By Phillip Hines
MaxPreps.com
The Menchville Monarchs have lost their touch at the plate and the rest of the Peninsula District has taken advantage. The Monarchs opened the door to Bethel and Hampton last week, losing two out of three games. Hampton's Ryan Trimble earned three wins last week, improving his record to 6-0.
In the Bay Rivers District, the Tabb Tigers beat the streaky Poquoson Islanders, 6-4, to maintain sole possession of first place. The Grafton Clippers look to change that, as both teams play each other in what is the game of the year so far. The Clippers host Tabb at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Peninsula District (AAA)
The mighty Menchville Monarchs of Newport News will be looking to regain elite status after a tough week. Junior Ethan Carter, who has committed to pitch for the University of South Carolina, has done his job on the mound, though his record doesn’t reflect his efforts.
Carter has three losses on the year, due in part to a lack of run support. Menchville has only scored 10 runs in its last three games, which includes a 3-2 loss to Bethel and a 5-2 loss to the Gloucester Dukes.
Shawn Sizemore and Tucker Brown have tried to carry the load, combining for over 10 home runs this year.
Behind Justin Shively's pitching and Kizuku Scott's outstanding hitting, Bethel has emerged as a serious player in the district. Scott, who will play at Liberty University next year, propelled his squad to an 18-5 win over the Woodside Wolverines Saturday. The slick infielder finished the day with three hits, a stolen base and scored four runs.
Friday at Hampton is decision day. Bethel and Hampton face off for rights to first place and an automatic bid to the Eastern Region Tournament. Both teams enter the game with three losses on the year. The Crabbers have both Ryan Trimble and Matt Schaffer prepared to pitch in Friday's big game. Trimble leads all district pitchers with a perfect record of 6-0.
The middle of the district is crammed with Woodside, Warwick, and the Denbigh Patriots all within a half a game of each other.
Bay Rivers District (AA)
The climax of the regular season is Wednesday, as the Grafton Clippers host the Tabb Tigers in a showdown of the top two teams in the district. Grafton trails Tabb a game and a half, and a win would put them just half a game behind.
John Bayse improved to 5-1 last week, as Grafton beat the hot Smithfield Packers, 3-2, in eight innings. Just a day before, the Clippers went shutout the York Falcons 5-0. Senior Kyle Pelchy pitched a complete game, allowing just one hit and striking out seven batters.
Grafton has an important game against Tabb Wednesday, which will determine whether or not Tabb runs away with the season title. If Grafton loses Wednesday to Tabb, Poquoson will still be in position to finish in second place.
Tabb, who is being led by a slew of college-bound seniors, strolled through the district last week. Senior Cody Brown earned his seventh win of the year and pitched the Tigers past the Poquoson Islanders, 6-4. Seniors Adam McConnell and Corey Patrick have hit over .500 in the last week for the Tigers and are heading up the offensive production.
Tabb still must play York, but the Falcons haven’t been the same since experiencing a four-game skid midway through the year.
Senior Will Lamb – headed to Clemson University – has three losses on the year. York is alone in fourth place at 10-5, but the playoff picture is a murky one – they play Tabb, Smithfield, and Poquoson to close out the year.
Smithfield's offense, which bashed four home runs against Warhill, sputtered in meetings with John Bayse and Grafton. The Packers only managed two runs off four hits in eight innings. The Packers were in the hunt for a regional bid, but lost all three of their games last week. The remaining two playoff spots are about as clear as flipping a coin. The New Kent Trojans made more noise last week, upsetting Smithfield 15-7 and earning their sixth win.
The Southampton Indians, who were winless entering the week, shocked the entire area with a 1-0 victory over the Lafayette Rams, who were holding down the final playoff spot with breathing room.
The loss dropped senior Jeff Wiggins' record to 5-3 and placed the Rams in danger of losing a playoff berth. Lafayette has the most difficult remaining stretch with games against York, Poquoson, Grafton, and Smithfield.
Hanging around all season and on the edge of a playoff bid, the Jamestown Eagles are in good position to finish the year strongly and enter the district tournament. Although they lost to Lafayette twice, the Eagles end the season against Southampton, New Kent, and Warhill.
The Eagles are in dire need of seniors Mark Schultz and Josh Hathaway to carry the load if they are to make a run into the playoffs.
