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Concorde District Assessment?

S Spartan81100+ posts
Here's my assessment of this tough district --

Oakton is the team to beat with strong returning core of players plus addition of Brett Williams, who moved from Lake Braddock. They are strong up the middle defensively and offensively with Werman - C, Rodriquez - SS, Madden - 2B and Padula (WVU commit) (CF). Their key pitchers are Cantrell, Wagers, and Williams, all who got some experience last year, but will now be counted on to be the pitching core. Given the way last year's state title game ended (with a controversial call ending the game), Scott Rowland will probably have this team playing with a chip on its shoulder all year.

Robinson and Westfield are chasing. Robinson is led by pitcher AJ Johnson (GWU)and has 1B Danny Diana as key returning player. Bill Evers has a quality team every year.

Westfield has junior Snyder twins (Matt and Mike) leading the offensive attack and solid returner in CF in Wever. Their big questions are pitching and catching. They have a lot of players from their bench and JV to potentially fill the large holes left by last year's seniors Arduini, Bour, Elliott, and McMahon.

Chantilly is going to move up and to challenge the top 3 in the district with the big question their hitting. They have 3 strong junior pitchers in Somers, Yates, and Langford all with varsity experience.

Centreville is probably the fifth place team. They have new coaching in Morgan Spencer, moving from Madison, who will bring new excitement and better preparation. The team is led by Harsani, Bozek, and others.

Herndon and Fairfax probably lost the most to graduation and will battle from the back of the pack. I'm less familiar with these teams, but I know Herndon has big lefthander in Mike Hitti as a primary pitcher.
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S Spartan81100+ posts
Thanks for the update. I've heard of Ryan but don't think I've seen him play yet. I'll see Centreville in a few weeks.

Just a caution, don't get overly excited about beating Falls Church. They are not very good, and I'm sure you know that Concorde is a tough district. You still got to win the game, which you did. Hitting the homeruns is not easy, no matter who you are facing.

I've dealt with the Madison coaches previously. They are top notch and Spencer is excellent. Is Joe Carter also assisting?
S Spartan81100+ posts
Sorry, no West Springfield connection.

Centreville will challenge, no doubt. Spencer/Carter are good and there is a solid base of players. With improved coaching and commitment to building the program, maybe Centreville can compete to keep more of their homegrown talent at home, instead of heading to PVI.

Regardless, Centreville is on the rise
W Wagoneer10+ posts
I agree with your Oakton assessment, plus most of their core are juniors, which bodes well even for next year.

Robinson will be tough with Johnson and Medina, two solid pitchers and Diana at 1B. They also have a quality catcher in senior McCloud.

Chantilly will be very competitive with their pitchers.

Don't count Fairfax out of the picture. They have a lot returning seniors and will surprise some teams.

Centreville has the new Madison coaches, but don't get your hopes up. Barefoot is good, but only one guy.

Westfield is going to struggle. The Snyders are extremely overrated and one is hurt. The Westfield defense is also very weak. Young team, a lot of work ahead.

Herndon will be at the bottom of the standings the entire year. Not much left on the shelf.

Spartan81 -- Michigan State, 81 grad?
S Spartan81100+ posts
Close, but actually Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland OH), class of 81.

We'll see about the Snyders. They clearly aren't in their brother's class yet (very few are), but they have talent. Injuries are one thing, but they won't have D-1 players this year such as Bour and Arduini to help protect them in the linuep. This is the year for them to step up. Also, what some people don't know about the twins is that they are very young with a July birthday. They are really sophomores, age wise, compared to most of the peer '08 players they are most compared with.

Chantilly pitching is very good and will provide solid foundation for the next two years. They've got athleticism, a good mix of seniors/juniors, and will grow offensively and defensively as the year progresses.
S Spartan81100+ posts
Saw the Chantilly Centreville game last night. Ryan Barefoot did impress with a couple of well hit balls against some good pitching. The bermuda turf at Centreville looks good and will get better. I saw a few crazy hops with the all bermuda infield. One thing I don't like about this field are the lights. They are too low and balls hit above them are hard to see.

Regardless, I was impressed with Centreville's spirit and fight, even though the errors they made in the 7th were tough luck plays. In 90+% of the cases, a popped up bunt is caught and often ends in a double play, not a collision between the pitcher and catcher. The line drive snag by the first baseman almost led to a double play, but the throw was wide and into left field, which allowed the tying run to score.

For a team that finished last in the Concorde last year, Chantilly has a new found confidence that's the product of good pitching, good athletes, and good coaching. They could have easily folded after they lost the lead in the 6th inning but they rallied back and forced Centreville to make some plays. There's probably some spin off from the success that they've had this year in other sports. They've got a long way to go, but Chantilly is off to a good start.

This neighborhood rivalry game had the tension of a playoff game and it was only the 2nd district game of the year. Lots of good baseball ahead.

As for Robinson, their loss last night to Westfield shows that this district is very tough, game in, game out. No one should be taken lightly as there are a lot of good hitters in the district, and especially with the small ballparks at several schools, the tying or winning run is going to be at the plate in the late innings.
S Spartan81100+ posts
Spring Break trips are now over and this week is a run up to big games next week that will complete round one for all teams.

Chantilly plays Robinson, Oakton, and Westfield in a 5 day span. We'll see how good this team really is after this week.

Robinson, in addition to Chantilly, plays rematch with Oakton.

Oakton, in addition to Robinson and Chantilly, plays Fairfax. Oakton looks like they are rolling in all phases of the game. When do they get Padula back?

These key games will be key in positioning for 2nd half and playoffs to follow.

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