develop over the years. In terms of bats, I think Chantilly has the most formidable line-up in the entire conference. Senior Chris Pitura was a 1st Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-Region at 2nd base last year and will be taking over duties at shortstop this season. Batting in front of Pitura will likely be Jon Alderman and Cameron Boddie, two speedy outfielders cover lots of ground and can wear out any pitcher on any given night.Behind these three will be Siesky, Senior Garrett Thomas, and two notable Junior bats, Christian Parana and Jonathan Braden. Junior speed-demon Eric Tsai will likely be taking on pinch-running duties. Finally, the unexpected gem of this group is Freshman catcher Shane Dux, this kid might be taking over catching duties at Chantilly sooner than anyone expected. In term of results thus far, Chantilly beat Marshall 12-6 in a scrimmage on 03/07. Their season home opener is tonight at 6:30pm against Riverside HS so we shall see what this season holds but I am liking what I have seen thus far.

Herndon: Injury to Menendez will present challenges to Herndon, which will need to rely on Austin “AJ” Boynton, Cameron Bane, and Joe Wright while he recovers. Herndon bats includes Boynton at leadoff, Menendez and a kid named Matt Knox that has always been a little guy that can flat out hit ... love watching that kid compete at the plate.

Oakton: An injury to Toma Shigaki-Than will weaken the pitching rotation. However, Oakton does have Owen Lamon, Seth Richards and Jared Kimbel left to hold down the staff while he recovers. Richards, catcher Ryan Davis and Eric Lingebach will provide notable bats for Oakton.

Robinson: I think Robinson is going to surprise some folks with the balance of their team. Pitching will be held down by Will Jewel, Jack Philbin, Bret Ronyecs, and Danny Checkosky. Flynn Hopkins, Jack Quinn, and PK Cocolis are solid bats in the middle of the order.

Westfield: Westfield beat Mount Vernon 8-1 last night on 12K's over 5IP from Antonio Buckley. They also have bats in catcher Devin Kakar and Seth Hockett.

Prediction: I think Chantilly takes the Concord conference once again this year. What happens beyond that, I can only guess but wouldn’t be surprised if they made another serious run to cement the legacy they have established these last several years.

Last edited by Rough Diamond
Rough Diamond posted:
joemktg posted:

I think it will be a competitive year for ye ol' Concord District (5): there's really no one that jumps out as the clear leader. But whereas in many previous years the run to the state title goes through the Concord, I don't think that will be the case this year.

LB, West Springfield, Madison and Battlefield: those are the four that I'm watching. 

Two sophs to watch: Zach Agnos (Battlefield) and Seth Richards (Oakton).

I have personally made the "Concord" bet these last couple years and will double-down again this year for a few reasons I need not get into st the moment. With that said, I think Madison is the clear 6A North favorite in my humble opinion.

Update: Looks like Madison lost to Fairfax 4-3 last night.

Allinfun posted:

Liberty inverted from recent past right now.  Madison alone in last.  Langley alone in7th. Hayfield atop the conference and undefeated.  Long way to go,  but would not have predicted that!  

Eikhoff 4/4 with 2B and 3B in Patriot 13-1 win tonight. Patriot 3-0 this week.  

Coach Pudge at Madison is very well-respected so his teams are hard to count out pre-season and even this lone loss won't necessarily count them out ... with that said, I know lots of those boys at Fairfax and they should be solid this season ... plus, they added an awesome assistant coach in Keith Newcombe who is the real deal.

Last edited by Rough Diamond
Rough Diamond posted:
2forU posted:

WSHS topped Annandale in 5. I think demographic changes have finally caught up to Annandale.  Next is South County on Friday and Robinson on Saturday.  Lots of talent at WS (there was last year as well). 

Only position player I have personally seen on WS is Isaak Lyons ... that dude can play!

Isaak's brother Jared, a Junior SS/RHP can play too, he's an early GMU commit.

Rough Diamond posted:
Allinfun posted:

Liberty inverted from recent past right now.  Madison alone in last.  Langley alone in7th. Hayfield atop the conference and undefeated.  Long way to go,  but would not have predicted that!  

Eikhoff 4/4 with 2B and 3B in Patriot 13-1 win tonight. Patriot 3-0 this week.  

Coach Pudge at Madison is very well-respected so his teams are hard to count out pre-season and even this lone loss won't necessarily count them out ... with that said, I know lots of those boys at Fairfax and they should be solid this season ... plus, they added an awesome assistant coach in Keith Newcombe who is the real deal.

Oh, don't get me wrong, Madison is still the favorite....those standings are just notable for being inverse of the norm!  Pudge will do his thing, and the sting of that meltdown with Fairfax will be used as fuel every time they let off the gas!

Allinfun posted:

1)  Battlefield has the inside track I believe in the north....quality everywhere up the middle, depth, deep pitching, and playoff experience.  They have had some tough playoff luck too-they are due.  

2)  Lake Braddock has a wealth of pitching, Darcy among others can play, and they have speed and depth.  

3) Madison is always good, but appear to lack playoff quality pitching depth, are weak behind the dish, and SS, none of which helps in the playoffs.  Jake Nielsen is somehow below most radars, but is capable of dominating on the bump and is a real deep threat at the plate, Novak is a hit machine when locked in,  lots of depth away from pitching there.  

4) Patriot has a nice right/lefty combo of starters, an experienced stud catcher, and good depth.  Great lineup, might not have enough high quality pitching.  Young Eikhoff can hit.   

After that, I think it falls off to the "good" Concorde/5 district teams, but they are all flawed.  Centreville has good pitching, but lacks pop and has a a ton of question marks defensively.  Chantilly just can't do it again, I don't see a ton there, but clearly they have a coach!  I just don't see it.  Robinson, eh.  Oakton is interesting.....they don't have a complete team, but with 3 D1 caliber pitchers they can be in any game.   If Toma recovers and someone (anyone) other than those pitchers and Davis steps up they could surprise....or they could go 2-12.  That could be a fun team to watch/coach as they could do great things or implode.    

In Liberty/6:  Madison is no doubt big favorite, but has some chinks in the armor.   Hosley at Langley is a beast, and that team has parts, not sure if they can put it together consistently enough to make any run though.   South Lakes has developed enough pitching and fields a tough 9-they can compete.  After that most of the teams are 1 pitcher and not truly 9 deep.  Check that, Mclean with Slade and Groppe is a nice combo.  Projected:  Madison, South Lakes, Langley, W&L, Mclean, Fairfax, Yorktown, Hayfield.  

In 7:  Lake Braddock, a Spartan team I don't really know, a likeable West Po team, and South County.....dropoff to Woodson, and another dropoff to TC, Annandale, and another drop to Mt. Vernon.

In Concorde/5:  I dunno, not as clearly defined IMO as compared to prior years, low confidence as I think it is open.....Centreville on pitching, Chantilly on coaching, Robinson, Westfield,  Oakton, Herndon.    

Away from local 6A Kettle Run, Marshall, Briar Woods (though I don't know them).  PVI is very good, but there are D1 commits and there are D1 commits if you know what I mean-they are off from last year-still better than publics though.  

Combined Top 10:  PVI, Battlefield, Lake Braddock, Madison, Kettle Run, Patriot, Chantilly, O'Connell, West Springfield, Marshall/Centreville.

***All uninformed opinion, no harm intended, best viewed March 2018***   

Hard to argue with the Top Three of your Combined Top Ten, here. They all have very good pitching depth and are strong defensively.

WSHS pounded South County 15-3. Odd ending, head's up play by the SS to end the game with a throw to home from 2B (1-6-2).  SC pitching not what everyone expected - maybe an off night.

Update - Jared Lyons fracture has healed.  Cleared for light running. Will be available to play when he can run without pain.

Lots of talent on this team, some tough decision will make the team better.

Chantilly gets back in the "W" column with a 5-3 win over McLean today. Seniors Bret Caslavka & Robert Sallberg & Sophomore Conor Pennell held down the pitching while Chantilly bats woke up. Senior Garrett Thomas and Sophomore Dylan Siesky each collected three hits. Seniors Cam Boddie and Chris Pitura each collected two hits with Senior Jon Alderman leading off the game with a triple. Lots to like about today's effort coming off a loss to Loudoun Valley last night.

Last edited by Rough Diamond

Liberty reverting to norm after odd first few days.....Madison hasn't been scored on in 2 games and is 2-1, tied with South Lakes and Fairfax at the top.  This week we should find out who is real as Madison has Hayfield/South Lakes/Langley and Fairfax takes on Langley and Mclean.  Going back to the original post by Rough Diamond, after taking in a number of games I would include 2 Langley players on the list.  Hosley is a standout-best player on a good team.  He isn't a SS, but when in doubt putting the best player in the middle is a good formula.  Also, Jake Osburn at Langley has given up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 1 ER over 11 innings.  Kantor at Mclean swinging it well-worth following.  Chantilly looking like a good program (in every game, has bats, tight defense) but I'm sticking with my initial take that the pitching isn't quite enough for a run.   Full disclosure, I didn't see last year coming either.  Robinson looks good in 2 tough wins over good programs.  Nice wins.  I look forward to seeing how they do against #1 pitching.  Pulling for Oakton, 2-0 and a relatively light week leading up to Saturday's game against Madison.  Need some bats to step up.  Lake Braddock going to extras without showing #1 against St. Johns is a good sign, even in an L.   Kettle Run doing what they are supposed to do, going 3-0 in comfortable wins.  PVI loses to Georgetown Prep....I'm saying PVI v good, not as dominant relative to NoVa publics as last year.  Sticking with Battlefield and Patriot as top 4 teams, I like Patriot, need to see more though.  Bloviating done for today!    

Does anyone have a good place to find NOVA standings?  The Post is partial and wrong, which is worse than not having them up at all.  I have Westfield & Oakton on top in Concorde5, Woodson outta the gate well in 7, Battlefield in 8, and Liberty6  as:

<colgroup><col width="100" /><col width="176" /><col width="170" /><col width="199" /></colgroup>
Madison5-15-1 
South Lakes3-23-2 
Langley3-33-4L 6-1 Herndon
Fairfax2-22-2 
Hayfield2-23-2W 10-0 Lee
Mclean2-22-4L Chantilly 5-3, L Centreville 10-8
W&L2-43-4W 6-4 Edison
Yorktown1-42-4W 10-5 Wakefield

Hayfield and Fairfax better than expected, Langley a puzzle.  Losing 22-0?  In 5?.  That is hard to do if you are trying, which they really didn't appear to be after going down 11-0 in the 2nd.  

joemktg posted:
JMU_2016 posted:

Madison torched Langley tonight 22-0

Were you there?

I was until the top of the 4th when it was 15-0. Madison was hitting the cover off the ball the whole night. Joey Goldsmith hit a double off the right field wall in the first and hit a 3 run homer later on that was one of the hardest hit balls I've seen. 

JMU_2016 posted:

Madison over Oakton 6-3

Report I received: Madison, as usual, peppered to OF fence with line drives. Also told that the SP for Madison is a new player from JV. OHS rotated pitchers throughout the game.

Guessing that this out of conference game impacted pitching decisions. Of course, with the realignment next year, this will be resolved. 

joemktg posted:
JMU_2016 posted:

Madison over Oakton 6-3

Report I received: Madison, as usual, peppered to OF fence with line drives. Also told that the SP for Madison is a new player from JV. OHS rotated pitchers throughout the game.

Guessing that this out of conference game impacted pitching decisions. Of course, with the realignment next year, this will be resolved. 

Howat was one of their better JV pitchers last year, and he has continued to develop--would love to see a Richards v. Howat game, and likely will see a few in the next couple of years.  Should be great games.  Howat on the bump in a rivalry game does make the point that the coaching staff at Madison deserves credit for developing players AND putting the best team on the field.  You would think that the talented sophomore lefty on the bump would have been the son of the head coach--and if it had been he would have done just fine.  But it wasn't--Howat is a bit better in the staff's eyes right now.  And at catcher, Madison has a light hitting senior--it has to be tempting to put the assistant coach's son back there--but they haven't.  Parent's often gripe about playing time and favoritism--but both of those coach's kids could play well at the varsity level and are not.  The Madison coaches are quality men and quality coaches, and while I have heard unfounded complaints from parents in the past, I had no doubt that they would do right by their players.   You have to know that the "dad" in them wants their sons out there, but they are doing what is best for their team anyway.  I hope the parents and others involved with the program recognize and give credit to the Madison coaches for playing it the right way.    

They do have one coach's kid playing--would love to hear someone complain about him!  

Patriot scratched out 3 runs against Kyle Whitten and Osbourn Park to force extra innings, then scored 3 in the 10th for the 6-3 win.  Chantilly whacked Robinson 12-4 with freshman catcher Shane Dux 3/3  with 2x2b and a 3B for 3rbi.  Westfield escaped Herndon 1-0.  Westfield only had 3 hits off AC  Boynton, but 2 came in the decisive 3rd inning.  Herndon had 6 hits, including 4 doubles, but ran out of some innings and could not score all night.   South County showed up and Klioze/Buzbee shut Lake Braddock out 3-0.   Madison kept rolling with Nielsen CG in 5-1 win over Mclean.  Madison executed small ball to tack on 2 runs, and played a good deal of depth players.    West Springfield beat Woodson 2-0.  Hayfield 4-2 over South Lakes.  Freshman pitcher Gleason for Hayfield had plus stuff in CG win, hopefully the rest of his game will mature.  Dickinson dropped a bomb.  Fairfax 6-2 over Yorktown with Fairfax's top 4 batters collecting 8 hits.  Langley 5-4 over Yorktown, Timmy Conforti HR.   Battlefield jumped to a 9-1 lead, but a game Osbourn team fought back to make it 11-10 after 5....Battlefield held on to win 13-10 with Agnos getting the save.  Oakton snuffed out Centreville 7-1, with Lamon/Good combining for a 2 hitter.       

Rough Diamond posted:
Rough Diamond posted:

Chantilly at Oakton on Friday.

Good game as Chantilly kept it 1-0 until Oakton broke out in the bottom 6th to win 5-1. Oakton has a very balanced team.

Really haven't found themselves yet. Lost today vs. Woodson, although they scored the tying run in the top of the 7th and had multiple opportunities to make hay thereafter. They'll be tested against WHS and Herndon.

This district is always something, and with Madison joining next year it may turn out to the most competitive in the Commonwealth.

joemktg posted:
Rough Diamond posted:
Rough Diamond posted:

Chantilly at Oakton on Friday.

Good game as Chantilly kept it 1-0 until Oakton broke out in the bottom 6th to win 5-1. Oakton has a very balanced team.

Really haven't found themselves yet. Lost today vs. Woodson, although they scored the tying run in the top of the 7th and had multiple opportunities to make hay thereafter. They'll be tested against WHS and Herndon.

This district is always something, and with Madison joining next year it may turn out to the most competitive in the Commonwealth.

Indeed, Madison will shakeup the conference and force the others to pick up the pace to keep up with them. Right now, Oakton, Westfield and Robinson are in position to compete. Chantilly has the right personnel for pitching and defense but need the bats to catchup before we can make a run.

Allinfun posted:
joemktg posted:

Madison is who we thought they were.

I am a big fan of Madison, and they are very, very deep offensively, I am still not a buyer as far as a tournament run in June due to pitching depth and catcher play.  They are very good, but beatable.  Ha, even if  only by Fairfax thus far.  

I'm not sure you can question their pitching depth after they just won 5 games in 4 days against very good competition. Their catcher seems perfectly capable although I have only caught a couple of their games thus far. Like you said on any given day any team can be beaten...

I'd be happy to be wrong, and I might be.  (They have 4 shutouts and 3 games where they gave up just 1 run, so something is right on the hill)  Nielsen (.52 ERA) holding Wando to 1 run on 4 hits is impressive, Kopka is good (.71 ERA) and very dependable, and having Novak available if needed is a bonus not many have.   Freck can be good on the bump too, and he hasn't even thrown, and Howat and Hecht have done well in their roles....maybe that counts as depth?!  Catchers went 2/10 for the tournament, and are adequate defensively, I just think they are a weak link on a very good team.  They do get help from their pitching staff as they are excellent at holding runners.  We will see in June.

***What is the deal with Madison and PBR?  PBR doesn't even have them in "others receiving votes" category in their top 10.  PBR loses some credibility there. ***   

joemktg posted:
Batty67 posted:

Madison always seems to be deep in talent and always seems to be very good. That's testament to the coaching and culture--long-term success breeds longer-term success. But I do I suspect their demographics help a LOT too (particularly fundraising)...

Same demos as Oakton.

Without really knowing the guy well I feel that Coach Pudge seems to know how to leverage every opportunity at his disposal ... it gives his teams an edge over most other programs, even those that share or even surpass the demographics at his school.

Last edited by Rough Diamond
joemktg posted:
Batty67 posted:

Madison always seems to be deep in talent and always seems to be very good. That's testament to the coaching and culture--long-term success breeds longer-term success. But I do I suspect their demographics help a LOT too (particularly fundraising)...

Same demos as Oakton.

Okay. Oakton usually has a good or better program too.

I'd love to be seeing more of Oakton....they seem like they are coming together.  3 quality pitchers (at least), Lingbach is hitting, others are stepping up, they all seem to be buying in.  That team is one to watch.....I said at the beginning of the year they could implode or be special--they look like they are taking the special route.  

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