SED Week 1

The SED calendar also has Oscar Smith playing Indian River on 3/17.

Otherwise, two huge games to start the season off with WB/Hickory, and NR/Grassfield.

NR starts season off with Grassfield and GB in same week.....right out the gate!   I love it.   Finally time for some baseball!!

Indian River vs Oscar Smith has been moved to Saturday, May 9 at Norfolk's Harbor Park, home to the Orioles' AAA farm club, the Tides.

 

Thank you for your very detailed and holistic update!!!!  I'm looking forward to seeing them play too!  (The Orioles that is)

Holistic: "characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole".

 

Had to look it up to be sure I understood its use in your post.... added detail for those outside our area who have no idea who the Tides are or where Harbor Park is.

 

The Tides are great supporters of HS Baseball every year and the kids seem to elevate their play any time they are on that field. Oscar Smith vs Indian River is a neighborhood rivalry which should bring out a nice crowd, make money for both programs and produce a good game.

 

Both teams could be sleepers in their respective conferences, Smith in 6A Monitor Merrimac, Indian River in 5A PenSouth.

Perhaps this thread should be retitled "SED Week 1" as to avoid confusion!  Anyone?!

One thing about the WB - Hickory game.  2 Defending State Champions meeting.  Wonder when the last time that happened was.  I would not expect a lot of the old AAA teams played either AA or A very frequently.

That was a pretty rude response

I'm sorry you feel that way.  I've just never seen a local person reference Harbor Park that way.  Either A) the poster is a big Orioles fan, or B) a huge Tides fan.  In any case, he's certainly proud of all of the above, including Harbor Park.  (For the record, I live in a house full of O's fans as well)

 

For additional context...local high school teams have been playing there for years, and this is a SED thread, which implies that 99% of those who are posting on here are local.  So, I found it interesting that one would include such a all-encompassing explanation of who and what Harbor Park is.  That's all. 

 

Separately, good luck to everyone tomorrow!

GoHeels:

This is the Virginia forum, not the SED, and I assumed that the participants are spread throughout the state. There are many in NoVa who follow the Nats and Orioles but have no ready reference to what and where Harbor Park is. Hence my 'holistic' approach.

 

As a newcomer, I've spent some time recently surfing this site and am somewhat dismayed at the amount of personal rancor expressed in a large number of posts. I don't consider yours to my earlier post to be so. In fact found it amusing and somewhat on point.

 

In terms of additional context, it may be myth but I understand that the longtime coach of Indian River, Steve West, initiated the high school games at Harbor Park and his teams have played there since. The Tides in recent years expanded the number of opportunities for local high schools to be featured at the Park on the basis of the success of their relationship with Coach West and Indian River.

I'm glad you found my original post somewhat amusing and on point.  I was simply having a little fun with it.  That was it's intent.  Nothing more.  And yes, it is the Virginia forum, but this thread is the "SED Week 1" thread, whereas we all discuss the weeks games and matchups.  ie, the vast majority of those who post are from the SED representative programs and/or their fans, and/or their families!

 

Bottom line...you gave a very all-encompassing reponse to a schedule change, and I responded accordingly.  Period.  No ill intent, not trying to be rude, as someone else suggested.  The way you received it, was as I had hoped.  Moving on...

 

Welcome, and best of luck this week!

 

Virginia Pilot Preview

 

http://hamptonroads.com/pilot/sports/high-schools

Final: Grassfield 3 Nansemond River 2
Cole Luetdke had all 3 RBIs for Grassfield including walk off single

WB beats Hickory 11-3.

Nice weather to start the season. Not so sure that will be the case for Friday. However, Western Branch continued its 12 game win streak from last season despite losing a few key players. Tonight against the # 1 team in the area with a couple of miscues defensively from both sides Hickorys pitching was no match for the bats of western branch.Let's hope it continues as we move forward.

#hole filling. #one in a row bruins

Definitely some shaky defense from both teams.  WB pitching looked good.  They have some speedy guys also.  Hickory looked flat tonight.  WB definitely had more energy.  Good team win.

Sounds like nansemondriver game at GF was a good one . Does anyone know who pitched for both?

Smith for Grassfield went 5 giving up 1 earned and 1 unearned. Sophomore Hunter Perdue threw a scoreless 6th and 7th to pick up the win.

Holt went four for NR, followed by Blanchard who took the loss.  Both pitched fairly well.  I think there were maybe 10 hits combined in the game.  Grassfield had 3 of those in the bottom of the 7th.  None of which, in the 7th, were necessarily squared up.  8 hole hitter for Grassfield really swung it well, and carried them offensively.

 

All in all, a very good game between two very good teams.  I expect both to be playing deep into their respective postseasons. 

 

Otherwise, WB beating Hickory does not surprise me.  Nice win to start the season for Western Branch!  I assume Selby got the start?!

Selby for three Klack for three and Roth for one in the seventh.All three looked ok for the first week.

gb 10 lakeland 0

dc 4 king's fork 0

WB breaking open a tight one to win big is a nice start for the Bruins.  On Friday the GB/NR is the best of the lot.  Should be another good one.  Hard to believe that NR might start 0-2.  In the old days that would have been a real problem but now it is nothing.

 

What a difference the new conference alignments make.  Just a couple of season's ago NR, GF, WB, GB and Hickory would have been battling for 4 spots in he SED tourney and 2 regional spots.  Now it is possible all will make a regional in their class.  IR and OS should be pretty solid as well.

According to the national polls, two of the top three teams in the state (Hickory, Freeman, and Madison) lost their openers.  Hickory to WB, and Freeman to Lee-Davis.  In the early going I suggested that it could be a very deep year in Virginia, with not just a couple of elite teams, but a gaggle of really strong teams.  One's opener is not a tell-all, but is certainly trending in that direction.

 

Then again, not every top team in the state has to open with another of the top teams in the state, as is the case with NR/Grass and WB/Hickory.  Apparently, Lee-Davis is pretty good too!

Kinda funny rankings in the paper yesterday morning by ranking grassfield and nansmond river before the defending 6A state champions, i think WB made a statement by beating hickory on tuesday and both teams look really strong and should both make a run deep into the post season

Maybe, maybe not!

 

What anyone accomplished last year should have no bearing on what is predicted of them this season.  Different players, different team.  (unless it's not)!

 

A recent example:  UCLA wins the College World Series in 2013.  In 2014 they are a preseason Top 10 team.  They finish the season BELOW .500.

 

Of course, almost all prognosticators will use recent history to substantiate their predictions for the future.  Personally, I thought the rankings, for the first time in a long time, were pretty solid.  SED occupied 5 of the top 6 spots, and as we all know, any one of the top half of the SED can beat another on any given night.  (Not to mention that Oscar Smith and IR, in particular, can beat you as well)

 

FWIW, I also felt in the off season, and still do, that the top three teams in the SED were/are NR, WB, and Grassfield.

Same stuff happened to Hickory last year.  The way the conferences are set up now you only have to play about 2 weeks of good baseball to win a State Championship as they proved last year.  The days of having to be great for 2 months to win a SED title are long gone.

 

 

NR/GB moved to Monday.

 

Also, not SED related but...It is my understanding that Battlefield lost their opener to CD Hylton 1-0.  That makes 3 out of 4 nationally ranked Va schools who have lost their opener.

 

It is becoming more clear that this years' State Champions will likely have a handful of losses due to the depth and quality throughout the state.

OS/WB moved to Monday!

Hickory/Dc moved to ,Monday!

Heels....you have it backwards.  Battlefield beat Hylton 1-0.

Yes, I see that now!  The Washington Post has an article about the game...but the "game results" which simply lists who played and the score had Hylton 1-0.  Hence my confusion! 

Thanks for clearing that up!

KF/GF moved to Monday!

Lakeland/IR Moved to  Monday!

Madison's season has not yet started. They've played two scrimmages.

Joe,

I said two of the top three teams in the state lost.  Those two would be Freeman and Hickory!  

Bottom line, watching these kids play compared to when all of us were kids is awsome.All of these kids can flat out play the game they have grown to love.Good luck to them all.