This part of the Country is an area that for most they know nothing about. But that really should not be the case. This regional percentage wise has the biggest percentage of Ranked teams playing for the title at the Division 1 level this season. Granted it is 3 of 4 but still 3 of 4 teams being ranked and all 4 teams have been ranked at some point this season.
To start this region is split between Region 15 and Region 20. The winner of the Region 15 which for the last few years has been Monroe, then the top 3 teams in Region 20, Harford, Hagerstown, and Potomac State.
This year it is Hosted by Hagerstown.
This Tournament is your normal Double Elimination Bracket where the winner will travel to South Carolina to play the Winner of Region 10 for a chance to punch their ticket to Grand Junction.
The last 2 winners from this region have been Monroe, They also won the District both years.
The Seeds
- #15 Potomac State 34-6 (3-1)
- #24 Hagerstown 40-10 (2-2)
- #16 Monroe 30-5-1
- Harford 25-9-1 (1-3)
Game 1 – 1-Seed Potomac State vs 4-Seed Harford
Potomac State, Like others in this part of the Country, has been one of the biggest surprises this season. Making their highest ranking ever by us 15 this past week. They have been one of the top hitting teams in the entire country this year. Coming into the weekend they are ranked 6th in team Avg, 5th in team OBP, and 9th in Slg %. They are currently riding a 9-game win streak into the regional. Against teams in the field they hold a 4-1 record having beat everyone in the field.
Projected Game 1 Starter – Brandon Schaeffer (Uncommitted) – 7-0, 44.0 IP, .41 ERA, 75 K
Projected Game 3 or 4 Starter – Avery Heiple (Uncommitted) – 6-0, 33.1 IP, 1.89 ERA, 68 K
Harford started the season off ranked in our top 50 and has been hit with losses and a big run of different covid pauses in their schedule. Which has affected them due to just playing inconsistently. However Harford is a team, that if you follow juco baseball you know, that can hit and hit well. Their team numbers don’t necessarily show that due to having not played the same amount of games as others but that is something that any team that plays them should keep in mind when playing them.
Projected Game 1 Starter – Jeremy Lapp (RHP) (Uncommitted) – 5-1, 23.1 IP, 3.86 ERA, 31 K
Projected Game 3 or 4 Starter – Ethan Kiple (RHP) (Uncommitted) – 2-1, 17.1 IP, 4.15 EA, 26 K
Game 2 – 2-Seed Hagerstown vs 3-Seed Monroe
Hagerstown, much like Potomac, has been one of the Biggest movers up the national rankings this year. Making it up to 24 this season. At one point they were 36-6 with a 25 Game Win streak during that time. Hagerstown seems to hold the belief that Walks score runs. They are ranked 2nd in the country with walks as a team with 333 over 40 games… that is 6.66 walks a game. That goes along with scoring 415 runs which gives them 8.3 runs a game. Then when they are on the bass they have stolen 143 bases. So they get on base and force their opponents to make the mistakes and let them advance.
Projected Game 2 Starter – Josh Kerns (RHP) (Uncommitted) – 4-0, 43.2 IP, 4.33 ERA, 57 K
Projected Game 3 or 4 Starter – Will Grove (RHP) (Uncommitted) – 5-3, 478.0 IP, 3.83 ERA, 53 K
Monroe always starts their season late due to being in New York. Then throw in how they had to deal with Covid Protocols being in New York they started even later than usual. But that has not seemed to stop Monroe at all this season. They are one of the Top offensive teams in the country with a Team batting average of .355 (10th in the country), a team On Base % of .482 (6th in the country), and a team Slugging % of .629 (7th in the Country). They also have had one of the top staffs in the country with a Team Against Batting Average of .219 (8th in the Country), and a team ERA of 4.52.
Projected Game 2 Starter – Nicholas Feretic (RHP) (Uncommitted) – 5-0, 31.0 IP, 1.74 ERA, 47 K
Projected Game 3 or 4 Starter – Roman Dorosh (RHP) (Uncommitted) – 6-1, 31.2 IP, 2.84 ERA, 25 K
Region 15/20 Prediction
This is a region I feel like is the North Bracket of Region 14. All teams are very evenly matched and I could see anyone coming out on top on any given day. This is how I feel like it will pan out. Potomac takes game 1 over Harford in a close one. Monroe wins a very high scoring game over Hagerstown in game 2. Hagerstown eliminates Harford in game 3. Potomac limits the bats of Monroe and takes game 4. Monroe eliminates Hagerstown in game 5. And it ends with Potomac Beatin Monroe in a Slug fest this time.