Grafton, York still tough in baseball; Other districts level out.
By Phillip Hines
MaxPreps.com
The Bay Rivers District has been as wacky as it could be in 2008, while the other big districts only have a few teams hanging around the top of their respective standings.
The fight for first in the Beach District is between the Landstown Eagles, Kellam Knights and Princess Anne Cavaliers, while the Western Branch Bruins and Hickory Hawks battle it out in the Southeastern.
The Menchville Monarchs are strolling through the Peninsula with ease. Across the board, private schools have tough competition, especially Hampton Christian. The Warrior's are led by Jake Cave's dominance on the mound.
Bay Rivers District (AA)
Spectators, players and coaches will enter spring break with a big question as to who the top team is in Bay Rivers. The district's top six teams beat up on each other last week, with the York Falcons experiencing the worst treatment. The Falcons lost by 2-1 to the Lafayette Rams (5-2) on Tuesday and then suffered their second loss of the year to the Tabb Tigers, 10-8, on Thursday.
Tabb, which now remains in sole possession of first place, beat who some believe to be the district's toughest two teams: the Grafton Clippers and York Falcons. With Grafton's bases loaded, Tabb finished off Grafton, 1-0, with a game-ending double play. The Tigers' bats came alive just two days later as Tabb scored 10 runs against Will Lamb and the Falcons to regain first place.
Lafayette faced its toughest week of the season, playing York and the Poquoson Islanders. The Rams beat York, 2-1, on Tuesday, but fell to Poquoson, 2-0, Thursday.
Poquoson bounced back from a 6-5 loss to the Jamestown Eagles (4-4) on Tuesday and beat Lafayette's strong pitching from Jeff Wiggins on Thursday with a 2-0 victory.
Coach Jamal Oweis warned Bay Rivers' observers to watch out for his Eagles. Jamestown made a strong case for his statement as the Eagles won both of their games last week. The Eagles won a 6-5 nail-biter against Poquoson, a team that handed Tabb its only loss of the year. Jamestown finished the week with an 8-3 win over the Smithfield Packers. Jamestown now stands alone at sixth place.
Peninsula District (AAA)
It's all about the Menchville Monarchs right now. Led by pitchers Ethan Carter, Shawn Seizmore and Austin Chrimson, the Monarchs are off to an 8-0 start. Seizmore, who plans to attend Old Dominion University on scholarship, has also carried the offense, along with catcher Tucker Brown.
The Hampton Crabbers hold second place in the Peninsula with five wins, but the Bethel Bruins and Denbigh Patriots trail closely behind with records of 4-2.
The Phoebus Phantoms recorded their first win of the year, beating Gloucester, 12-6. The Kecoughtan Warriors remain the only winless team.
April 15 will even the top four teams out as Menchville hosts Denbigh and Hampton travels to Bethel.
Southeastern District (AAA)
The Hickory Hawks and Western Branch Bruins are undefeated, with six wins apiece. The Great Bridge Wildcats follow with a 5-1 record.
Beach District (AAA)
Princess Anne, Kellam and Landstown all are in the fight for first place. The three teams have just one loss on the year.
Private
Freshman Jake Cave hurled a one-hitter against Atlantic Shores in a 6-0 victory for the Hampton Christian Warriors…The Greenbrier Christian Gators are undefeated in conference play and are ranked in the Virginian Pilot's Top 10 teams on the Southside.
Phillip Hines, the editor of the Tidewater Sports Report, covers Southeastern Virginia for MaxPreps. He may be reached at editor@tidewatersportsreport.com.
