Under the new region system, two Class 3 Jefferson District teams are going to square off in a playoff in most sports to earn a region tournament bid. With Fluvanna County baseball taking the first automatic bid, that left Western Albemarle and Monticello squaring off for other automatic spot with the other left to hope points got them in.
Western picked up a key win over Monticello in Thursday’s region play-in game, shutting out the Mustangs 4-0 to secure the No. 4 seed in the region tournament behind Derek Domecq’s sixth complete game of the year where the senior hurler struck out eight and lowered his ERA for the year to 0.70.
The Warriors (10-8) will host No. 5 Brookville Monday in the region quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Monticello’s power points did get the Mustangs into the tournament as the No. 8 seed against top-seeded Turner Ashby Monday at 7 p.m.
Western took a 1-0 lead over the Mustangs when Brendan Campbell scored on Luke Tenuta’s RBI groundout, then extended it to 2-0 in the fourth when Jason Lively singled in Garrett Payne.
With Domecq cruising that was more than enough offense, but Jack Masloff added another with a single to right to score Payne again. Western tacked on oe more when Chris McGahren knocked in Mitchell Morris in the seventh.
The Mustangs managed five scattered hits including a double by Kevin Jarrell but Western ended a couple of threats with double plays and Domecq just proved overpowering as he has most of the year. In the first, they turned a 6-4-3 and in the seventh, a 4-6 put out on a liner to Campbell essentially ended any thoughts of a Monticello comeback.
