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Route was definitely on. Daniel Byrd pitched a terrific game and the Cosby bats woke up. Cosby #4 Pitcher was dominating while Cosby had their way with the 4, 5, 6 pitchers of James River. I had expected a possible high scoring game but D. Byrd shut JR down. The score could have been much worse if not for some base running blunders by Cosby.
Sorry, couldn't get there last night.

Midlo Son was coming back from school and we were having "family time".

If you can call unpacking his car "family time"!

Sounds like I didn't miss much worth seeing. Not exactly a nail biter.

Though I'm very happy to see Cardinals alum Daniel Byrd get his opportunity and make the very most of it!
Here's my article on the game (with highlights) over at VirginiaPreps.com. It's subscriber content, though.

Titans romp to Central Region title!

For any of you who want to follow my Twitter updates of games I cover, my Twitter handle is CRTomGarrett. I'm sure I'll be covering Cosby Tuesday afternoon, and, depending on how the QF go, I'll likely be providing updates for the relevant games of the remainder of the state tournament as well. Thanks.
Last edited by Central Region Tom
What a boring game last night, that was sad for a Regional final. One team showed up and the other one should have stayed home. $7.00 for that venue, no seats and bugs galore, hadn't been for the awards, I wouldn't have wasted my time. All the hype about J.R and they played like that. They had an easy trip to the finals. If not mistaken, Cosby went through Boyle and Gunn, both POY and the young kids seemed to pull it out for Cosby. That team is young with the exception of Byrd, Carpenter, Lowry, ss and 2nd baseman. Byrd threw an exceptional game but JR seemed flat and Carpenter threw in every game. I read in the Midlo exchange that he is going to VCU? Is that true and the fans told me he has only lost 1 game in 2 years? Why is he never mentioned anyway if that is true? That is remarkable in high school baseball. Is Byrd going anywhere to play?
Welcome aboard, CloverHillFan!

I have read that Carpenter is going to VCU and Byrd is going to Randolph-Macon College.

And yes, I agree it was a boring game last night. It was just as boring two weeks ago when the tide was reversed but the score was the same 11-1 with the damage done in 5 innings. I would much rather see a close game, but it looks like JR is saving their arms for next week.

I didn't have any bugs in my crowded bleacher seat, tho.
Last edited by keewart
JR must have been saving their bats too, huh??? Both teams were saving their arms for next week. Cosby really should have won that by 4 or 5 more runs. Baserunning blunders kept it from being a lot worse. Both games had one team that didn't really show up. Both were bad. But the Cosby fans didn't think it was boring at all and would have paid $10 ea. to get in.


quote:
Originally posted by keewart:
Welcome aboard, CloverHillFan!

I have read that Carpenter is going to VCU and Byrd is going to Randolph-Macon College.

And yes, I agree it was a boring game last night. It was just as boring two weeks ago when the tide was reversed but the score was the same 11-1 with the damage done in 5 innings. I would much rather see a close game, but it looks like JR is saving their arms for next week.

I didn't have any bugs in my crowded bleacher seat, tho.
Last edited by Montyrules
Thanks Monty, wow so they do have kids going on to play in college, there hasn't been much written about there student athlete's going on to college to play. Your probably right, the Cosby fans would have paid 10 to watch that game, but in my opinion it taints the finals by a game of that nature.
I do want to know if the 1 loss in two years is true regarding Carpenter though, that is outstanding if true.
quote:
Local8SS said.....Of course it's only one persons opinion but Cosby steals third base up 10 nothing in a regional final with no mercy rule? I think that shows how much respect (or lack of respect)Cosby (and Lowry) has for James River. Sorry but I think that is pretty classless.


...And I'm going to be of the other opinion. It is a regional final with hosting the first round of State's on the line. I'm stealing third if asked to, or given the green light. By stealing third, you are showing respect. Does anyone remember LC Bird coming back (down 8 or so) against #1 seed Manchester a few years ago in the district tourney semi-finals? THAT is why you never let up on the gas in the playoffs.

quote:
golfball said.....I don't understand this. Doesn't the regional title or hosting the first round of the state tournament mean anything?


I think it means something, but it may have been a depth of pitching or quantity of pitching decision. It appears Cosby has more arms based on the results of this game. We'll see how far Cosby & JR can go with their arms this week.
Last edited by fenwaysouth
I don't think I have said it on this board (but I did say it yesterday), if Cosby plays like they did Thursday, and JR plays like they did Thursday, Cosby could very well be the last one standing on Saturday. They are a fatastic team and coached well. I enjoy watching them play and will be following the tweets on Tuesday!

CloverHillFan, you may find this link interesting. It lists all (most) of the Virginia committments:

http://virginiapreps.rivals.co...?SID=914&CID=1196258

And to give credit to the JR guys:

Kirby = Virginia
Carrico = Virginia
Sheetz = Virginia Tech
Caples (junior) = Virginia Tech
Lawless = Longwood
Trentham = Randolph-Macon
Roberts (junior)= likely will commit this summer
Rose = attending VMI, invited to play in the fall

And I would not be surprised if Bushby gets snapped up somewhere.
Last edited by keewart
local8sss....based on the track record i think you would have a hard time getting support for your comment about Coach Lowery and Cosby.
Those types od comments should be saved for the "Cheerleading" discussion board where women call each other outy for cheering too much when t hey win.....at a cheerleading competition?
Here we have someone questioning a coach and a whole baseball team for trying to score runs...in a baseball game where the goal is to....score runs?
quote:
Originally posted by CloverHillFan:
Thanks Monty, wow so they do have kids going on to play in college, there hasn't been much written about there student athlete's going on to college to play. Your probably right, the Cosby fans would have paid 10 to watch that game, but in my opinion it taints the finals by a game of that nature.
I do want to know if the 1 loss in two years is true regarding Carpenter though, that is outstanding if true.


Carpenter is a big time closer. He is fearless and brings a ton of emotion with him to the mound. Actually, I believe he only has 3 L's since 2009 but I could be wrong. At any rate, his record is impressive.

And Fenway, I agree with you about the aggressiveness of Cosby, even when up by ten. You absolutely do not give a team like JR a spark because of you do, I guarantee they start a fire.

I would 100% expect JR to do the same against Cosby if the roles were reversed and I don't think anyone at Cosby would take it poorly. They may not enjoy it but they would expect it. It's a heck of a rivalry where strange things tend to happen when they play.
Last edited by 1baseballdad
Not sure about Carpenter only losing 1 in 2 years. I believe he lost the first James River game this year. But keep in mind that he is primarily a closer and Cosby has only lost maybe 10 games in 2 years. Also, re: kids playing after HS. I wouldn't be surprised if Jr starters Nicely and Caldwell end up playing in College. And of course the Super Soph's (Williams, McKay, Hall and Fitzgerald) all may be Div. 1 quality. Fitzgerald may play football but with his speed he could play D1 baseball.



quote:
Originally posted by CloverHillFan:
Thanks Monty, wow so they do have kids going on to play in college, there hasn't been much written about there student athlete's going on to college to play. Your probably right, the Cosby fans would have paid 10 to watch that game, but in my opinion it taints the finals by a game of that nature.
I do want to know if the 1 loss in two years is true regarding Carpenter though, that is outstanding if true.
"Fitzgerald may play football but with his speed he could play D1 baseball."

Fitzgerald will be an underclassman on the Va. Cardinals as soon as Cosby's season is done. Going that route is an indication that he sees his future in baseball, not football.

We haven't had a player fail to move on to college yet. Fitzgerald will not be our first to fall short.

He not only has stellar speed, he has "baseball speed". He doesn't hesitate, he is aggressive and gets outstanding jumps. A nice successor to Colton Konvicka (VISAA Div. I POY) for us. Fitzy has also shown he can hit, well enough to take over the leadoff role for a state tournament team. He has some power, too, as he showed at RMC last week.

As for Cosby, frankly I don't know if they have any starters who could not play collegiately at some level, if that is where their heart lies. The Williams kid is destined to be one of the state's prized recruits for somebody.
Good points Midlo Dad.


quote:
Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
"Fitzgerald may play football but with his speed he could play D1 baseball."

Fitzgerald will be an underclassman on the Va. Cardinals as soon as Cosby's season is done. Going that route is an indication that he sees his future in baseball, not football.

We haven't had a player fail to move on to college yet. Fitzgerald will not be our first to fall short.

He not only has stellar speed, he has "baseball speed". He doesn't hesitate, he is aggressive and gets outstanding jumps. A nice successor to Colton Konvicka (VISAA Div. I POY) for us. Fitzy has also shown he can hit, well enough to take over the leadoff role for a state tournament team. He has some power, too, as he showed at RMC last week.

As for Cosby, frankly I don't know if they have any starters who could not play collegiately at some level, if that is where their heart lies. The Williams kid is destined to be one of the state's prized recruits for somebody.
Probably the most lights-out year for a closer that I can recall was Chris Briere for James River in 2007. Briere went on to be a starting pitcher and eventually a 2-way player at Longwood, where he was a finalist for the 2011 Olerud Award (top collegiate 2-way players).

Using Carpenter as a closer allows Cosby to use him in almost every game (when you play typically only twice a week). Both sophomore lefty Hunter Williams and junior righty Ryan Bickford did great jobs of getting through 5 +/- innings regularly to set things up for him, basically shortening games. As it turns out, Cosby goes even deeper in pitching, as Daniel Byrd proved Thursday other night.
Carpenter closed seveal games for Cosby in 2011... certainly they have the luxury of alot of good arms but what really brought him into that roll is he has the perfect maake up for it. He is a confident competitor that loves and excels as a closer. Only blown save I have seen for him was the 5-4 loss to JR in first meeting of this season. The kid is a bulldog in the last two innings of a game.

I said it on here before ....Cosby has a pipeline of kids that will result in their dominance of the District and even Region for the next few years.
If you wear their uniform and pitch you gotta be top notch or get in line.
for a high school team to put a quality arm on the mound like D Byrd that deep in a tournament is pretty impressive.
What amazes me is their outfield depth. They have had 2 front line OF's (Sink and Walsh) go down with injuries and they still run 3 guys out there who have all produced. Fitzgerald is the best speed player in the Central Region (though I intentionally exclude private schools from this in order to avoid having to compare him to Konvicka at Benedictine). A.J. Nicely has had a string of multi-hit games to help them win. K.C. Caldwell had a 3-run HR that broke open the regional final.

All that still leaves a senior CNU commit (Light) available when needed.

I'd hate to be a JV outfielder at Cosby. Still no room at the inn in 2013.
Last edited by Midlo Dad
Wow, thanks everyone for the information. If there outfield is that strong, they should be good for years to come. Clover Hill should have begged Lowery to stay there.
If Carpenter only has 3 losses since 2009, then why isn't more emphasis been on him and his accomplishments? He didn't even receive a regional award and pitched in all three games with a win and a save. Daniel Byrd hasn't started all year has he? Sounds like he should have been in the rotation. JMT
quote:
Originally posted by Midlo Dad:


All that still leaves a senior CNU commit (Light) available when needed.


How is a kid who is good enough to go play for a top ranked D3 team not considered a top 6 OF for his HS team?

Let's just say it does Brandon Light a huge disservice to say "he is available when needed"

I hope no HS kid ever has to deal with what he has had to put up with this year.
Thats great that he's playing for the Cardinals. If he gets D1 full ride offers for Football that will be an interesting decision. I look forward to seeing him play the next couple of years.



quote:
Originally posted by Montyrules:
Good points Midlo Dad.


quote:
Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
"Fitzgerald may play football but with his speed he could play D1 baseball."

Fitzgerald will be an underclassman on the Va. Cardinals as soon as Cosby's season is done. Going that route is an indication that he sees his future in baseball, not football.

We haven't had a player fail to move on to college yet. Fitzgerald will not be our first to fall short.

He not only has stellar speed, he has "baseball speed". He doesn't hesitate, he is aggressive and gets outstanding jumps. A nice successor to Colton Konvicka (VISAA Div. I POY) for us. Fitzy has also shown he can hit, well enough to take over the leadoff role for a state tournament team. He has some power, too, as he showed at RMC last week.

As for Cosby, frankly I don't know if they have any starters who could not play collegiately at some level, if that is where their heart lies. The Williams kid is destined to be one of the state's prized recruits for somebody.
1baseballdad. The kid you mention is a good hardworking kid.
For some coaches their challenge is fielding enough quaility guys to be competitive.
At schools like Cosby when you have 2 or 3 strong players to pick from at every position it creates another difficult situation for all involved.
SInk,Nicely,Light,Fitzgerald,Walsh,Caldwell, and hopefully not leaving any out...are all quality HS ballplayers...Same is true of Byrd as a pitcher..on the pitching side you could throw in a couple of others...Flanaghan,Day,Gohlke. The coaches job is based on information he gleans from being at the school and practice every day to determine what the best mix of players is. Alot of this information is info we are not privy to.

It is very hard to argue at this point that the coach at Cosby has made the wrong decisions..they are Regional Champs and about to play in the State Tournament on their home field tomorrow.

As said before this is a program that is loaded with talented kids, supportive families, and good coaches...a great combination evidenced by success.

I can remember when my own son entered that program as an 8th grader. That was the year Ronnie Shaban, Jake Lowery, and company were the best team in the state. I thought "wow" will there ever be a spot for a kid to break into that program!

I was at a Richmond Braves event and the Braves guy representing their program said "if you arent starting as a freshman at your school you probably arent going to be a D-1 players" - My son, who fancied himself as a catcher and was a Freshman- gave me a funny look - The player playing the spot he was interested in was a Sr who would go on a few years later to win the Johnny Bench Award and get drafted by the Indians - We had a conversation on the way home that put things in perspective - get to work!

WOuld have been easy to pull strings and go where the competition was not so great. If I remember correctly first year he tried out there were over 100 kids who showed up.
Knowing Clover Hill, Monacan, Midlothian, and other were just looking for a solid 9 made me wonder if we should make a leap.
I will never be convinced of anything other than not just for baseball but many other reasons it made sense to stay right where we were.
The thing that happend was my son was pushed to his limit... not just on the baseball field but as a person and in the classroom.
The story had a happy ending.
When you are standing on the baseball field talking to the coach there he is quick to point out or say..."its not just what goes on on the field but it's what happens in that building, pointing to the school, that matter most.
I was with a Cosby amlumni yesterday who had just completed a year of college baseball. He said the other kids complained about how tough and demanding the coach there was...he told me he thought it was no where near as demanding as playng at his old high school.
To me that's quite a compliment to that program.

People, none of us, get things right 100% of the time but I can tell you 100% perecnt of the time a coach in the situation Cosby's in tries to be fair 100% of the time and do his job which is to develop boys into men and win some baseball championships in the process.
I can honestly tell you none of the decisions made are taken lightly or designed to do harm. They are the kinds of chocies that keep coaches awake at night.

I promise you the young man who "is good enough to play at a D-3 school" will go there and be successful on the field and in the classroom - because, regardless of his day to day role, he will be preparred to succeed in life - which is the ultimate goal- Then one day in 5 years or so he will go find that coach and say "thanks"
There was an article in the paper the other day about some thinking on the Chesterfield School Board about perhaps building smaller schools in the future. I don't know how far along that is or whether it would extend to the high schools. From the standpoint of managing expenses, larger high schools are more cost-effective.

But what you get in areas like up in NoVa where despite the dense population they lean towards AA-sized schools in many areas, is the opportunities on sports teams open up more. It's a darned shame that players who should be varsity starters some times don't even make their teams, much less play. And while it's fun to watch your school team become a powerhouse, when every player on the field is a collegiate caliber guy, and when you even have some collegiate caliber guys not getting to play much, I think that's unfortunate.

I played at Midlothian HS until 1978 and I was the only guy on my team who played collegiately at any level, to my knowledge. We were middle-of-the-pack in the old Central District standings as I recall. Flash forward to today and it seems like most of the teams in the Dominion could at least hang with my college team and some of them would probably have waxed us.

Meanwhile, just 20-30 minutes down the road, there are stud players at A and AA level schools to be sure, but there are always openings for the guy for whom HS baseball is going to be the highlight of his playing years. I do think about that from time to time and it's kind of sad really. I think we're all missing out on something. But for the individual kids affected, it is much more frustrating, even heartbreaking, to have something that is supposed to be fun turn to pain.
Last edited by Midlo Dad
I think we in the Central Region have two forces working at cross-purposes. First, there's a lot of talk about how our schools can't compete with some of the NR and ER powers because we only have a handful of schools that are over, say, 1750 students. Meanwhile, half or more of the schools up north clear 2,000.

However, you're right about opportunities. Were it not for the fact that folks were talking about enrollment and football and fairness, I think the conversation would be more focused on keeping high schools in this area between 1,000 and 1,500 students, which is how it used to be for most of the 80's and 90's.

In 1987, Lee-Davis and Monacan were the biggest schools in the region, with official (ADR) enrollment of 1,572 each. The next-biggest was Midlothian at 1,368. The largest D-5 school was Mills Godwin at 1,054. This was also at a time when the Central Region had 27 schools. We have 34 now (33 in football), but the total enrollment at these schools has skyrocketed - except for the city schools, which have lagged behind.

I had hoped that the massive realignment that's about to take place would remedy some of these issues. However, the system has gotten increasingly convoluted, largely as a result of the focus being put on determining a state playoff bracket, which is a priority that should be down the list a ways, not at the top.
As I recall there were about 450 in my graduating class. (Though not all of them made it to the finish line!). That would project to 1,800 in grades 9-12 at the time, though back in those days the 9th graders were at the middle school, and no effort was made to involve them in HS activities at all. Contrast that to today, when Chesterfield County's 8th graders can try out for HS JV squads.
Whne Cosby was built there were a couple of proposals on the table.
One would have turned Clover Hill into a Middle School (at the time Swift Creek Middle was at 150% of capacity) and build one "Mega School" that would serve kids who are now at Cosby and Clover Hill.

This was at a time in the mid "2000's" when real estate development was in full swing with no let down in sight.

Magnolia Green just west of where Cosby is now located was approved to build another 2,000 or so home with an ultimate goal of 5,000 which would put it at the size of Brandermill. (Woodlake is 2,200).

Imagine if tat developer had been able to keep moving and those homes were built by now!

We now have a 6 year old Cosby High School running over capacity and threats for changing the boundaries which is met with much public outcry.

Student population and athletic success go hand in hand. No central Region team had won a AAA State Football Championship since 1979...lots of factors came into play resulting in success but it can't be ignored that a then 2500 + student Thomas Dale was the one to break the long dry spell.

The cost of new school construction is becoming prohibitive.

I wonder if the solution will become "distance learning" opportunities where more kids learn online outside of classrooms? The only thing I see that could slow that down would be the potential for cutbacks in the education community that could result in much resistance of such an option.

As Cosby's s****r coach said in an RTD article by Paul Woody - success in HS sports come in cycles -
WIth the economy being what it is the population is kind of stagnated - not a lot of new development going on and not as much need for new schools...growth and expansion for the time is flat.

I do not know what the right size school is but I do think it is unfortunate athletic talent can get so concentrated at one or two schools meaning success but less opportunities for fewer kids to enjoy a high school sports career, a place in the band, or a role in a play.
I think all would agree any high school student will have a higher success rate if involved in some positive after school activities.
To use Cosby as an example I would wager you could take all the baseball players at the school and field 2 maybe even 3 teams that could have a .500 season while at neighboring Clover Hill they cant even field 1 .500 team.
Although...it is a county rule that if you attend an overcrowded school you can go to any school you want as long as you provide transportation......

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