GC Grizzlies

Big wins for Grainger especially with both on the road in the same week. It looks like Union County may be a step behind Pigeon Forge and Grainger right now. Grainger is just starting to hit their stride. They will continue to play a tough schedule with the Mo West tournament coming up. I think they drew some tough games, but this will only help make them better. The district is far from over, but the chase is on. Good luck to all!

The Grizzlies hit three homeruns with one of those being a grand salami. If the weather had been warm, Grainger would have probably hit 6-7 balls out of the park. (They had 3-4 at the wall or off the base of the fence.) GP hit the ball good too off Graingers #2-3 pitcher. I was suprised how hard Grainger hit the Watson kid from GP. They rocked him from the first pitch of the game. It was an exciting and intense game and Grainger was pumped up from the start. Saturdays game should be a good one too. Grainger @ GP 3:00. Better get an early start with the Rod Run up there this weekend.

Looks like a big week for the big three (Union,Grainger and PF). Grainger is on the road @ Union on Wednesday, and @ PF on Thursday. What does everyone think about these games? A split would be acceptable for most, but I know Grainger will not be happy with anything less than a sweep. Union and PF may be playing closer to their best right now than Grainger.

Grainger plays at home -vs- GP tomorrow at 4:30. Could be quite a game with a lot on the line. They also play the other game which is a makeup too on Saturday at GP.

I think Grainger lost two starters from last years team. They probably were two of the most valuable players though. I think one was their senior (1B) and the other was 09' senior this year (CF) leadoff hitter, who graduated early at Christmas. They will have better than average pitching as they return Mudd who has signed with LMU. She was the pitcher in last years 1-0 Unicoi region game. Hitting and defense have been slow to come around this season, but they did beat Farragut 4-3 in the Gibbs tournament. Most of their early schedule has been against 3A competition in hopes of getting ready for their 2A district. They will be competitive like always. What team are you representing?

Games are rescheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Grainger vs GP Monday and Tuesday. The weather conditions look pretty bad right now. Cold, Wet, and Windy! These two games have the makeup for some great games. I hope conditions are good enough to play in and don't factor into the outcome. I think GP may be a slight favorite going into the games. A win at home on Monday would be big for Grainger right now. Can't wait to see what happens.

Grainger played pretty good in the Gibbs tournament, but unfortunately the record doesnt show it. They did have a big win against Farragut 4-3. They lost to Karns, and Cookeville who I think ended up winning it. They also had a tie with LaVergne (I think thats right). Grainger has played some good competition early and this should help them getting ready for district play. Mudd has thrown the ball well and Heather Roach is throwing the ball well also. They will have pretty good pitching, both throw hard. Now the D needs to keep improving along with continued improvement with the bats. I'm ready for district play to get underway.

How are they doctoring a bat? Does that make the bat illegal? What are ways to tell if a team is using a doctored bat or can you even tell by looking at it?

I think everyone knows on paper PF is the favorite to win the district this year. This years Grainger team is probably a better overall hitting team than they were last year. They have 5-6 longball threats in the lineup this year. That makes them dangerous almost anywhere and anytime. They will be a dangerous team to take for granted, like most people on here are doing. I still see PF as the favorite with GP and Grainger battling for 2nd. Grainger returns their top pitchers and add a couple of new ones that give them depth in the rotation. GP as we all know has one very good pitcher and they are improved, too. I think Grainger likes playing the role as the underdog this season. All the pressure should rest on the shoulders of PF as they try to repeat what they did last season.

Grainger sweeps Union County 11-1 in five innings today. Union has split with GP in two earlier games. It is starting to look like another Grainger and PF battle for the top spot. But, we all know GP can be tough with their ace on the hill. So, things will start to line up in the next week. Union is much improved and can still be a tough play for anyone. Things are getting exciting. Go Grizzlies!

Saw where Pigeon Forge beat Seymour 5-4 and Grainger lost to Seymour 4-0. This looks to be the two teams to beat, but you cant count out UC either. Pigeon Forge may be the favorite now based on this common game outcome. Grainger will have to hit the ball better than they have, but most of their games have been against high quality teams. Most of their early games have been against 3A schools. Looks like it will be another battle this year.

Grainger had to settle for a tie against Gibbs Friday night in the rainy and cold conditions. They were up 5-4 in the top of the inning when the umpire called the game. The score in the last inning was 4-4, thus the tie. They play Union County MON and TUES. I saw where UC split with Gatlinburg Pittman earlier. Will this be a tough contest for Grainger? Is UC better than they have been in the past? If so, there could be a logjam near the top. I think Grainger will have a tough time @ UC on Monday, but will pull out a win. They need to get healthy though. They were missing three players most of the game on Friday. Webster pitched two innings and was sent home sick. Ballard was ill and did not play and Chase Atkins was out of the lineup too. Lets hope they are able to get back in the lineup by Monday. Good luck Grizzlies!

Grainger beat Cumberland Gap Tuesday and Wednesday, beat Hancock County Thursday and lost 8-7 in eight innings @ Seymour on Friday night. I think they led in this game 4 or 5 to nothing into the 3rd or 4th inning. Both teams made a few errors that cost them and Grainger left several key runners stranded late in regulation. Next conference games are Monday and Tuesday against Claiborne.

The Grizzlies open conference play @ Cumberland Gap on Monday. They finished up a tough end of the week with a double header loss to Morristown East and Tennessee High. They lost to Mo West on Wednesday even though they out hit them 12-8 and they lost to East in a slobber knocker 13-12. They start conference play Monday and Tuesday and have what could be a tough matchup @ Seymour later in the week. They have several dangerous hitters in the lineup which could be tough on anyone. If they are able to shore up the defensive mistakes they should push Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Pittman as the season goes on. Good luck @ CG Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies lost to Morristown West 9-6 Wednesday, even though they out-hit West 12-8. I think the Grizzlies could be on the verge of a really good season. They play a couple more tough games this week with Tennessee High tonight and Mo East Friday. Good luck Grizzlies!

Cierra is fine. She took the fall off to rest a little after her travel team played sooooo much. She is getting ready for another big season. The Lady Grizzlies scrimmaged Mo East and came out on top 3-0. I think Cierra pitched pretty well. She'll get better as the season goes on and so will the rest of the girls. Megan is back and will be a tough out as she gets better and better slapping the ball. Good luck ladies!

As I predicted it will be an all UC championship. Union County beat Johnson County by 12 or so. Unicoi had a tough one winning by one over Happy Valley. The championship game looks to be a tossup. With Carters upset win over AE the winner has a good shot at going to the SHOW! Hosting at home makes a huge difference.

Whoever is telling you that Union is a better team than Grainger, must have been in the same boat as you were by not being able to attend many games this year. Grainger beat Union both times this year. I don't think that happens if Union has the best team. Also, Vittitoe and Munsey will hurt you more than Smith will at Union. Smith is a good ballhandler and can take the ball to the basket, but Tyler and Munsey can do that too, plus shoot it with anyone. Granted Skylar had a great game at Union when Bruce Pearl came to watch him, scoring 32, but Farmer and Humphrey had good games especially at home. I think Grainger peaked about three weeks before the season was over when they beat Union in consecutive weeks and then beat a very good Carter team by 20 points (again with Bruce Pearl in the stands as Skylar drops in 44). It seemed like they began to slide after that a little. But, hey thats just my opinion. I think Union can pressure Johnson County with their 2-2-1 the whole game. They didn't seem to me to be a very good ball handling team. It should be a good game. Union will man up on JC in the half court and again IMO win by 8-10.

Unicoi by 12 and Union by 8. An all UC final with Unicoi winning by 6.

The word as of today is Skylar McBee has decided NOT to play baseball. As I understand it, Wake Forest told him it would not be wise to play baseball. You can't blame him for that one, since his true love is basketball.

Great job this season Grizzlies! It's sad to hear you had to finish the season with three starters sick with the flu. You all had a great year and I for one enjoyed watching all of you this season. Good luck to Skylar, Justin, Roy and Shaggy in whatever you guys pursue next. You will be greatly missed next year! Best of luck to Skylar in his decision making process in the coming weeks. Also, has anyone talked with Justin? I know he would be capable of playing somewhere if he was interested in doing it. Great job this year by Coach D, Coach McBee and Coach J. Thanks again Grizzlies for a great season!

I guess I should rephrase my question. Who are the current players that we should count on seeing a lot from on each team? Also, are there any newcomers that will make an impact with their teams this season? A few key players Grainger has returning are Ryan Webster P/1B, Zach Blanken OF/IF, and Brack Ballard OF. OF/IF/P Jed Corum could provide a boost this year as well as returning C/ Lucas Cope and P/ Billy Conley. I still think there will be a couple of suprise contributors for the Grizzlies this year in their inaugaral season. Who are some of the key players we should expect to see this season for PF, GP, Union, Claiborne and CG.

Where do you all think the Rocketech ranks with these bats?

The Lady Grizzlies of Grainger (Rutledge) lost two seniors in 1B/P Kendall Brabson and 2B Whitney Greer. Perhaps the biggest suprise loss was the early graduation of senior ('09) Melissa Fifield. She has been the CF and leadoff hitter for the last couple of years. They will really miss her speed and slapping ability from the box. Rumor also has it that Assistant Coach Day is not coming back this year, too. They are bringing back the district MVP in P/IF Cierra Mudd and have two or three other quality pitchers available in Junior P/3B Heather Roach, Sophomore left handed P/1B Savannah Grubb and Junior P/IF Sierra Nicely. If her knee is healthy Sophomore Megan Greer will probably man CF and leadoff for the Lady Grizzlies. They also return Sr. LF Tia Black, Sr. OF Kayla Maples, Jr. Catcher Mary Collins and So. SS/3B Jessie Fennell. Junior OF Mia Spaw could get some time if Greer is not ready at the beginning of the season. Grainger did not lose to many players from last seasons district championship team. Mudd has already signed with LMU, so she should be relaxed and ready to continue where she left off. PF has a good pitcher returning and UC always competes strong in the district. It will probably be a good race again this year for these three teams. At least the girls don't have to share a field with the baseball team anymore. But, that mound usually was good for one or two big base hits a year and sometimes a Win or two...LOL.