The last time the Madison Warhawks and Lake Braddock Bruins met in high-school baseball was in March of 2020. It was an evening scrimmage that meant little, other than that was the last competition either team had that season.
So actually, maybe in meant a lot.
Just hours after the scrimmage ended, the rest of the 2020 spring high-school sports seasons were canceled because of the COVID pandemic. The Madison and Lake Braddock coaches joked how that scrimmage served as the 2020 state-tournament final, since no more competitions were held.
And it might have been if the season did indeed take place. The teams are perennial powers, with Lake Braddock winning the 2019 state crown and Madison doing the same a couple of seasons earlier. Both were loaded in 2020.
Now it’s 2021, high-school baseball is back in Northern Virginia and Madison and Lake Braddock are scheduled to meet again, at the same Lake Braddock venue, in a 6 p.m. clash today that does oh, indeed, mean very much this time. It’s no meaningless scrimmage.
The contest is a Class 6 state-tournament semifinal game. The winner hosts the state final Saturday, June 26. The loser goes home.
Both teams are loaded again, and should have their aces on the mound. Madison has a 16-1 record and has won six in a row. Lake Braddock also is 16-1 with 13 straight wins.
The crowd is expected to be huge. Hopefully ,the weather holds.
It’s a real big one this time.
We’ll see what happens.
– Dave Facinoli
dfacinoli@sungazette.net
