Wednesday Playoff Preview
May 18, 2016
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By Jerry Shank
Maryland Scouting Director
Now we are heading to the sectional final round with a full slate of games across the MPSSAA. Here are a few notes from what we’ve seen so far.
One thing to note is Mother Nature has made the 1A South a tough hill to climb. Today the entire section is playing their sectional semifinal game today and we can only guess that the sectional final will be played tomorrow so they can get back on track to the regional final on Friday. Anyones guess as to who will make it to the finish line…Staying in the 1A, the East region is now up for grabs with both No.1 seeds out. Biggest surprise came when Cambridge South Dorchester defeated Colonel Richardson 4-3. Another surprise came when Washington beat the other No. 1 in the section II of the East in Mardela 13-12…Brunswick going to Smithsburg will be a matchup to keep an eye on. Smithsburg got the win during the regular season, but defend 1A champ Brunswick is playing some good baseball currently in their attempt to make it back to Ripken.
An interesting matchup in the 2A is Gwynn Park hosting Southern. Can Gwynn Park knock out the two time state champ in 2A (Southern) who have dominated the competition so far?... The 2A west has two great matchups today with Walkersville hosting Williamsport and FSK hosting Marriottts Ridge. Should be two entertaining games…Keep an eye on the La Plata v Patuxent matchup. Looks to be a good game.
The “Region of Doom” as I called it in our 3A playoff preview has so far played as it was supposed to with both top seeded teams playing each other in the sectional finals. Mt. Hebron wishes to get back to the state playoff and will have to get through Howard county champ River Hill at RHHS to get there…Stephen Decatur might be facing their toughest opponent thus far going to play at a strong Chesapeake squad. The Seahawks will need to be clicking on all cylinders if they wish to get past the Cougars.
Should be a fun game at Severna Park hosting Anne Arundel county rival Old Mill in the 4A playoffs. Severna Park has had the upper hand this season but Old Mill has played well their first two games and hope to keep that alive against the Falcons…Chopticon has played very well with their players from their 3A state champion team of last year playing at a high level thus far. Can they keep that up against a strong Leonardtown squad today?...Keep an eye on the Sherwood v Howard game, which could end up being a tight contest.
Once again it is Spalding hosting Calvert Hall in the Semifinals of the winner’s bracket in the MIAA A. This year’s contest looks like it could potentially be a higher scoring affair. Either way it’s a huge matchup with the winner going to the finals and the loser would have to win one more game to get to the finals, then win two in the finals to take the crown. So, important game indeed.
As always, pitching depth will begin to play an even more important factor as teams will have to look for someone besides the ace of the staff to get them to the regional final.
All the matchups are going to be great, but we have attempted to single out a few more that have caught our eye.
Wednesday’s Playoff games
(** denotes games to watch)
4A
Severna Park v Old Mill**
Leonardtown v Chopticon**
Montgomery Blair v Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Gaithersburg v Quince Orchard**
Bowie v Eleanor Roosevelt
DuVal v Laurel
Sherwood v Howard**
Bel Air v Catonsville**
3A
River Hill v Mt. Hebron**
Chesapeake v Stephen Decatur**
Westminster v Damascus**
Thomas Johnson v Linganore
Huntingtown v Northern
Rockville v Magruder
North Harford v Aberdeen
Lansdowne v Franklin
2A
Fallston v North East**
Queen Anne’s v Easton
Walkersville v Williamsport**
Francis Scott Key v Marriotts Ridge**
Gwynn Park v Southern (AA)**
La Plata v Patuxent**
Western STES v Loch Raven
Sparrows Point v Eastern Tech
1A
St. Michaels v Cambridge-South Dorchester**
Pokomoke v Washington**
Northern Garrett v Fort Hill
Smithsburg v Brunswick**
Blueford Drew Jemison v KASA (sec. semi make up)
Reginald Lewis v Lake Clifton (sec. semi make up)
Benjamiin Franklin v NAF (sec. semi make up)
Edmondson/Westside v Pikesville (sec. semi make up)
Patterson Mill v Bohemia Manor**
McDonough v Fairmont Heights
MIAA A
Archbishop Spalding v Calvert Hall
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