May 24 - Ten years ago last week, Nick Price took the mound for his Potomac Falls team against his older brother, Ryan, then a first-year head coach at Heritage, in the regular season finale for both teams.
Older brother won that one, 8-1.
A decade later, the two meet once again. This time, with the 4A Conference 21B championship on the line tonight.
Ryan Price’s fourth-seeded Heritage team (8-14 overall) upset top seed Loudoun Valley, 2-0, in the conference semifinals on Friday, the Pride’s second straight shutout in the league tournament. The win set up a family reunion in today’s final with Nick Price and second-seeded Loudoun County (10-11), which defeated third-seeded Dominion, 7-2, in its semifinal.
The winner will earn a bid to the West Region Tournament, with the league’s other region berth going to Loudoun Valley by virtue of the Vikings earning the top seed in the conference tournament.
"We do almost everything together: coach together over the winter, talk baseball everyday, we even play together on the Loudoun Rifles [men’s league team],” said Nick Price, who is in his fourth season as the Raiders’ coach. “It only makes sense that we are playing each other in the conference championship."
Nick’s Raiders have won their past four meetings against the Pride, but the brothers have split their 10 meetings overall since Nick took the Loudoun County job 2013. This game, however, marks the first time the brothers have met in the postseason while coaching at the respective schools, which are located less than three miles from each other in Leesburg.
“I'm excited about the opportunity our team has to play for a conference title,” Ryan Price said. “It's even better that it's against our crosstown rival and that my younger brother is the opposing coach.
“I'll be disappointed if we don't win, but will be proud of my brother and his team.”
Photo of Ryan Price courtesy of Heritage High School baseball
