DIRTY DOZEN: JC jumps to No. 3

The regular season is essentially over for baseball.

District tournaments that haven’t begun yet will have their opening-round games by the time the weekend arrives.

Teams ranked in the Dirty Dozen will probably be considered among the favorites to finish in the top two of their respective districts and move on to the region semifinals in less than two weeks.

As they have been for nearly all of the season, University School of Jackson and Peabody are at the top of the list.

Jackson Christian leap frogs a few teams to get to No. 3 after going undefeated against some tough competition.

The only other big change is the appearance of Huntingdon at the bottom of the list. The Mustangs have a legit argument for being the hottest team in the area, so they get ranked as well.

Here’s the full list.

1USJ (25-5) (Division II-A West) – The Bruins will have played one game in eight days before their region tournament starts Friday. Results: Beat TCA. Last week: 1.

2Peabody (22-5) (14-A) – The Golden Tide hope to have injured players back in time for the district by Friday. Results: Beat Obion Co.; lost to Union City. Last week: 2.

3Jackson Christian (24-11) (15-A) – The Eagles have the biggest jump of the week after undefeated against high-profile competition. Results: Beat St. George’s, Union City and Bolton. Last week: 6.

4McKenzie (19-4-1) (13-A) – The Rebels continue to beat the teams they’re supposed to. Results: Beat Camden and Clarksburg. Last week: 3.

5Milan (22-10-1) (13-AA) – The Bulldogs tuned up for the postseason with some tough opponents to end the regular season. Results: Beat South Side; lost to Lexington and Davidson Aca. Last week: 4.

6Crockett Co. (20-7) (13-AA) – The Cavaliers could finish better in the tournament than their No. 2 seed if they keep up their recent play. Results: Beat Union City. Last week: 5.

7Lexington (17-12-1) (14-AA) – The Tigers have potential to make a big run in the Class AA postseason if they play consistently. Results: Beat Milan and Hardin Co. twice. Last week: 7.

8TCA (19-11) (15-A) – The Lions have played well down the stretch over the past few weeks. Results: Beat Adamsville; lost to USJ. Last week: 8.

9Chester Co. (16-10) (14-AA) – The Eagles are one of the clear favorite for their tournament this week. Results: Beat Adamsville; lost to Riverside. Last week: 9.

10Dresden (15-7) (13-A) – The Lions will try to play better than they have at times in the last couple weeks to compete for their district championship. Results: Beat West Carroll. Last week: 11.

11Riverside (18-9) (15-A) – The Panthers have picked up their production in the last two weeks. Results: Beat Chester Co. and McNairy. Last week: 12.

12Huntingdon (14-14) (13-A) – There are teams with better records who could be on this list, but a team that wins 10 in a row deserves to be ranked. Results: Beat Ripley and Big Sandy. Last week: Not ranked.

Dropped out: Adamsville (18-13).

Teams representing schools in the Sun’s 13-county circulation area are eligible for ranking in the Dirty Dozen. Those counties are Madison, Gibson, Henderson, Chester, Hardeman, Haywood, Crockett, Weakley, Carroll, Benton, Decatur, McNairy and Hardin.

Brandon Shields, 425-9751