Indian

Soddy-Daisy..best junior leadoff in the state, arguably best junior pitcher in the state and very good players throughout the the line-up. Also a coach, like him or hate him, that's been there again and again.

I didn't name the game, but that's what it's going to be called. Why don't your teams set up something like that and you can call it whatever you want. I think I wrote in the first line it was players from North Georgia-Chattanooga. If I'd said no players from Giles, Brentwood Academy, Coffee, wherever could break the starting line-up on it or some similar ridiculous comment you would have a good complaint. Call Clifford Kirk at Soddy-Daisy High School, if you want the name of the game changed to Chattanooga-North Georgia, I'm sure he'd take it under consideration. And it's pretty tacky downing players like that (the second post). I think it's a great group of seniors for an area that's not too big and has few large schools.

[Edited by Indian on 5/14/02 6:40P]

[Edited by Indian on 5/14/02 6:42P]

Don't know. Probably the players the coach remembers most from summer and school play were his choices. It's definitely Chattanooga-heavy with only three out-of-county players (and Lively, Swafford and Mounce are well-known from summer play in Chattanooga). An argument could be made for other seniors naturally but the cut-off had to be somewhere..I think I may know the players you wish made it but I would just tell them if they're disappointed to go and play well in college and let the organizers know they made a mistake back in '02. (I'm assuming the coach made the picks but that's not 100 percent certain).

Seniors vs seniors here, no one with college experience playing such as when older local players played the Olympic team.

Top graduating seniors from North Georgia will play against girls from Chattanooga and the surrounding area in a all-star softball double-header on June 17 in Frost Stadium. The Tennessee roster has Maranda Mounce and Kelly Swafford from Sequatchie County, Sarah Boyer from Hixson, Jenny Walker, Holly Pritchett, Sissy Killien from Soddy-Daisy, Jaylane Mongar, Crystal Rice from Ooltewah, Katherine Card and Kristen Bass from Baylor, Gina Sterchi and Lindsay Bornhoeft from GPS, Ashleigh Bull from Red Bank, Jennifer Reed from Lookout Valley, Jenni Yother from Boyd-Buchanan, Michelle Davis and Tiffany Jenkins from Central, Megan Elliot from East Ridge, Adrienne Lively from Bradley Central. 5 good pitchers but 4 of them play other positions and two games will be held so that shouldn't be a problem. I expect most all or maybe even all of these players to sign at some level before too much longer, quite a few signed early. Some names might seem to be missing but some of the top players around Chattanooga are juniors and sophomores.

Game reports on Seq-Hixson this morning wasn't very accurate, I don't think Bledsoe-Hixson report was either. A girl who was listed as getting 3 hits didnt even get one, grounded out 3 times so there's no possible way to score her getting hits such as when a judgment call if she reached on an error or not is made. That's pretty tacky giving a report that's not even an exaggeration or fudging a little, but something that's just false (3 times lol). Anything to get a player's name in the paper I suppose, especially if it's one with a parent who thinks the girl was snubbed somehow. One girl was listed with 2 hits, but one of them was an obvious E on an infielder-average hit ball on the ground straight to the girl 20 feet from first base with a slow runner hitting-and their scorekeeper gave the batter a hit, somehow. Seq had no errors listed, but there was that one, and the bad throw from the outfield that advanced a runner for at least two (not counting the throw home or misplays when a fielder didn't get a glove on the ball). Boxscore had seven hits to 5 for Seq, game brief had three players with 2 each for Hixson and one with 3, 6 was the right number. Seq had 5 hits as a team listed when they actually had 7, there should have been no question on any of them. All but one were sharp hits to the outfield, no girls got a glove on those except once, Young singled to left center on the ground and went to second on an error by the outfielder. Mounce had three, Swafford, Young, Clendenon and Swanger each had one and Leamon reached on an error. Swanger's was an infield single but the infielder fielded the ball cleanly and got it there, the runner just hustled and beat it out. In the Bledsoe game Bledsoe had one error listed when I remember them having two on one play alone that ended up costing runs, and lots more throughout the game. None of that is nearly as important as Hixson getting wins in both games, but I didn't want to sound like I was "protecting" Swafford and Smith's pitching reputations on the board if anyone read the reports this morning and wondered where I was coming from.

[Edited by Indian on 5/10/02 5:01P]

Newcomers in AA this year and two of the state's largest schools in the class-East Ridge and Hixson- made the most of their moves down, finishing 1 and 2 in the 6-AA tourament. Thought I'd give this one its on thread since it's long. Loser's bracket, Hixson beats Seq Co 3-1, Seq. out. Hixson scored two in the third. After a strikeout, a check swing makes contact and a little bloop totally dies in the mud, runner reaches. Sac bunt puts her on second, then a ball is hit underneath an infielders glove near a base, 2 on when there could have been three out. Next batter singles scoring 2. Hixson scored one more in the 5th, 1st batter stikes out, next doubles then goes to third on a wild throw back to the infield. Grounder forces an out at first but another wild throw helps get the runner in, a good throw probably would have got the out easily unless contact forced a drop at home. Seq scored 1 in the 7th, back to back hits from Lydia Clendenon and Mounce give them a run. 1st and 2nd with one out but two pops finish the game. Hixson wins 3-1 after Seq won the regular season game 7-0, every game is different. Sequatchie had 7 hits to 6 for Hixson, Swafford struck out 8, walked none. Boyer gave up 7 hits, struck out just 2, her team let one reach on an error and she hit one batter, Seq stranded 8 runners, stranded 17 and scored a total of one run in the two tournament losses. Mounce had three hits and was hit by a pitch, Swafford, Nikki Young, Clendenon, Kendra Swanger had one hit. End of the high school run for Mounce and Swafford, three district tournament titles and lots of good play the last four years by both. I'm frankly not sure all the remaining players realize how much they meant to the team/program but hopefully the reminders next year won't be too bad or often. Also the end for Deidre Basham who spent one year here but added a lot the basketball and softball teams. Disappointing senior year for these three after only one graduated last year (and a freshman did pretty well at that spot, catcher) but with all the player shifting (two left the team including an all-district player from last year, 3 or 4 quit, 2 dismissed, one likely starter didn't make the grades, one season-ending injury and a late-season freshman starter got sick) maybe the team reached its potential just by finishing with a winning record.

A couple of years ago I saw a report on the NFL combine and some statistics..only 5 NFL players tested had ever run true electronically times sub-4.3's..Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, and some track guys who I don't remember. I really have to question anyone who claims a 4.3 in high school, and I would have to look twice at 4.4's though I'm sure there are a few. (4.75 hand-held, 5.0 electronic here LOL)

Howard's track team did jumping jacks on the track, following the count of the girls after seeing Seq's girls doing them in warm-ups...pitch went way over the backstop and the second baseman hollered to the pitcher that Jesus would catch it, little kid sitting in the dugout yelled-loudly-the entire game (3 innings) he'd come in and pitch for Howard's girls, leadoff batter screamed like she'd seen Freddy Krueger on Swafford's first pitch, so much more..but again they looked like they were having lots of fun out there and that's what counts especially when they're in a no-chance of winning ballgame.

[Edited by Indian on 4/24/02 9:18P]

Was the Howard game on the road? If it was, I understand what you mean about stories from the game (and this has nothing to do with where Howard is located or the racial make-up of their team/school). I don't think I'll ever forget the reaction of Howard's leadoff batter on Swafford's first pitch in the game last week. Just use your imagination. But at least Howard has a team, and they looked like they had lots of fun even though most of their games could literally be 100-0.

Bowman could be the top receiver in the country next year, I am glad I got to see him in person (sophomore year). It's a pretty good statement about the individual talent that's come out of Chattanooga, a relatively small city with only seven 4A-5A schools. Bowman next year, Riggs-arguably the top running back in the country last fall, and the best offensive and defensive linemen ever in the NFL-John Hannah of Baylor and Alabama, and Reggie White of Howard and UT. As far as great teams however, except for a few, you'd have to go back to the Central and Baylor teams from way back in the day.