Probably the most interesting development in all of this has been the return of Jack Roberts to pitching for JR. He threw 2 shutout innings in his debut last week, then 4 shutout innings this past Tuesday. If he can go 5-6 quality innings next week, it improves JR's chances of advancing to states immeasurably.
I'm actually wondering whether he or Kirby will get the ball against Hermitage on Monday. It has to be tempting to think about holding back Kirby for Wednesday's game. You never want to get caught with your pants down, underestimating an opponent like Hermitage in an elimination game. But I don't think using Roberts would qualify as taking anyone lightly, since he seems to be in fine form right now. I would also think Kirby could come on if needed in a tight game Monday, maybe be held out to close, and still be good to go on Wednesday, which is the game that gets you to states. And that game figures to be against Hanover, which has enough pitching depth of its own to assure that it will have a quality arm on the hill in that one.