Going into the last night of the Jefferson District’s regular season play, the second seed and a bye in the tournament was up for grabs with the possibility of a drawn-out tie-breaker deciding a pivotal piece of the upcoming tournament. Louisa County found a way to simplify the equation in what’s been nothing short of a chaotic season across the district.
Thanks to an RBI ground out from Christian Buckler in the bottom of the sixth inning and the ever-composed Josh Seay on the mound, the Lions topped Monticello to earn a 5-4 win and the number two spot in the standings to avoid quarterfinal play in the JD tournament.
“Josh was a bulldog on the mound and that’s been key for us all year, having a guy that wants to compete, wants to be out their pitching,” said Louisa coach Kevin Fisher.
After going 4-7 to start the year, Fisher’s squad has won seven of its last eight to launch this team to a playoff bye.
“The kids have worked hard, and it’s been about the defense,” Fisher said. “It wasn’t at its best tonight, but that’s been the key. We didn’t play well defensively early in the year and we’ve done a lot better since. The goal is just about getting that 21 (outs).”
The Lions started out strong by going up 3-0 on the Mustangs in the first inning on a single from Seay and back-to-back doubles from Alex Fletcher, Buckler and an RBI single from Robert Terrell.
But Monticello crawled back into the contest before eventually taking the lead. The Mustangs opened up the second inning with singles from Kyle Jacobson and Alex McNair. Then Will Decker provided an RBI single and Frank Sexton made it 3-2 on a ground out. Monticello loaded the bases in the fourth inning and picked up a walk to tie the game. In the fifth Jabocson singled and advanced on an error only to brought home by Sexton on an RBI triple to give the Mustangs a 4-3 lead.
Louisa came to in the sixth with a 1-out walk to Seay and a Fletcher single followed by an error and Bucklers RBI grounder to reclaim the lead.
The Mustangs had a pair of runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh on a Connor Lillely walk and Sam Patterson double. But an infield fly followed by a ground out ended the contest in the Lions favor.
Monticello will now play Charlottesville in the JD quarterfinals. The winner will play Powhatan, the regular season champion in the semifinals.
The other quarterfinal matchup will be Fluvanna County hosting Western Albemarle with that winner facing Louisa.
“Who knows what’s going to happen in this,” Fisher said. “We’re just hoping we win ours and Powhatan can win theirs.”
In years past three teams have advanced out of the JD. This year only two will with the Indians already securing a Region II berth by virtue of their regular season title. If Powhatan wins its semifinal, the winner of the other semifinal earns the last Region II bid.
