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We continue our Region previews with a look at 3a Regions A and B. These two Regions made up the 3A East under the previous alignment. One of the first and most noticeable changes to these Regions in 2018 is the absence of the 2017 3A East Region champ, Riverside. The Rams captured the Region title over Spotsylvania in just the program's second year of existence. As the school has grown in population since opening, Riverside grew too large to remain in Class 3 going forward, so the defending Region champs are now in 4a. Also departing this Region is Poquoson, who has earned multiple State bids in the last four years. The Islanders moved down in classification to 2a.

The new Region has been wracked by departures for different classifications in the last few years but still features some quality programs. Spotsylvania lost 1-0 to 3a State Champion Turner Ashby in the State Semifinals in 2017. William Monroe upset Turner Ashby in 2016 and finished as the 3A State Runners-up. Other departures from the Region after the 2015 season saw Lafayette and Loudoun Valley leave 3a for 4a after a two year run near the top of the Region. These departures should benefit the remaining 3a schools as they will get to face competition that belongs in their classification as they compete for the four State Tournament spots that will be awarded from Regions A and B.

Region A is an all-in Region that uses power points to seed a 12 team tournament. The top four seeds get byes into the quarterfinals. The spread of these teams across multiple Districts necessitates the use of power points instead of District finish, especially since most of these schools are in Districts with larger schools. It would not be surprising to see a Region A champ that had a losing record in the regular season simply because they played the bulk of their schedule against 5a and 6a schools.

Region B will take its twelve teams and set up an eight team Region tournament. It will use power points to seed that tournament, with the top eight teams making the bracket. Power points will be calculated in the following manner, seven points for a win, eight for a win against a larger class school. Teams get three points for a loss and four points for a loss to a larger school.

 

Top Prospects in the Region A

Name	School	Class	Position	Commitment
Mark Evans	York	2018	2B	Hampden-Sydney
Carter Johnson	Southampton	2019	3B
Ricky Jones	Hopewell	2019	OF	Richmond
Joseph O'Brien	York	2019	LHP
Malcolm Perry	Phoebus	2021	OF
Brandon Pond	Colonial Heights	2018	3B	Lynchburg
James Steele	York	2018	LHP

 

2018 Region A

Colonial Heights	Hopewell
Lakeland	New Kent
Norcom	Park View-South Hill
Petersburg	Phoebus
Southampton	Tabb
Booker T. Washington	York

***Italicized teams played in a 2017 3a Region Tournament

Top Prospects in the Region B

Name	School	Class	Position	Commitment
Garrett Cornell	Brentsville	2018	OF	King
Jacob Dodson	Warren County	2018	LHP
Jake Dudley	Culpeper	2019	RHP/3B
Max Harper	Spotsylvania	2018	1B	VMI
Reilly Owen	William Monroe	2019	RHP/OF
Mason Posey	Brentsville	2018	RHP	George Mason
Jonathan Rivard	Spotsylvania	2018	OF
Jonathan Sexton	William Monroe	2019	C
Dillon Sisk	Skyline	2018	LHP	Shenandoah
Zach Smith	Culpeper	2018	RHP	Harford CC

 

2018 Region B

Northwestern	Other
Brentsville	Armstrong
Culpeper	Jefferson (Richmond)
Manassas Park	John Marshall
William Monroe	James Monroe
Skyline	Spotsylvania
Warren County	George Wythe (Richmond)

*Italicized teams played in a 2017 3a Region tournament

 

Teams to Watch Regions A and B

Brentsville
Brentsville missed the Region tournament in 2017, coming up one game short of a bid as they were eliminated in the Conference 28 semifinals by 3a State Runner-up Riverside. The Tigers' overall record was under .500 in 2017, but that is a product of playing the bulk of their non-District schedule against 4a and 6a schools from Prince William and Fauquier. While that schedule will again make Brentsville's overall record not look great in 2018, the Tigers will be a tough out for 3a opponents. Senior righthander Mason Posey (George Mason) is the best prospect in Region B and the top pitcher in the Region as well. Posey and junior James Beard will make a solid one-two punch on the mound for Brentsville. Juniors Alex Seymour and Jake DeLisi will add quality depth on the mound as well. The Tigers lost some key pieces to graduation but also have a chance to have a solid lineup in 2018. Look for senior Garrett Cornell (King) to pace an offense that should be solid 1-9.

Colonial Heights
Colonial Heights reached the Region semifinals where they were eliminated by eventual Region champ Riverside. Heights showed a solid offense in 2017 and will face the graduation of outfielder Josh Meyer. Senior Noah Wilson is back though and should help lead the Colonials' offense in 2018. 

Culpeper
The Blue Devils are coming off of a rough 2017 that saw them miss the Region. In 2018, junior Jake Dudley will give them a chance to compete any time he takes the mound. Senior Zach Smith (Harford CC) will pair with Dudley to give Culpeper a one-two punch on the mound that will make them dangerous if their offense improves from last year.

Spotsylvania
The Knights are coming off of the best season in the program's recent history, reaching the State Tournament after finishing as the 3A East Runners-up. They lost all-everything two-way star Daniel Brooks (George Mason) as well Kaleb Stowe (Charleston WV) to graduation. Back to help lead the offense will be seniors Max Harper (VMI) and Dante Fairchild. Look for senior Jonathan Rivard to provide added production this spring at the plate and on the mound.

William Monroe
The Dragons were the 2016 State Runners-up but missed the 3A East Region tournament in 2017. Monroe graduated two-way star Ronald Payne (Randolph-Macon) and will have to work to replace is steady presence in the middle of the lineup as well as on the mound. Junior Reilly Owen was one of the standouts at our Preseason All-State event and should be able to replace some of the two-way production that Payne provided. Sophomore Lance Tate and junior Brice Slaughter will compete for some of the innings that Owen doesn't pitch. Juniors Alex Kinsey and Braydon Collier had strong 2017s at the plate. How much the rest of the team steps up in 2018 will determine how far the Dragons go in the playoffs.

York
York reached the Region tournament in 2017 and fell in the quarterfinals to Colonial Heights. The Falcons struggled in the regular season playing a schedule with many 4a opponents, but they put it together in the playoffs to reach the Region. York should be a threat to go deep in Region A in 2018 with a one-two punch on the mound featuring lefties James Steele and Joseph O'Brien. Senior infielder Mark Evans (Hampden-Sydney) provides unique power/speed threat in the middle of the lineup.