Gabby

Science Hill lost to Mount Juliet 2-1. Zack Thompson hit a lead off home run for Science Hill's lone run. Andrew Sweeney pitched another good game. Will Craig relieved in the sixth I believe. In the seventh, the lead off hitter hit a triple. Science Hill walked the next two batters intentionally. Unfortunately, Will Craig walked the next batter giving the win to Mount Juliet. Science Hill lost of Houston, 4-2. Good post of the game can be found at: http://www.gamechanger.io/game-2632898/boxscore?src=scoreboard It was cold and windy, D-No didn't have command of off speed. Had to rely on fast ball for strikes. Houston hitter caught up to a high fast ball and got it into the wind for I believe a three run home run. Science Hill came back and got a run. Houston scored another run on a sacrifice fly. Science Hill scored in seventh and had runners on second and third when Zack Thompson made the last out. Right now Science Hill isn't hitting that well. Even against Sullivan Central, Science Hill didn't hit the ball that well after the 1st inning. Zack Thompson and Kevin Nelson are hitting real well, and Geoff Smith and Heath Lloyd are getting their hits. D-No is hitting for average by hitting ground balls that no one can throw him out on. Right now there are a lot of outs in the line up, and it's hard to sustain a rally with more outs than hits in the line up. I think the coach is starting to shuffle the line up a bit to see if he can find some hits. And everyone knows that some of these guys will start hitting. So you better get Science Hill now while they're down. When the hitting starts catching up with their pitching, SH will be tough to beat.

I wasn't able to go either, so what I have to say is all second hand. First game (St. Benedicts out of Memphis--loss 7-1), SH came out a little flat offensively and defensively. I think they had 3 or 4 errors, got behind 5-1 and just couldn't claw their way back. The second game (Soddy Daisy--win 8-2), Andrew Sweeney gave up a home run in the first inning, then he dominated the rest of the game. Against Faragut (loss 18-7), it was a close game with Farragut ahead 6-4 until about the fourth inning. Faragut scored a couple of runs. SH got two outs, and Will Craig had a 3-2 count on the batter. The batter walked, and the flood gates opened--Farragut scored 8 runs that inning. SH came back and scored three. Then SH gave up a five run inning. So minus the two innings where Faragut scored 13 runs, it would have been a closer game. In the last game, Baylor (loss 18-3) scored 12 runs in the first inning. Good experience for SH, giving the coaches some opportunities to put players in certain situtations and see how they perform. Not everything was bad. Some players shone: Sweeney pitched well, Zack Thompson had several hits, Kevin Nelson had a few homeruns, and Geoff Smith got some hits. Others have seen where they need to improve. Early in the year, the objective is always to keep improving. Fortunately, SH has Norris who can stop a lot of losing streaks.

Baylor 18 Science Hill 3

These are the scores that I have for Friday! St. Benedict 7 Science Hill 1 Science Hill 8 Soddy Daisy 2 McCallie 6 Sparkman 5

I don't know about overpitching. He looked tired to me, and I wouldn't have been surprised if they hadn't let him come out in the seventh. Regardless, I have a lively debate with my son. Which is the better pitcher: Pfeiffer (16-1) or Norris (8-0? That why coaches make the big bucks. Of course, as a high school coach, you've got to develop your talent for the conference, district, substate, and state tournaments as well as have something for next year. It is hard to win the conference with one pitcher, much less state. To be a state contender, you've got to have two solid pitchers and a good A-/B+ pitcher. Norris can win about anytime he throws his glove out there. If you pitch him too much, he may run out of gas during the tournaments and your number two or three may not have any confidence when you need them most. In order to succeed, you've got to fail once in a while. The secret is not to fail too often.

For those keeping up with the tournament: Scenic City Scores: Farragut 1, McCallie 0 Soddy Daisy 11, St. Benedict 9 Baylor 10, Walker Valley 0 Ooltewah 5, Briarcrest 4

I believe this early in the season, SH probably has everyone on about a 90 pitch count. SH has the arms this year, how-be-it most are inexperienced. Cunningham pitched well--upper 80s occasionally touching 90, but looked a little tired about the 4th inning, throwing a lot pitches at the end. His defense did let him down early, but I believe most teams are going to need to bring their A games (pitching, defense, and offense) this year to beat Science Hill, especially when Norris pitches. Norris started to get a little tired in the sixth, pitches were beginning to be elevated and didn't have the command. Still a tired Norris is better than most other fresh pitchers.

Today is one of the best days of the baseball season. Every team is a possible contender. Hope is eternal. By Thursday, some teams will be schuffling. Some contenders will be pretenders, and some teams will be surprises! But overall, there is nothing like the opening of baseball season. Enjoy it! Each of us would trade everything to be able to play one more season.

Nice to hear from you plowboy. For a while, I thought I was the only one interested in Big 8 baseball. Regarding pitching at Science Hill this spring, they seem to be loaded. The starters are probably in this order: 1. Norris, 2. Craig, 3. Will Carter, 4. Andrew Sweeney, 5. Brycen Renfro, and 6. Reed Hayes 6. Heath Loyd (Junior from Providence Academy). The relievers are 1. Matt Pope, 2. Cody Campbell, 3. Kyle Wilson, 4. Reid Darden, 5. Bennett Blanton, 6. Mitch Wilbur (left hander), and 7. Harrison Spencer (left hander). Of course, most have not faced varsity hitting. Matt Pope is particularly interesting. Throws probably in low 90s, with emphasis on throws. Against Cocke County, faced 5 batters, walked two, struck out threee, and gave up two runs. Need I say more! Against Cocke County, pitching (Norris, Sweeney, Renfro, and Pope) probably struck out 27 of the 30 possible outs in the ten innings they played.

Science Hiil has their second scrimmage against Morristown East,Tuesday afternoon. Saturday, the pitching looked strong with four pitchers giving up three runs over 10 innings of scrimmage. Will Craig jacked a home run. Science Hill plays Wednesday and Thursday at Cardinal Park against Virginia High and Elizabethton, respectively. SH opens Tuesday against Crockett and plays Wednesday against Tennessee High. How is everyone else doing? Any comments on the upcoming season.

With March 14th approaching, what are the scouting reports from the Big 8? Who are the players from the teams to watch for this year? Who will be the surprise team, and who will be the breakout player? Science Hill returns their core players, especially in the infield. Offensively, Will Carter, Zack Thompson, Will Craig, Daniel Norris, and Kevin Nelson present a formidable group. They need a couple of bats from the remaining players to step up to round out the team offense. Obviously, Daniel Norris is the leading pitcher on the team throwing consistantly in 90s, but Science Hill looks like they will have a stronger and deeper pitching staff than last year. In order to be a contender in high school, you need at least two top quality pitchers who can go out and consistantly shut down teams. Daniel Norris is obviously one. There are several others that are bumping up in the high 80s with one or two hitting 90, and several are throwing in the mid 80s. The question is who is going to have the velocity and the accuracy to shut down other teams. Although it is early, right now Science Hill's defense is a little rusty. Also, in my opinion, their non-pitching bench isn't as strong as it has been. Nevertheless, it is hard not to pick SH to win the conference. 1. Science Hill--Norris will be too much for the other teams 2. Tennessee High--I believe their pitching is stronger than Dobyns-Bennett's hitting 3. Dobyns-Bennett--There offense will carry them 4. Daniel Boone--Some pitching, but need to improve offensively 5. Davy Crockett--Marti leaving really hurt, I believe they will be a better team next year 6. Sullivan South--Don't know too much about South, Central, or Volunteer 7. Sullivan Central 8. Volunteer-- Good luck to everyone! I hope each team exceeds their potential!

That is a big loss for Crockett. He should have beat Science Hill and Norris last year. He was cruising along and Crockett brought in Freeman, and I believe SH scored four runs to win the game. It wasn't all Freeman's fault. There were 4 fly balls hit, and I thought 3 of them should have been caught. If any of those fly balls had been caught, I believe Crockett would have won.

Anyone want to comment on their teams or how they see the season going? Personally, I think Science Hill will have another good season. I look for Boone and David Crockett to contend. I don't know much about Tennessee High other than the Cunningham kid looks pretty good. Dobyns-Bennett is always a handful for any team. Again, I don't know that much about Sullivan South, Volunteer, or Sullivan Central. Science Hill has Daniel Norris returning. When he is on the mound, SH always has a good shot. I think that the pitching overall this year should be better than last year. Several juniors are starting to come into their on. I also think that the hitting should be better than last. Science Hill lost a handful of seniors, but their offensive core is back Zack Thompson, Daniel Norris, Will Carter, Will Craig, and the Nelson kid. If they can get a couple of the others to step up, SH should have a solid team.

I agree that those that want to are hitting and throwing at some facility in the local area. Moreover, in some instances they are getting better coaching at these facilities than they do on their high school field. I agree that everyone should follow the rules, though; even if the intent of the rules is so easily circumvented by going to externnally controlled facilities. In some cases the facility is more demanding than the high school coach.

Science Hill has a very talented team, and their thrid string could beat most of the teams in the Big 8 and their JV team could beat some of the teams in the Big 8. I don't know why the coaches coach the way they do or why they want to beat everyone by 40 points, but that is their priviledge. As long as they have so much talent, someone is going to get left out. There have been a number of good players that have transferred to other schools to have the opportunity to play. The only way to spread the wealth more evenly is for the county schools (Washington and Sullivan) to consolidate with the city schools, but that will dilute the talent in the city schools. So that will never happen.

It must be getting close to baseball season, because it is mighty cold outside today. Maybe the cold will wake up some Big 8 regulars. Everyone have a Merry Christmas. Baseball will be here soon!!!!

Only the listed composite bats are allowed, regardless of BESR sticker. My understanding is that all non-composite bats with BESR stickers are allowed. Next year, BCOR stickers will be required on all legal bats.

I believe that all non-composite bats are still available for 2011. In 2012, I believe that all bats will need the BBCOR stamp.

Wood is always legal!

Has anyone heard when the Fall High School League sponsored by East Tennessee State and the Edge will start. It was interesting to watch it last year and try to figure which players were going to be playing in the spring.

I think Norris pitched so many innings in the district tournament and substate that Coach Edwards didn't feel that DNo would be as effective in the first game of state. The problem was not having a consistent #2 pitcher to go to. Science Hill had several pitchers that had a few real good games, but they had also had some games that they got beat up. If Science Hill hadn't fielded so poorly in the first game against Mt. Juliet, Edwards might have been heralded as a genius. If Science Hill had won the first game, Science Hill would have probably won the second game with DNo pitching. By the third game as winners, you are facing a depleted pitching staff from the losers bracket. Pitching was Science Hill's achilles heel from the start of the season. I was hoping that the hitting would be good enough to hide the pitching problems. Your pitching doesn't need to be that good if your team is scoring 12 or 13 runs a game. I figured DNo was finished yesterday when he had to pitch the 7th inning against Coffee County and to Coffee County's credit, they extended the inning.

Does anyone know if there will be radio/tv coverage of any of the AAA games, especially Science Hill/Mt. Juliet. Is there any radio station that covers any of the other teams that might stream their audio over the internet. Thanks.

Each of the winners in the sectional move onto the state. Losers are eliminated.

Science Hill beat Davy Crockett 8-5. Science Hill scored 5 runs in bottom of sixth.

Plowboy, Sorry to get to you so late. Went saw all the tournament games. Davy Crockett saved their best baseball for the tournament. Their pitching just ran out the last night. SH plays Jefferson County and DC plays Sevier County. I think the Big 8 has a good chance of winning both. I am assuming Norris will be pitching for SH and Freeman for Crockett. I talked to parent from Morristown West who played Jefferson County. He thought Jeff County was a better hitting team than it was a pitching team. Any predictions for next year? SH losing 8 seniors, but the core players will be back. Mainly losing 3 outfielders and three pitchers, but those were strengths of JV team. Corey McPhearson will probably be replaced Will Carter and DelGaicco will be replaced by Kevin Nelson. Norris and Zach Thompson are going to be a year older and stronger. I honestly think SH should be just as strong if not stronger next year. DC losing 4 seniors, but two are Freeman and DeLoach. How is DB shaping up?