Dominion District Week of May 5

Cosby came to play and James River didn't. JR committed an abysmal EIGHT infield errors to stake Cosby to a lead, and Cosby piled on 6 late runs after Austin Stadler finally had to leave the hill, as the Titans won convincingly, 12-2. Ronnie Shaban was outstanding, allowing 8 hits but 0 walks while striking out 2. Cosby, in contrast, was very good defensively throughout the game.

I hear that Manchester beat L.C. Bird but do not yet have the details. Since Manchester beat JR in their first matchup, this could drop JR into 3rd place.

Guess Cosby's decision to not play AAA Godwin on Monday while feasting on a single A school for 2 easy wins on Saturday paid off while JR playing against Benedictine on Monday backfired on them.

I don't really think that had anything to do with it. It's not like we spent out pitcher on Monday. We just didn't play defense, and they did, and that took us out of the game.

I think the cancellation may have been because of AP exams this week. I don't think folks should jump to any conclusions about ulterior motives.

The fact is that Cosby is a superior team right now. They pitch, they field, they hit, and they are aggressive in all aspects of the game. They are well coached. There just aren't any big weaknesses and while anything can happen in single elimination, you have to like their chances at the state level this year.

In Manchester's 12-11 win over L.C. Bird, Manchester got big production from Joey Cujas (4-5, 3 RBI), Chris Hardee (2-4, 2-run HR) and Blake Houser 3-4, 2 HR's).

(BTW, I am seeing different spellings of Houser's name floating around, so I'm going to have to check on which one is correct.)

In the day's other game, Monacan stopped a long slide by tying the game with a 3-run 7th and then scoring in the 8th to beat Clover Hill, 8-7. Logan Staid had the big day for the Chiefs, 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBI including the game winning hit in the bottom of the 8th.

In Thursday's games:

Cosby mathematically clinched at least a tie for the regular season title by cruising past L.C. Bird, 10-2. Ronnie Shaban went 4-4 with 2 HR's and 3 RBI, while Ryan Parker's 3-3 day made him 13 for his last 16.

James River righted its ship a bit with a strong defensive and offensive effort to back its # 3 starter in a 13-7 win over Midlothian. James River had 4 HR's, including 2 monster shots from DH Zach Lucas, and one each from Austin Stadler and Jack Cleary.

Manchester needed 8 innings but beat Clover Hill, 9-7, as Blake Houser pitched two scoreless innings in relief to win it.

In addition to Cosby, James River and Manchester have now clinched playoff spots. The fourth and final spot is still in contention between Bird and Clover Hill. Midlothian and Monacan have been eliminated.

The Dominion allows only the top 4 teams to advance to the district tourney.

Cosby has mathematically clinched a tie for first, and will surely win at least one of its last three games to clinch first outright. (They also have tie-breakers on James River and I think on Manchester also, so it may already be official.) Under what I understand is the new regional format, Cosby will play the # 2 team from the Capital in the regional quarterfinal round.

James River and Manchester are tied for 2nd. Manchester beat JR head-to-head in their first meeting, but in all likelihood the tie will be broken by their rematch at JRHS next Thursday. Both teams have clinched playoff spots, but they surely hope to stay in 2nd and 3rd so as to avoid having to face Cosby in the playoffs' first round.

L.C. Bird is currently in 4th but only 1 game ahead of Clover Hill, so that is still in play.

If the season ended today, the playoff matchups would be Cosby v. Bird and Manchester v. James River. If Cosby were to beat Bird, the Manchester-JR winner would also advance to regionals irrespective of the outcome of the district championship game. In the event of an upset by Bird, the tourney championship game would determine the district's second regional representative, who would play the Capital's # 1. (My understanding is that Hanover has that pretty much locked up, but someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong.)