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By PBR VA/DC Staff

A look at the Conference Champions:

No. 15 George C. Marshall comes into the Regional as the Conference 13 Champions, having captured the Conference Championship last week with a win over Edison. The Statesmen went unbeaten in conference play and are looking to build off of 2015, which saw them finish as the 5A North and 5A State Runners-up, losing both games to Stone Bridge. Marshall has a deep group of pitchers that are led by senior Steven Johel (Coastal Carolina) and Nick Cintron (Cornell). Marshall’s lone loss this spring came to Mountain View during spring break.

Briar Woods is ranked No. 20 in our Power 25 and enters the Region tournament as the Conference 14 Champions, fighting and clawing all spring to come out on top of what was one of the most competitive conferences in Virginia this spring. The Falcons took three out of four from Stone Bridge this spring and have played a number of tight games. Briar Woods has an experienced team and a lineup that is dangerous from one to nine that can be explosive at any time, with Jacob Hand (Randolph Macon), Nathan Davis (Johns Hopkins), and closer Michael Ludowig (Wake Forest) forming the core of the lineup.

No. 23 Mountain View won the Conference 15 Championship over Potomac on Friday, capturing the school’s second ever Conference Championship, and also its second in a row. The Wildcats have a very good one-two punch on the mound in seniors Dylan Hall (Virginia Tech) and Jacob Menders (Shippensburg). Seniors Alex Smith (Navy), Nathan Neff (Concord), and Jacob Pollock (Shippensburg) form the core of a veteran lineup that has played together for multiple years.

No. 24 Halifax County has top arm Andrew Abbott (Virginia) and the best record in the bracket, bringing a 19-1 tally into the Region Tournament. The Comets won the Conference 16 Championship on Friday, defeating Atlee, 7-5.

John Nolan
Championship: Mountain View defeats George C. Marshall
Dark Horse: Stone Bridge. The defending 5A State Champions have most of their team back
Early Upset: Potomac defeats Briar Woods. The Panthers have a pair of arms that give them a chance to win every game and know how to win against a good opponent.
Best Game on Paper: Mountain View vs. George C. Marshall. Mountain View and Marshall are almost identical teams and both are fundamentally sound defensively with good veteran lineups and veteran pitching.

Sammy Serrano
Championship: George C. Marshall defeats Stone Bridge
Dark Horse: Potomac. The Panthers have had some big wins against very good teams and have a veteran squad.
Early Upset: Stone Bridge defeats Mountain View. The core of the defending 5A Champions finds a way to go deep.
Best Game on Paper: Halifax County vs. George C. Marshall. Andrew Abbott vs. Steven Johel could be the pitching matchup for this potential championship game.


Here is what you thought about which of the four Conference Champions was most likely to win the Region.

Need your opinion, which #5ANorth Conference Champ is most likely to win the Regional Championship?

— PBR Virginia/DC (@PBRVirginiaDC) May 23, 2016