James Monroe has spent the last four years as a contender in Class AA. While the Mavericks don’t boast the same level of talent they did when they made state tournament runs in 2017 and 2018, they do have one advantage – they’ve dropped from Class AA to Class A.
James Monroe enters sectional play with just a 13-8 record, but five of the eight losses have come to Class AA/AAA teams such as Greenbrier East, Princeton and Independence. The other three have come to Class A contenders Midland Trail and Charleston Catholic.
That resumé was enough to land the Mavericks the No. 1 seed in Region 3, Section 1 with Greater Beckley, Summers County, Mount View and Montcalm filling out the rest of the field in order.
Greater Beckley enters sectional play with an 8-10 record, having gone 4-2 against sectional foes in the regular season. The Crusaders beat Montcalm and Mount View convincingly twice, but lost two slugfests to James Monroe.
Summers comes in at 8-9 but has won five straight, including an 11-0 win over Class AA Wyoming East. The bat of Levi Jones has been crucial for the Bobcats during that stretch as he’s hit two home runs during the streak.
Fortunately for the Bobcats they’ll get to host Mount View in their home ballpark – a smaller one that lends itself to hitting. In the only matchup between the two teams this year, Summers won 14-3.
Montcalm has struggled this season.
The Generals will face Greater Beckley to start sectional play, a matchup that favors the Crusaders. Greater Beckley beat Montcalm 32-2 and 22-1 this season with both games being played at Montcalm.
The Class A Region 3, Section 1 tournament will begin Tuesday. The four lower seeds will play with James Monroe earning the bye until Wednesday.
Region 3, Section 1
All games start at 5:30 p.m. at the higher seed’s venue
Tuesday, June 1
Game 1: No. 4 Mount View at No. 3 Summers County
Game 2: No. 5 Montcalm at No. 2 Greater Beckley Christian
Wednesday, June 2
Game 3: Game 1 winner (Mount View/Summers County) at No. 1 James Monroe
Game 4: Game 2 loser (Montcalm/GBC) vs. Game 1 loser (Mount View/Summers)
Thursday, June 3
Game 5: Game 2 winner (Montcalm/GBC) vs. Game 3 winner
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser
Friday, June 4
Game 7: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 winner
Saturday, June 5 (12 p.m. start)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner
Monday, June 7
Game 9: If necessary
