Although there is still one local regular season baseball game Tuesday evening — Baylor at Walker Valley — the local teams have turned their attention to the postseason, which will get underway Thursday.
With just four teams now, both Districts 5-4A and 6-4A will play a best-of-3 semifinal series before holding a single game championships battle.
As the top two seeds in District 5 Cleveland High and Walker Valley will have the advantage, hosting the Thursday opener, as well as the Saturday if necessary games. The lower seeded teams will host the Friday games.
The first two Blue Raider-Rhea County games will start at 5:30, while if Saturday is needed it will start at 2 p.m.
In a rematch of a very tight regular season series, the Mustangs will battle McMinn County, with 6 p.m. first pitches Thursday and Friday, while Saturday's if needed game time is yet to be determined.
The 5-4A championship game will be played Monday evening at 6, at the home of the higher seed.
In the District 6-A event, Bradley Central claimed the No. 1 seed for the eighth time in veteran "Papa Bear" Travis Adams' 17 seasons at the helm.
The Bears will entertain fourth-seed Howard, starting at 7 p.m., at the McKenzie Baseball Complex for the first two games, while third-seed East Hamilton will visit runner-up Ooltewah at the same times.
If a Saturday game is necessary for either series, it will start at 2 p.m., but if both are sweeps the District 6 championship game will be Saturday afternoon instead.
If either semifinal series goes the distance then the title game will be Monday at 7 p.m., at the home of the higher seed.
Two teams from each district will advance to Region 3 play the following weekend at the home field of the District 6 winner.
BLUE RAIDERS
Claiming their first regular season title since 2008, District Coach of the Year Brent Tucker's Blue Raiders have drawn fourth-seeded Rhea County in the opening series, while Coach Wes Anderson's Mustangs will tangle with No. 3 seed McMinn County.
Going 19-11 on the campaign, including a 7-2 district mark, Cleveland swept the three-game regular season series with the Golden Eagles, outscoring the boys from Evensville 27-12.
Becoming just the seventh head baseball coach in the school's 58-year history, Tucker took over a program had just two winning seasons and played in only four District 5 semifinals in the last 13 years.
After a very successful 28-year coaching career in Georgia, Tucker's first "Blue Crew" posted the most victories since 2006.
Led by District 5-4A Player of the Year Mycah Jordan, Cleveland also features All-District Team members Christian Lee, Tyler Gardner, Nolan Copeland, Cutter Womack, Jack McBrayer and Caden Tippens.
Jordan, a three-sport standout for the Raiders, has made numerous highlight film catches covering more territory than any other area centerfielder with a .963 fielding percentage.
He is hitting .298, with a .394 on base percentage. The Virginia Tech baseball signee has five doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs in his 28 hits, plus has stolen 20 bases, scored 26 times and driven in 15 runs.
A sophomore lefty, Lee leads the Cleveland pitching staff with 62 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched. He is also tops on the team with a 1.29 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, while posting a 3-1 record in eight appearances, including seven starts.
Gardner, a junior righty, lead the team with a 6-0 mound record, with a save as seven of his 10 appearances coming in relief. He has a 2.31 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP with 31 Ks in 27.1 IP.
Copeland, the starting second baseman and No. 2 hitter, has a .383 OBP, with five two-baggers and a triple in 20 hits. He has scored 22 times and swiped 19 bases.
Womack tops the hitters with a .341 BA, a .534 OBP, a .974 OPS and a 24 stolen sacks. Able to play outfielder, first base and pitch, the Tusculum commit normally bats in the third slot with 22 hits, including five doubles and a "bomb," 26 walks and has been "plunked" eight times.
Transferring over from East Hamilton, McBrayer has been pivotal at shortstop and on the bump. Batting clean-up, the senior has a .312 BA, with a .476 OBP and an .801 OPS. He has driven in 22 runs on 24 hits, plus had worked 26 free passes.
Although just hitting .247, with a .265 OBP, Tippens leads the squad with 24 RBI, knocking eight two-baggers and a round-tripper. The sophomore catcher also boasts a .996 fielding percentage.
As a team, Cleveland has scored 167 runs, with a .401 OBP and 49 extra base hits. The Raiders have shutout five opponents and only being shutout once in a 1-0 loss to Walker Valley.
After splitting their first 18 games, the Raiders have won 9-of-11 to cap the regular season.
MUSTANGS
After a TSSAA State Championships run, including the Region 3 title and a sweep in the sectional series, the northside Herd returned quite a bit and placed a half dozen Stallions — Braxton Smith, Conner Phillips, Titus Torbett, Jordan Smith, Felipe Castellanos and Carson Minnix — on the All-District Team.
Carson-Newman signee Braxton Smith has been a mainstay atop the team stats, leading the way with a .425 BA and a .541 OBP. With a .586 slugging percentage, the senior outfielder/pitcher has posted a 1.128 OPS.
Despite missing a trio of games late in the season due to an injury, the three-year starter has nine doubles, a triple and a homer in his 37 hits. He has scored 21 times and swiped 11-of-11 bases, while posting a .961 fielding percentage.
In 27.1 innings on the hill, Smith has a 1.54 ERA, with a 1.28 WHIP, striking out 36 and handing out just 11 free passes.
Phillips is also a two-way threat hitting .302, with a .364 OBP, with a half dozen two-baggers and a dinger in his 29 hits. The two-year starter has plated 20 teammates, scored 13 times and stolen seven bases.
Toeing the rubber, the lefty went 3-1 with in nine appearances, including six starts. He has struck out 34 batters in 35 innings pitched, giving up just 18 "freebies."
Torbett has been the ace of the staff, also going 3-1, with a save, with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. The senior lefty leads the team with 50 Ks and just 16 walks/hit batsmen in 42.2 innings on the bump.
In his third season behind the plate for the Mustangs, Jordan Smith is hitting .278 with a .458 OBP, with a half dozen doubles in his 29 hits, driving in nine runs.
The younger Smith sibling has caught 199.2 innings, posting a .977 fielding percentage, recording 31 assists, while throwing out 27.5% (14-of-51) of would be base stealers.
Also a two-year starter, Castellanos has delivered several game-winning hits this season while putting together a .333 BA, with a .440 OBP.
The senior shortstop had five two-baggers in his 28 hits, driving in 15 teammates and scoring 15 times himself. He has also swiped 6-of-7 bases and had struck out just a half dozen times in 101 plate appearances.
Minnix holds down the No. 3 spot in the batting order with a .317 BA and a .453 OBP. The junior second baseman had a couple of doubles and a homer in his 26 hits, plating 16 runs, plus scoring 17 times.
Junior Cooper Henry has been strong out of the pen for the Herd, posting a 3-2 records with a trio of saves in as many opportunities. In 11 appearances the lanky left-hander has a team-best 1.36 ERA, with a 1.25 WHIP. He has struck out 28 in 25.2 innings and allowed just five earned runs.
After winning just one of its first eight games, Walker Valley has won 13 of 21 since. Coach Wes Anderson's Herd has put 149 runs on the board this season, while allowing 129 to opponents.
In the three-game series with McMinn County, the Mustangs dropped the opener 1-0 before bouncing back for 8-2 and 6-2 wins to leapfrog the Tribe for the No. 2 tournament seed and the home field advantage.
BEARS
After dropping its first five games against tough competition in No. 1-ranked (DII-A) Boyd Buchanan and four strong Florida teams, Bradley (20-7) turned things around with a 16-game winning streak that saw them give up more than two runs only twice.
During the hot run, the Bears breezed through the District 6 race without a loss, including a trio of Howard in which they outscored the Hustlin' Tigers 44-0.
For the second straight season Bradley has been lead by District Player of the Year Alex Brew.
The Lee University signee tops the team in batting and pitching, as well as being an outstanding defensive centerfielder with a .980 fielding percentage.
On the bump, the lefty is 3-1 with a 1.55 ERA, 1.254 WHIP, with 50 Ks in 40.2 IP. With eight starts in his dozen appearances he has given up just nine earned runs so far this season.
As the Bear leadoff man, Brew tops the team with a .397 BA, a .545 OBP and a 1.024 OPS.
The four-year starter has four two-baggers and a triple in his 29 hits, plus has driven in 16 runs and scored 25 times. With just a half dozen strikeouts in 101 plate appearance, the speedster has also swiped 16-of-17 bases.
Other Bears earning All-District 6 honors were teammates Jaxon Humble, Luke Keith, Hank Adams and Brody Casteel.
Humble is second on the team, hitting .342, with a .489 OBP, a .512 slugging% and a 1.010 OPS. The junior second baseman leads the sleuth with 22 "ribbies," plus has circled the bases 22 times as well.
Hitting eight second or cleanup, Humble has stroked eight doubles, a three-bagger and a home run in his 25 hits and is 9-for-9 on stolen base attempts.
The No. 3 hitter, Keith has a .297 BA, with a .469 OBP, an .875 OPS, with 20 RBI and 19 runs scored. The UTC football signee plays third and first base and has a trio of two-baggers, a triple and a homer in his 22 hits.
Carrying on the long Adams family tradition, like his dad Travis did on the 1994 state championship team, Hank plays shortstop with a .925 fielding percentage.
The Cleveland State signee is hitting .301 with a .384 OBP with a trio of doubles in his 19 hits, plus has scored 16 times and driving in nine teammates.
Swapping from a starter to the team's closer, Casteel set a program record with eight saves in as many opportunities.
Also a Cleveland state signee, the hard-throwing right-hander throws consistently in the upper 80s and has topped the 90-mile-per hour mark at times. With a 2.04 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP, he has 31 Ks in 24 innings, during 15 appearances.
The Bear pitching staff also features Bryan College signee Josh Leek, who is 6-3, with a save in 10 appearances. The 6-foot-5 righty has 37 strikeouts in 36 innings of work, posting a 2.14 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP.
Playing first base when not on the bump, Leek is hitting .268, with a .469 OBP, driving in 13 runs and scoring 11 times with three doubles and a homer in his 15 hits.
Coming on strong of late, sophomore Tyler Cook has worked his way into the starting lineup hitting .286, with a .475 OBP and a .904 OPS. He ahs a double and a home run in just 28 at bats.
Seniors Tito Williams and Teigan Cassada have held down the corner outfield positions for most of the season, getting on base at a .354 and .387 rate respectively.
Williams, a Northwestern football signee and Steve Sloan Award winner, has four doubles and a triple in 16 hits, with a dozen runs scored and 10 RBI.
Despite hitting in the No. 9 hole most of the time, Cassada leads the team with three "dingers" this season, plus has a trio of doubles in his dozen hits, scoring 20 times and driving in 13 runs.
Outscoring opponents 172-92, the Bears have five shutouts this season, all coming against district competition. Bradley pitching and defense have held 17 opponents to two runs or less.
Led by eight-time Coach of the Year Travis Adams, the Bears having won 20+ games in seven of the last eight seasons.
Bradley will be looking to make their six straight region tournament, during which time they have made the TSSAA Sectional four times, including the 2019 state runner-up run.
