Playoff Preview: #5 Staunton vs. #4 Winchester
#5 Seed: Staunton
Overall Record: 24-20 .545
Record Last 10 Games: 5-5
Record Last 5 Games: 2-3
Team AVG/OBP/SLG: 274/353/385
Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 4.41, 4.0, 9.2
Runs Scored, Runs Allowed: 229 RS, 230 RA
Hitters to Watch: Max Most 340/429/442; Bryon Izzo 331/380/386; Josh Wenderoth 301/350/421; Casey Sedley 404/468/654; Blake McDade 285/392/500
Pitchers to Watch: Lance Baxter 6-0, 1.26; Gerard Sokolis 4-4, 3.17; Adam Hoyt 3-1, 2.84; Donald Howell 3-2, 1.95, 2 saves; Josh Squatrito 1-3, 1.50, 7 saves
#4 Seed: Winchester
Overall Record: 27-17 .614
Record Last 10 Games: 8-2
Record Last 5 Games: 5-0
Team AVG/OBP/SLG: 271/353/399
Team ERA, BB/9, K/9: 3.20, 3.2, 9.9
Runs Scored, Runs Allowed: 229 RS, 181 RA
Hitters to Watch: Tyler Townsend 405/512/763; Micky Wiswall 352/420/594; Joe Agreste 333/392/579; Aaron Dudley 286/324/457; Kyle Galbraith 280/356/322; Chris Berset 304/385/357
Pitchers to Watch: Taylor Hill 5-1, 2.23; John Leonard 3-4, 2.68; Justin Collop 5-2, 3.22; Billy Morrison 3-1, 1.36; Tyler Thornburg 1-0, 1.66, 10 saves; Michael Dufek 0-1, 2.20; Devin Campbell 2-1, 1.91
Overview: (All of these overviews come with a caveat- in a 3-game series, absolutely anything can happen!)
By seeds, this is to be the closest of all the series (and the teams tied during the season, 2-2). Winchester, however, comes in as the "hottest" VBL team, as they are currently on a 7-game winning streak. Not many teams can match the middle of the Royals' lineup, as Townsend, Wiswall, and Agreste are pounding the ball right now. Winchester's pitchers are also solid, making the Royals a balanced team.
Staunton, on the other hand, runs out one of the best pitchers in the league in Baxter, and they have a tremendous 1-2 punch at the back end of the bullpen with Howell and Squatrito. However, their overall team ERA ranks in the bottom half of the league, and is more than a full run more than the Royals.
Additionally, Winchester and Staunton are two of the best fielding teams in the league- the Royals committed the least errors, and Staunton came in with the 3rd least.
On paper, Winchester looks like the favorite, with a better run differential and better overall pitching numbers, but the hitting looks very close. It looks like Staunton's pitchers will need to keep the "triumvirate" under control, but this should be a close, hard-fought series!
And, again, in a 3-game series, anything can happen!
**Update: Lance Baxter is not with Staunton for the playoffs. This is a tough blow for the Braves!
My prediction is that Winchester wins in 3.
Posted by: GeneralsSignGuyMike | July 29, 2008 at 01:41 PM