Karma has come full circle in the 4A West Region.
Last season, Blair was poised for its first-ever playoff win after finishing the regular season 15-3, good enough for theregion’s No. 3 seed.
But the Blazers drew the one unseeded team it didn’t beat during the regular season: Richard Montgomery. The Rockets promptly bounced Blair with a come-from-behind, 3-2 win.
This season the Blazers (14-1, 9-2 Montgomery County 4A) rebounded to grab the top seed and a smooth road to the regional semifinals.
Meanwhile, the second-seeded Rockets (12-3, 9-3) face the hardest route of any seeded 4A West team. They await the winner of the top matchup of the first round, Quince Orchard (9-6, 7-6) at Watkins Mill (12-4, 10-3), in Monday’s quarterfinals.
“It’s just a shame they don’t rank the whole thing,” said Blair coach Louie Hoelman.
The Cougars are one of two teams to defeat Sherwood during the regular season, and four of their six losses have been by just one run, including a 3-2 loss to the Wolverines that QO coach Ken Reading missed to attend a graduate school class.
“As a coach you’d like to think that you make a difference, but I don’t think that was the case,” said Reading, who chalks up the absence among the lessons he’s learned in his first season.
The Warriors (13-2, 10-2) claimed the No. 2 seed in their first season in the 4A North Region playoffs — coach Pat Flanagan said she knows zip about the teams in that region. She plans to scout potential quarterfinal opponents Southwestern and Thomas Johnson this weekend.
Paint Branch faces a rematch with fourth-seeded Einstein in a key 3A West Region quarterfinal. The Panthers (9-6, 6-1 Montgomery 3A/2A/1A) topped the Titans (8-7, 5-4), 7-0, on Apr. 26.
“We’ve got to try to be error-free — we’ve done that just once this season — and we have to keep our heads in the game and know that the stakes are a little bit higher,” said Titans coach Joan Rackey.
In the 4A South Region, defending champion Bowie’s (17-1, 15-1 Prince George’s 4A) biggest obstacle toreturning to the title game is Largo (11-3, 11-3), a team the Bulldogs beat, 12-0, on Apr. 28.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s (16-1, 14-1) path is more tricky, as upstart Flowers (12-2, 12-2), a 4-2 loser to the Raiders last month, looms large in the semifinals.
“We have the toughest draw of the top two seeds,” said Roosevelt coach Billy Hunter. “But that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We just have to win every game if we want to get to Bowie.”
Other top contenders
» 1A North
Tough games against Watkins Mill and Blair will have Poolesville (14-1, 8-0 Montgomery 3A/2A/1A) primed and ready for Reginald Lewis.
» 3A South
Gwynn Park (16-0, 12-0 Prince George’s 3A/2A/1A) averages more than 20 runs per game — how many can they put up against Westlake?
