Bay Rivers District Baseball: Historic Triangle Battles; Smithfield on the South of the James Causing Trouble

As the Bay Rivers District baseball season nears its end, it's time to take a look at who's hot and who's not. Let's start with the Islanders in Poquoson, Virginia. These guys have won six games straight, knocking off the Bay River's second hottest team 8-7, the Smithfield Packers. The Pinder brothers have found ways to reach base a lot with clean hits and have also dropped a few deep ones too. The Tabb Tigers are still in first place, but for how long? The Tigers fell to Smithfield 5-4 last week, losing to the Bay River's best freshman pitcher, Kevin Griffey. A short lefty, the Packer has earned his way to the top of the pitching staff at Smithfield. He proved he is the real deal with his third win of the year against Tabb.

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The Grafton Clippers are right there in the hunt as well. Even though they dropped an embarrasing loss to New Kent 7-4 and tied with Warhill, the Clippers beat the York Falcons 5-0 this week. Grafton is in third place with a 10-4-1 record. York has drastically fallen off, especially after a 5-0 start this year. Will Lamb hasn't struck out 15 batters a game like some expected, but this district just isn't as predictable as some may believe it is either.

Part of the Historic Triangle bunch is battling it out for the sixth playoff spot, with the Jamestown Eagles and Lafayette Rams playing every game like it's their last--or at least they should be. The Rams beat Jamestown twice this year, but Jamestown has shown they can play with anyone the district. The Eagles beat Poquoson and Smithfield earlier in the year and were very close to closing out wins against Tabb, York, and Grafton.

The bottom of the district has officially leveled out with the Bruton Panthers, Warhill Lions, and Southampton Indians closing the gap. The New Kent Trojans are in their own class, standing tall at 5-8 on the year. They beat Grafton and Lafayette, two worthy opponents in the Bay Rivers.

There's really no expert in the field of Bay Rivers baseball. Anyone who claims to be would be a bit far-fetched, but it always makes good for conversation. At one point in the season, one might have said York was the best because they were 5-0 and beat Grafton and just barely lost to Tabb. A few weeks later, one might perceive Lafayette as the team to beat after they shut down York. Poquoson even had a collapse when they lost two games in a row. Across the board, Tabb has been the most consistent, but even they too are vulnerable.

Rainy days have distrupted the entire schedule, so pitching will bail some teams out as teams play extra games in short time frame. Only time will tell who comes out the best in the next two weeks. I'm picking Grafton to finish the season well, but that's about it. Who will the final six be? What two teams will earn first-round byes?

Get back with me in a few weeks and let me know.