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An early look into the 2018 season


Bearcat Dad
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I'm glad to be back on the site after a little break following a great football season in SWVA. Congrats to all of the teams who had success and good luck to everyone next season. Hopefully any kid who was injured, has healed or is close to being 100% by now.

It was pretty awesome to have my son recognized as one of the top players in 2A. We're definitely looking forward to the fall of 2018.

In the meantime, he is heading into his Junior season and 3rd year as a starter for the VHS baseball team. If they stay healthy, VHS could possibly rival the 2014 and 2015 State Championship winning teams. They should actually be deeper than both of those teams (even without a handful of transfers ?). In all seriousness, the 2014 team wins State even without their Honaker transfer. I probably can't say the same about 2015, but I digress lol.

Here in Bristol, we knew years ago, that we had a great run of homegrown talent starting with the 2013 team, thru the 2019 team. 2013 choked against GC in Regionals. We all know about 2014 and 2015. 2016 blew a late lead against Goochland with with a 4 error, 5th inning in the State-semis. 2017 was upset (but straight up beaten) by the eventual State runner-ups. 2018 has great talent and great chemistry. I'll say again, that if this group stays focused, they have a potentially special season ahead of them.

For anyone who isn't very involved in basketball (or anyone at all, really) who would like to share some info/insight on their team(s) for the upcoming season, please feel free. 

 

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I don't know much about high school baseball, I just know Ridgeview has not done particularly well their first two seasons.  With Abingdon coming into the M7 this year, I expect them to be the Gate City basketball equivalent in the district, with noone even remotely in their league, other than perhaps Battle?

Does Virginia High play Abingdon?  That may be a fun one to go watch.

I am kind of interested in softball though.  Ridgeview was leading the district with two weeks to play last season and went on a 4 game losing streak to close out the regular season, then bowed out in the first round of the district tournament.

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1 hour ago, swva_havok_fan said:

I don't know much about high school baseball, I just know Ridgeview has not done particularly well their first two seasons.  With Abingdon coming into the M7 this year, I expect them to be the Gate City basketball equivalent in the district, with noone even remotely in their league, other than perhaps Battle?

Does Virginia High play Abingdon?  That may be a fun one to go watch.

I am kind of interested in softball though.  Ridgeview was leading the district with two weeks to play last season and went on a 4 game losing streak to close out the regular season, then bowed out in the first round of the district tournament.

VHS and Abingdon usually play twice a year. Last year they played 3 times with Abingdon winning twice. Three games over the last 2 seasons have come down to the final at-bat. It is a great rivalry.

Battle could possibly take a step back this season with graduation losses. They have a new coach, that i grew up with, who will get the most out of them. They do have a pitcher or two that could keep them in games with Abingdon.

VHS struggled some in softball last year but they were very young. They should be more competitive this season.

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On 1/5/2018 at 10:37 AM, Bearcat Dad said:

VHS and Abingdon usually play twice a year. Last year they played 3 times with Abingdon winning twice. Three games over the last 2 seasons have come down to the final at-bat. It is a great rivalry.

Battle could possibly take a step back this season with graduation losses. They have a new coach, that i grew up with, who will get the most out of them. They do have a pitcher or two that could keep them in games with Abingdon.

VHS struggled some in softball last year but they were very young. They should be more competitive this season.

The region will be chasing Richlands for the next 3 years most likely. They started 7 freshmen and a sophomore last year and went to the state finals. 

As that group ages, they’ll be scary to deal with. 

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19 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

The region will be chasing Richlands for the next 3 years most likely. They started 7 freshmen and a sophomore last year and went to the state finals. 

As that group ages, they’ll be scary to deal with. 

Yeah, the girls from Richlands definitely have an opportunity to be special.

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1 hour ago, Blue_Crue said:

Actually I have noticed as girls get older they tend to get worse in sports. Either burnt out from parents pushing them travel when they were young, finding boys, having social lives, or just lose interest as they mature...

To be honest with you, we are seeing a little of that with our girls basketball team at VHS this season. 

Two seasons ago, our girls team had nearly a 20 win turnaround from the season before that, led by our "Big 3" who were Freshmen at the time. They won the conference, their coach won "Coach of the Year", they won at Viking Hall for the first time in 15 years, and lost a close game in the 2nd or 3rd round to Union, I believe it was. We thought by this year, they would be ready to make a run at State.

They have started the year at 3-6. Granted, they've had a brutal schedule to start the season with 2 losses coming to Abingdon, 1 to Tn. High, and 2 at a tournament at Hilton Head against teams from Florida(one of which had a UCONN commit). I know there is still a lot of ball to be played, but 2 of the "Big 3" have really struggled so far this season. 

I do know that our "Big 3" plays travel year round with the core group from Abingdon. My son is dating the one girl of the "Big 3" that has played well this season. I talked to her after their game against Marion on Tuesday night, in which she scored 31, and she mentioned that some of the girls are suffering from burnout.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/4/2018 at 9:24 PM, Bearcat Dad said:

I'm glad to be back on the site after a little break following a great football season in SWVA. Congrats to all of the teams who had success and good luck to everyone next season. Hopefully any kid who was injured, has healed or is close to being 100% by now.

It was pretty awesome to have my son recognized as one of the top players in 2A. We're definitely looking forward to the fall of 2018.

In the meantime, he is heading into his Junior season and 3rd year as a starter for the VHS baseball team. If they stay healthy, VHS could possibly rival the 2014 and 2015 State Championship winning teams. They should actually be deeper than both of those teams (even without a handful of transfers ?). In all seriousness, the 2014 team wins State even without their Honaker transfer. I probably can't say the same about 2015, but I digress lol.

Here in Bristol, we knew years ago, that we had a great run of homegrown talent starting with the 2013 team, thru the 2019 team. 2013 choked against GC in Regionals. We all know about 2014 and 2015. 2016 blew a late lead against Goochland with with a 4 error, 5th inning in the State-semis. 2017 was upset (but straight up beaten) by the eventual State runner-ups. 2018 has great talent and great chemistry. I'll say again, that if this group stays focused, they have a potentially special season ahead of them.

For anyone who isn't very involved in basketball (or anyone at all, really) who would like to share some info/insight on their team(s) for the upcoming season, please feel free. 

 

what does the squad in bristol have returning for this year?

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13 hours ago, HoW_Bout_DeM_CaNeZZ said:

what does the squad in bristol have returning for this year?

A very deep outfield, a lineup that should hit well 1-9, one of the top catching prospects in the state, and they should be very solid defensively, all the way around. They have a top notch 1-2 combo at the top of the rotation. There will be some new faces to fill out the rotation. I have confidence in a couple of the new faces being able to transfer their game to the Varsity level, without much trouble. If this team has a question mark, it's "Who's going to fill out the pitching rotation after the top 2?"

There will be at least 5 kids who don't start for VHS, that could start for any team in the district, and a majority of teams in the region. This is not me being a cocky prick or anything like that, it's just how things are. This VHS team has a TON of depth and are extremely experienced in competitive baseball.

I truly believe that this is the deepest team that VHS has had since the 96-97 teams that combined to win about 30 out of 31 games(give or take), before the 97 team got caught looking past a weak Caroll County team in the regionals, to a powerhouse matchup against Dan River. The success those two teams had, allowed them to crack USA Today's Power 25 list of the top 25 high school baseball teams in the country, in '97. Those 2 teams produced a high number of D1 talent, and 2 kids that were drafted by the Marlins. You can actually add 98 into this as well. They had a big group play at the next level, but lost their State Championship game.

The big thing with this group, is that they will need to stay level-headed, and be ready for every opponent's best shot. They do need to get a little better at being able to "Man up" when things aren't going their way. Hopefully they, and every other team, stays as injury-free as possible. 

The good thing is there will be only 2 Seniors for sure and maybe a 3rd one, who will see any significant playing time.

All of this with no new recruits! Who woulda thunk it?

They start off with 2 very tough teams in Tn. High and Abingdon. VHS will see what they're made of, early!

 

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38 minutes ago, swva_havok_fan said:

Abingdon should absolutely crush the Mountain 7 in baseball.  I dread to see what they do to us...

If they're going to make a serious run, it will have to be this year. I'm not sure what their school record for Runs Scored in a season is, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them challenge that record. They did lose a couple of big bats from last year, but they do have a few great hitters coming back. Plus, they have a player committed to a D1 school, who missed nearly all of last year, who will be back healthy this year.

They don't have a lot of great pitching, but they do have a few kids who have live arms. That's usually good enough until a team gets a few rounds into the playoffs.

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Abingdon should be pretty solid. I don’t expect them to lose more than a game in SWVA. The real question is can we finally make a run in the 3A playoffs?This is the last chance for a couple years until the 8/9th grade group. 

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On 1/30/2018 at 10:08 AM, Bearcat Dad said:

A very deep outfield, a lineup that should hit well 1-9, one of the top catching prospects in the state, and they should be very solid defensively, all the way around. They have a top notch 1-2 combo at the top of the rotation. There will be some new faces to fill out the rotation. I have confidence in a couple of the new faces being able to transfer their game to the Varsity level, without much trouble. If this team has a question mark, it's "Who's going to fill out the pitching rotation after the top 2?"

There will be at least 5 kids who don't start for VHS, that could start for any team in the district, and a majority of teams in the region. This is not me being a cocky prick or anything like that, it's just how things are. This VHS team has a TON of depth and are extremely experienced in competitive baseball.

I truly believe that this is the deepest team that VHS has had since the 96-97 teams that combined to win about 30 out of 31 games(give or take), before the 97 team got caught looking past a weak Caroll County team in the regionals, to a powerhouse matchup against Dan River. The success those two teams had, allowed them to crack USA Today's Power 25 list of the top 25 high school baseball teams in the country, in '97. Those 2 teams produced a high number of D1 talent, and 2 kids that were drafted by the Marlins. You can actually add 98 into this as well. They had a big group play at the next level, but lost their State Championship game.

The big thing with this group, is that they will need to stay level-headed, and be ready for every opponent's best shot. They do need to get a little better at being able to "Man up" when things aren't going their way. Hopefully they, and every other team, stays as injury-free as possible. 

The good thing is there will be only 2 Seniors for sure and maybe a 3rd one, who will see any significant playing time.

All of this with no new recruits! Who woulda thunk it?

They start off with 2 very tough teams in Tn. High and Abingdon. VHS will see what they're made of, early!

 

No disrespect to VHS, but they aren’t that good. They do not have 5 kids that won’t start that could start for the teams making it to the region tournament. I’m telling you right now, you better watch out for Tazewell. I’m calling they win the SW District. 

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5 hours ago, AHScoach said:

No disrespect to VHS, but they aren’t that good. They do not have 5 kids that won’t start that could start for the teams making it to the region tournament. I’m telling you right now, you better watch out for Tazewell. I’m calling they win the SW District. 

I'm glad to see that you know so much about the VHS baseball team. I'll play along for a little while because I'm bored. Since you graced us with "A-Town" knowledge on VHS baseball, I'll return the favor and answer your question in your previous post about whether or not your Falcons can make a run in 3A. The answer is easily a "No". You guys have no pitching. It's why you can't make it any farther than you have. You have a tremendous middle infield, a hitter returning from injury, who is dynamic at the plate, and you should have the strongest Top 5 in a batting order in the region. You guys will score a bunch of runs staying in a 2A district, but will meet the usual fate in the playoffs, without a whiff of a State title game.

As far as Tazewell goes, yes they will have a good team that includes the region's top pitcher. District winner doesn't always mean best team in the District. For example, in the 2016 season, VHS went undefeated in Conference play. They loaded their schedule with stronger non-conference games. Grayson County won the conference with one loss.....to VHS. VHS also beat GC in the Conference tournament championship game AND in the Regional championship game. GC made it to the final 4 that year, along with VHS. They had a really good team, but only the 2nd best team in the Conference.

I stand by my assessment of this year's VHS baseball team, and yes they have a number of kids who won't start, that can start for a MAJORITY of teams in our region. 

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4 hours ago, Bearcat Dad said:

I'm glad to see that you know so much about the VHS baseball team. I'll play along for a little while because I'm bored. Since you graced us with "A-Town" knowledge on VHS baseball, I'll return the favor and answer your question in your previous post about whether or not your Falcons can make a run in 3A. The answer is easily a "No". You guys have no pitching. It's why you can't make it any farther than you have. You have a tremendous middle infield, a hitter returning from injury, who is dynamic at the plate, and you should have the strongest Top 5 in a batting order in the region. You guys will score a bunch of runs staying in a 2A district, but will meet the usual fate in the playoffs, without a whiff of a State title game.

As far as Tazewell goes, yes they will have a good team that includes the region's top pitcher. District winner doesn't always mean best team in the District. For example, in the 2016 season, VHS went undefeated in Conference play. They loaded their schedule with stronger non-conference games. Grayson County won the conference with one loss.....to VHS. VHS also beat GC in the Conference tournament championship game AND in the Regional championship game. GC made it to the final 4 that year, along with VHS. They had a really good team, but only the 2nd best team in the Conference.

I stand by my assessment of this year's VHS baseball team, and yes they have a number of kids who won't start, that can start for a MAJORITY of teams in our region. 

I didn’t claim to know “so much” about VHS baseball, but I just figured I would bring you off your high horse. I would like to hear the teams that you think 5 VHS bench players could start for. By the way, I agree with your assessment of AHS in relation to the playoffs. I will call that we beat the Cats twice though. 

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8 hours ago, AHScoach said:

I didn’t claim to know “so much” about VHS baseball, but I just figured I would bring you off your high horse. I would like to hear the teams that you think 5 VHS bench players could start for. By the way, I agree with your assessment of AHS in relation to the playoffs. I will call that we beat the Cats twice though. 

 Actually, Sweetheart, that's exactly what you did. If you can determine how good or bad a team is going to be, ya have to know a little something about them.

Someone from Abingdon accusing somebody from ANY other town of being on a "high horse", may be the funniest damn thing I've read on this site, since I joined nearly a year ago.

Abingdon may very well beat VHS twice this year. The Cats are 2-3 against the Falcons over the last 2 seasons, so I don't think its a given. 

Enjoy the final year of the Falcons being relevant in sports in SWVA. You guys have had a cute little run. Since you like to "call" so many things, call me when your baseball program is relevant for 4 decades, like we have been at VHS.😉

 

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17 hours ago, AHScoach said:

No disrespect to VHS, but they aren’t that good. They do not have 5 kids that won’t start that could start for the teams making it to the region tournament. I’m telling you right now, you better watch out for Tazewell. I’m calling they win the SW District. 

I know their is alot of optimism coming out of Tazewell, but when was the last time they beat VA High even with their ace?  Last year alone, VHS beat Tazewell 10-0, 5-2, and 7-0.  VHS returns 7 starters to this years team.  Is this the year, that Tazewell gets over the mental hump of playing VA High?  Definitely respect their program and what they accomplished last season, but they are the ones that have to go out and prove it!  Abingdon has top level talent in 4 spots, and should be the best team on the VA side of the region.   

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8 hours ago, Doofus said:

I think Lebanon will be improved.they have a freshman named Buchanan coming up that should make major contributions 

 

8 hours ago, Doofus said:

Has anyone seen the mabe kid from George wythe pitch lately?he is a sophomore and has already committed to UVA.i hear he runs it up there around 90

I have heard the same thing about both of these young men. 

Unfortunately, I have not seen the kid from GW, but I hear he is the real deal.

I agree that Lebanon should be improved this year with a lot of young talent. They're probably one more year away from competing for the District. 

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2 hours ago, Weatherman said:

I'm glad they still play the games on the field instead of on the internet.

Here's a little piece of advice:   Brag when it's over and you've won, not before the season starts because nobody really cares.

Who's bragging? I take it you mean AHScoach. In his mind, VHS isn't that good and doesn't stand a chance against the Falcons.

I was hoping this thread could be something SWVA baseball fans could use as a preseason discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of their own teams. Not a pissing match between fans of rival teams. 

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Not baseball but if anyone gets an opportunity to watch Sydney Nester from Carroll pitch, she is phenomenal. She is 55-2 with an ERA of 0.55, 725 strikeouts and 67 walks through 3 seasons.  She committed to NC State following her sophomore season.  Carroll won the 4A state title in 2015 behind her pitching.  They have lost extra inning games each of the past two seasons to northern Virginia teams in the state tournament.

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