I said at the start of the regional tournament that I thought this was one of the more straightforward brackets in years. I felt like the state representatives would very likely be James River and whoever survived the Cosby / Deep Run quarter-final. That turned out to be Cosby, and they've joined their Dominion rival in he regional title game tonight at 7:00 at Hanover.
Cosby and James River will square off for the fourth time this season when they meet tonight. The Rapids took both regular-season meetings, the first in a 5-4 nail-biter (FREE highlights of which are linked below), the second in an 11-1 rout. Cosby earned a measure of revenge in the district tournament, winning 8-4 in the Dominion final.
As I said, both teams will advance to the state tournament. The Central is matched up with the Northern Region this year, so the loser of tonight's game will travel to NOVA to take on their champion, while the winner gets a home game against the runner-up.
Bradley McKay has 5 RBI so far in the tournament, including a crucial first run against Dinwiddie in the semi-finals. On the James River side, Michael Trentham was on fire against Matoaca, delivering 3 hits and 4 RBI.
It's a fairly safe bet that both teams won't risk starting their aces tonight. Nate Kirby got the win against Hermitage on Tuesday, going six-and-two-thirds, and Hunter Williams started against Deep Run and went five. If either pitches, it will almost certainly be in a one- or two-inning scenario. The respective number twos (Roberts, Bickford) pitched last night. That all makes for an unpredictable final, although I did pick the Rapids to win the tournament before it began.
This is Cosby's third regional final appearance in the last five years. The Titans lost to James River in 2008 and defeated Matoaca in 2010. James River has been in the regional finals four of the last six seasons, including this year. They are 3-0 in the previous trio of games. The Rapids are also the defending regional champs, having beaten Mills Godwin 8-6 last season.
One final note about tonight's game: I'll be updating the score between innings at my Twitter account (@CRTomGarrett). I won't be updating here because I won't be sitting in the press box. Rather, I'll be shooting highlights. The good news is that I'll edit and upload the highlights as soon as I get home, which means they should be up over at the multimedia board by 10:00 or 10:30 tonight. A report on the game will run tomorrow morning.
James River - Cosby HIGHLIGHTS
Cosby and James River will square off for the fourth time this season when they meet tonight. The Rapids took both regular-season meetings, the first in a 5-4 nail-biter (FREE highlights of which are linked below), the second in an 11-1 rout. Cosby earned a measure of revenge in the district tournament, winning 8-4 in the Dominion final.
As I said, both teams will advance to the state tournament. The Central is matched up with the Northern Region this year, so the loser of tonight's game will travel to NOVA to take on their champion, while the winner gets a home game against the runner-up.
Bradley McKay has 5 RBI so far in the tournament, including a crucial first run against Dinwiddie in the semi-finals. On the James River side, Michael Trentham was on fire against Matoaca, delivering 3 hits and 4 RBI.
It's a fairly safe bet that both teams won't risk starting their aces tonight. Nate Kirby got the win against Hermitage on Tuesday, going six-and-two-thirds, and Hunter Williams started against Deep Run and went five. If either pitches, it will almost certainly be in a one- or two-inning scenario. The respective number twos (Roberts, Bickford) pitched last night. That all makes for an unpredictable final, although I did pick the Rapids to win the tournament before it began.
This is Cosby's third regional final appearance in the last five years. The Titans lost to James River in 2008 and defeated Matoaca in 2010. James River has been in the regional finals four of the last six seasons, including this year. They are 3-0 in the previous trio of games. The Rapids are also the defending regional champs, having beaten Mills Godwin 8-6 last season.
One final note about tonight's game: I'll be updating the score between innings at my Twitter account (@CRTomGarrett). I won't be updating here because I won't be sitting in the press box. Rather, I'll be shooting highlights. The good news is that I'll edit and upload the highlights as soon as I get home, which means they should be up over at the multimedia board by 10:00 or 10:30 tonight. A report on the game will run tomorrow morning.
James River - Cosby HIGHLIGHTS
