AAA State Semi-Final Matchups

Weather forecast not favorable for Thursday into Friday, but clears up on Saturday. Any guesses as to the schedule should they not be able to get the games in on Friday?

Does anyone know if VHSL will video broadcast the games over Al Gore's internet?

It was video broadcasted last year, but we didn't know that until we got to Westfield HS.  I remember scrambling back to the car to get it set up and pay for it so my inlaws could watch.

I just checked the VHSL website and it isn't listed there.  Maybe someone going will post back the link?

Do you remember if that webcast was linked off the VHSL site, or some other provider?

Years ago an outfit called GameDayMagazine.com or GameDayRadio.com or something like that did a webcast of play-by-play audio.  They were based in NoVa at that time, but I'm not sure if they still exist, though.

Found it!

http://www.playonsports.com/ch...aseball/events/61380

Very much so: mvp.gamedaymagazine.com. They do a very good job with the Northern Region HS broadcasts. Not sure what the status is for the semis. Also FB: http://www.facebook.com/gamedaybroadcast

Who threw for LB?

According to WaPo, Thomas Rogers pitched into the 6th, and Nick McIntyre finished up.

"In his longest outing of the season, 91 pitches worth, Rogers struck out seven and walked two."

Wonder it Rogers' HS career on the bump is now complete. That's a fair number of pitches from a post-TJ player to come back on Friday or Saturday.

Lake Braddock and Great Bridge are the last two champs.  2 Years ago GB eliminated LB in extras at home in the quarters and finished by closing out South County.  Last year LB finished against Kellam who had ko'd GB in the regionals.  This one should be good.

Oakton's run as been a bit improbable: the team is undersized, their #1 HR hitter has around 5 (and only two others on the squad have a dinger or two), and their pitchers are around 85-86 topping out at 87-88. They compensate for this with excellent defense, smart pitching, their speed (very fast), they move runners around the bases, they minimize mistakes, and they have six seniors starting in the field (C,1B, 2B, SS, RF, CF).

Very little room for error. But if they play their game, then that semi will be competitive and entertaining for the audience.

With respect to dominant arms like Casey and Jones, it's going to be interesting to see how they are used this weekend.

Having thrown 7 innings each on Tuesday, they are eligible for 2 innings on Friday, or 3 if they are held out until Saturday -- assuming their teams make it to Saturday.

But what I don't see in the VHSL rule is anything addressing what happens if they pitch just 1 inning on Friday.  That would avoid triggering an additional rest period, so they should still be eligible on Saturday.  But as they would only have had 2 calendar days of rest by Saturday, I should think they would be eligible for only 2 innings on Saturday, not 3.

So you could see the two of them used as closers for both games.  Both had manageable pitch counts, so they could both be healthy enough to do it.

But the bottom line is, you can't win the championship game Saturday unless you're in the championship game Saturday.  If that means you bring those guys in for the max 2 innings on Friday because you have to do that to win, then that's what it means.  You could easily lose Friday trying to save them for the additional inning on Saturday.

Hanover's secondary arms' implosion in the regionals last week has to be in the backs of their minds going into Friday.  For them to advance, Denton will have to have his best day and go deep in the game. 

Great Bridge, on the other hand, has Harrelson and Barcliff fully available, plus Jones for up to 2 on Friday if needed.  Though I would think Barcliff would be limited to 1 inning on Friday, otherwise I have no idea who they would go to on Saturday.  Harrelson is capable of going all 7, though, and if he does, then 4 innings out of Barcliff on Saturday would get the game into Jones' hands for the finish, and that would be about as good a setup as the new rules would permit anyone.

Any way you cut it, though, someone's going to have to score a lot of runs to make it through.  GB's bats weren't all that impressive yesterday.  They'll need a lot more offense to get it done.

I was just thinking the same thing.  I remember back in the dark ages (1980s) when a guy who threw a (legit) 87 might be the hardest thrower in the region.

I said at the beginning of the year to reach this part of the season you would have to be playing better ball in May than March.  Lake Braddock was my choice for winning the NR as they had a number of players out who are mostly back now.  Oakton has gotten better, Janis has done a real good job of managing the players and the coaches.  I like Roland at third.  They are set up well in that they have all their pitching available.  I would put their pitching at 83, 80 and 75 for the three who threw Tuesday.  Nice mix of right, left and soft.  Last time Oakton was in the semis there stud pitcher threw top 85.  They won the semi game with a good outing from a 74 mph spotter.  No doubt Grosser hit 92 the other night and I would think that is why he is in the top 200 pick draft. 

To MidloDad's point above: My understanding is that you are correct - Derek Casey, for example, could pitch an inning on Friday and still pitch up to three on Saturday.  In other words, no additional rules are triggered if he only pitches one on Friday.

However, this rule is new, and there are things about it that may not be entirely clear until they actually happen.  I've caught myself a couple of times this year not getting the rule right.

I was reading this morning on the VHSL site (for the AAA tournament) that there was a 10 inning limit for the tournament week.  It did not state rest periods at all.   Right now, the hyper-link is down, so I guess maybe there are editing for more clarification?  One would hope.

If so, that's a new one on me.  The rules say 14-inning max in any 7-day period (with the additional rest requirements, which is why someone like Casey or Connor Jones would effectively be limited to pitching 11 innings).  The rules also say they apply in regular season and post-season.

To "show our work" in terms of what Midlo Dad and I are saying:

1. Player A pitches 7 innings on Tuesday.

2. Player A may not pitch for two calendar days.

3. Player A, after two calendar days, may pitch up to 2 innings.

4. However, if he pitches 2 innings, per another rule, he can't pitch the next day.

5. A pitcher IS allowed to pitch the day after he pitches 1 inning, up to four days in a row (the latter portion of which obviously would be moot here).

5. Therefore, Player A should be able to pitch 1 inning on Friday and then pitch again on Saturday.  But what isn't clear is whether he can pitch three innings (which he is only supposed to be able to do after three rest days).  Since the day he pitches 1 inning is a rest day, it's not clear whether he can throw 3 on Saturday, even though he would be under the 14-inning limit.

My guess is that this is a scenario that the VHSL didn't contemplate.  And now they'll do something ad hoc.

Speaking of which - enjoy the realignment next year, everyone!

Thanks.  I stand corrected (plus, I misread 10 innings in "2 consecutive days").  

What I was reading was the Event Guide for the Baseball and Softball state tournament  'Jubilee' listed on the VHSL website, where pitching regulations are listed for the event.  (I was trying to find the webcast link earlier today and found the Event Guide).  Unfortunately, VHSL probably just reposted the link from the prior year and didn't update the 11/2011 version with the new rules.

Glad it states that "The rules also say they apply in regular season and post-season" if someone weird like me should go looking in the now-outdated Event Guide.

Geez.  There is a second link with a 8-2011 version of the Event Guide on the Baseball page at VHSL.org. 

Quad,

After reading previous comments, I think the main thing he was trying to get across is that having a few arms who all sit mid-high 80s is not necessarily a recipe for disaster when competing this deep in the season.

A previous poster had suggested that Oakton's run was "improbable" due to...

Otherwise, it is interesting to see the elevation of velocities.  There is no doubt that there are more kids that consistently throw a couple MPH harder than when I was in high school. 

Weather not looking good for late Thursday into all day/night Friday with Andrea heading up towards/past the area. See the latest report.

If you're coming up and stuck in a hotel Friday needing some recommendations on how to pass the time, PM me and I'll do what I can to provide some guidance.

Not a big fan of the Westfield field, as I think it is too small in dimensions and distance behind the plate.  BUT it does have a tarp, and drains well.  Like you said Joe, the weather looks like steady rain until at least Saturday.  Perhaps they play two and a Championship on Saturday. 

Heard the tournament has been moved to Saturday/Sunday due to the threat of rain.

Not sure of the times, but I assume the same times.

Don't underestimate the pitchers at Oakton.  They are sneaky and the lefty has a great baseball IQ.  The "slow" one as you all refer to him as has great command of his "junk" pitches and makes many a hitter's knees buckle.  They are all a pleasure to watch.

of course, one shouldn't look past any opponent and assume anything..... but for a moment -

This very likely means that if GB and Hanover can manage to make it through the Semis we are looking at Conner Jones v Derek Casey on "full rest" for the finals on Sunday.  I am quite sure Oakton and LB are interested in putting a wrench in that but as a fan I gotta think that the kind of matchup a Jones V Casey would offer could be epic and once in a generation.

When was the last time 2 legitimate 92-93 mph High Schoolers tangled for a State Championship - both of whom have also shown a knack for being war horses to boot.

Or as a fan you could think that a rematch of the Northern Region championship, where it was back 'n forth until broken open in the 7th, would be enticing.

I'm with you pitchersmom.   From a neutal baseball fan perspective, I'd rather watch a sneaky pitcher carve up a team than watch a power pitcher throw bb's past high school hitters.  The "heaters" get all the "pub" and girls, but watch out for those crafty pitchers.  They'll bite you in the tookus..

Not that it won't happen;  every team who is still standing is there for a reason.  BUT, I think an all-Northern Region final is the most unlikely case.  Matchups are everything at this point in the season, in a single elimination format.  Given that, the Northern Region had the most favorable matchup being paired with the NW in the quarterfinals.  The Eastern and Central regional and state matchups were very difficult, essentially eliminating a couple of the very best teams in the state. (Someone had to lose)

Again, not that an Oakton won't win the whole thing, they very well may.  But Hanover getting through the guantlet that was the Central Region tournament, with the likes of Cosby and James River, then to get by Kellam...I don't know that Oakton is better than what they've already faced, I guess is what I'm saying.

Great Bridge can say similar things having come out of the Southeastern District.  Although, Lake Braddock is certainly one of the top teams in the state.

The extra day of rest for pitchers really changes things.  Not only does it offer the possibility of a huge pitching matchup Sunday, but it also means that if either of Hanover or Great Bridge find themselves in a dogfight on Saturday, they can go to their ace for 1 inning and still have him for Sunday, or they can go up to 3 innings with him if that's what it takes to get to Sunday.

If either of them manages to win Saturday without having to call on their ace, that team would have to be heavily favored on Sunday.  Unless they both do it!

Love to hear from those that have followed VA HS baseball over the years to chime in on this one to post great matchups over the years.

This one goes back a while to 82' I think we used stopwatches and sliderules to convert pitching mph!!!! LOL, but I played on the DSF team vs JR Tucker in Regional Finals, format back then only 1 team from the region went to states. The matchup was Bob Dement DSF (UVA) vs Terry Guzman JRT (mbl draft) both could bring in and had nasty curve balls and other stuff! JRT won 1-0 and then won the State.

If I recall correctly, Ethan Carter, then at Denbigh, and Deck McGuire of Deep Run had a heckuva pitcher's duel in the state quarterfinal, held at CNU, in 2007.  I think Carter threw a one hitter or something but the one hit led to a run and Deep Run beat Denbigh 1-0.  At that time Carter was only a sophomore, so I don't know if he was at 90 at that point but he was close.  McGuire tended to run 89-90 as a senior, though he gained another 5-6 mph after he got to Ga. Tech.

Carter went on to be an Aflac All-American in 2008 and he pitched in relief at the CWS for South Carolina in 2010.  His career hit a rough patch after that I'm afraid.  McGuire, of course, really blossomed at GT and signed with the Blue Jays for something like $2 million as a first rounder out of the 2010 draft.

Thanks for reminding me that we did actually score. The ball Mr. Bratten caught was hit by Bobby Palcovich's who was late for the game because he was playing for the DSF soceer team in their regional game. Not sure that happens much these days!!

Here's the article I wrote on it (relevant part is the second half), back from April 1st: http://virginiapreps.rivals.co...tent.asp?CID=1490283

Tom that is awesome, great article. Those dsf-jrt games were epic battles. most all of us played at tuckahoe and later for 361. In 76 the core of the dsf team took tuckahoe to the LL world series, having to beat the other tuckahoe team to win the district. For 361 there was a trp to the americam legion WS and same year a big leauge team with mostly tucker and freeman playes made it to the refionals. Later on as a coach i thought back on that game and concluded that JRT coach Atkins played a huge role in the game. Both hoy and atkins made lineup chanes that day. Hoy trying to put more R hiters up inour lineup   that featued lettys oscar talley, brian smith, leonard lambet and chris tiller in the 3-6 spots. this was dement's 3rd outing against tucker. He was the dominant pitcher in the district for 2 seasons. Atkins did not pitch lefty Guzman until when it really counted. We saw all their righies up until our lefy dominant middle of the order faced guzman. It pAid off big time. Atkins went on to coach college at ur. Well deserved. Our first 361 practice took place when tucker was playing for the state championship, that was a pretty depressing day, to say the least! Brian smith

So the story ends in 2011. My son played as a soph for cox in VB, they played tucker @ tucker. On the car ride to richmond i told him of the dsf & jrt rivilary, and siad i @$&! Hated tucker and you need to stick it to them. During a tight game my son hit a game tying double to the fence and proceeded to make a few chest pounding motions. Keep in mind this was his first varsity game ever! The next day his coach called me, I was a bit surprised. He said mr smith i dont understand why zack did that, it was "Just" a scrimmage game. I said well coach maybe for you but not for our family!