New crop of baseball talent from West Tennessee
Four teams from West Tennessee will begin their quest for a state championship on Tuesday.
Though none of them are a surprise to be here, none of them reached the state tournament last season, and only one of them reached sectionals last year.
Jackson Christian reached the Class A sectionals before losing to Trenton Peabody at home, but Milan, Chester County and Scotts Hill were all eliminated in the district tournaments in 2015.
All of these teams will have to get over the newness of state quickly to be ready for Tuesday night’s action.
Class A
•Jackson Christian (29-12) vs. Forrest (27-6) at Riverdale, 6:30 p.m.: The Eagles are back in the state tournament after winning the state championship in 2014.
Jackson Christian relies on a strong group of seniors in Miles Humphreys, Hunter Higdon, Wesley Wester and Hunter Allen. Their leadership will be crucial throughout this week.
There is no doubt Carter Holt is the ace for the Eagles, and he has come up big in key games. He might have pitched his best game in the Class A sectional against Peabody.
JC scores 9 in 6th for state berth
Forrest lost in sectionals last year also, so the Rockets are glad to have taken the next step and reached the state tournament.
Forrest has won 20 of its last 21 games with the loss coming in Game 1 of the District 9-A championship.
•Scotts Hill (22-11) vs. Gordonsville (15-19) at MTCS, 6:30 p.m.: The Lions are back after reaching the state tournament in 2014.
Scotts Hill has the opportunity to play a team with a losing record, but Gordonsville shouldn’t be counted out because the Tigers beat some good teams to get here.
The Lions finished fourth in District 15-A, but they won when it counted in the postseason to get here.
Junior Kimmel is one of the top pitchers in District 15-A, while Evan Russell is one of the top hitters. Both will need to be at the top of their games for the Lions to win.
Gordonsville lost to Goddpasture in the its district and region final, but the Tigers beat Boyd Buchanan on the road to reach the state tournament.
Nine of their 19 losses came in regular season tournaments.
Class AA
•Chester County (22-10) vs. CAK (30-9) at Blackman, 6:30 p.m.: As the Eagles make their first-ever appearance in the state tournament, they face a team that is accustomed to making trips to the state tournament.
Christian Academy of Knoxville lost to Sullivan South in the Class AA sectionals last year, but the Warriors have reached the state tournament previously.
Chester County is a team that is going to battle and make you work for any win over them. This team isn’t afraid to play from behind, and the bottom of the batting order has come up big in the last couple of weeks.
Eagles’ bats connect late for sectional win
The Eagles have won seven straight games. CAK has also won seven straight and 13 of its last 14 with the loss coming against AAA power Farragut at Vanderbilt.
The Warriors have given up more than three runs seven times this season, so they will have their defensive fundamentals down.
•Milan (27-11-1) vs. Spring Hill (29-8) at Smyrna, 6:30 p.m.: Spring Hill, like Milan, also got eliminated in the district tournament last year, but both of these teams have the potential to be a powerhouse, and they played each other in 2011.
Milan relies on quality pitching from Landon Walker, Connor Creasy and Mason Holden, and Holden also leads the team at the plate.
The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven games with the loss coming against Chester County in the region championship.
Bulldogs take what’s given to them to win
Spring Hill beat CPA, the defending state champion, three out of their four meetings this season, including in the district and region championships.
The Raiders have won 14 straight games, and they have given up 15 runs during that stretch with six shutouts.
Michael Odom, 425-9754