NtheDIRT

Congratulations Blackman!! I wish you luck all the way through!

That's beautiful. I'll remember.

It seems to me that Blackman and Oakland are being way underestimated this year. Yes, Riverdale added two new players and a new coach. Oakland also added a Coffee Co. coach who knows Breeden very well and takes away the "coaching" advantage Riverdale might have. Blackman can boast two power hitters in Hicks and Gregory and a stand up defense. They also swept Oakland in regular season last year. Oakland loss to Siegel will have no effect until next year, as they still have four members last year's all-district team and two who should have been. They will have one of the best hitting teams in the state, with Hodge, Ayers, and Boyce, as well as several contact hitters with good speed. Riverdale can claim Vaught and Catalano as their go-to people, but both Blackman and Oakland have several strong pitchers each. District 7AAA should be a good one this year, most likely dominated by Murfreesboro teams (don't count out Siegel just yet.) Here's my look: Oakland Riverdale Blackman Cookeville Lebanon Siegel Warren Co. White Co.

Seniors: Kaycie Jones (Catcher) and Megan Lufkin (Short stop).

I believe the pitchers from Riverdale (Vaught), Oakland (Boyce), and Blackman (Gregory) are all excellent pitchers, so in tournament time, it will come down to hitting and defense. From what I've seen, Oakland has the best all-around team with Blackman at a close second. Blackman beat Oakland twice in regular season, but with a long streak of consecutive distric tourney wins on the line, Oakland will step it up a level. Riverdale has many very good players but as a team are weak. Errors have cost them many a game. With 5 starting freshmen, though, RHS will be a strong force in 7AAA. I do not, however, believe that 7AAA is the toughest, which is why this thread was started. I would have to go with 8AAA and 9AAA.

The district tournament starts on Monday in Lebanon. Oakland has the No. 1 seed and Blackman has the No. 2 seed. I don't have a scedule or know the rest of the seedings.

Both programs are excellent, but I'm going to have to go with Oakland. They've played unbelievably this year and, to my knowledge, have only lost 2 games (1 district). Both Boyce and Vaught are strong pitchers, and while Vaught may be the better of the two, Boyce has the defense behind her. Oakland can also expect run production from everyone on the team, from top to bottom, and has valuable players who can come off the bench and make things happen. My vote is going to Oakland. [Edited by NtheDIRT on 4-20-03 4:48P]

AAA this year could be Rossview, Beech, Oakland, Soddy Daisy, and Maryville.

Coffee County fans do need to tone it down a little bit. They make the team look bad.

I did not mean to imply that Lebanon was not very good. Two years ago they were a very good team, but in the district tournament last year, they made it to the final game because Riverdale fell apart, not because of incredible talent. Oakland blew them away in the championship game. I think this year Riverdale and Blackman will get their acts together in this district tournament. They were excellent last year but not very focused when it mattered. Blackman is working hard and Riverdale has an excellent pitcher. Cookeville has one of the best coaches in the state, and I believe the Warren County pitcher played with a travel team this year. I'm not sure which one but they did very well, so she should be very ready for this season. But I wish good luck to all the teams. These were just my predictions! I'd like to see what someone else predicts!

1. Oakland- they only lost 1 player. 2. Blackman- they're working hard. 3. Riverdale- they lost a lot of people. 4. Cookeville- they play well all season but seem to lose it around district tournament time. 5. Warren County- they'll be okay. 6. Lebanon- not very impressive since the opening of Wilson Central. 7. White County- just not much talent in that area.

All the juniors at Oakland are excellent ball players!

Oakland! 9 district championships in a row?!? 4th in State last year?!?

I am not impressed with the Firebirds. They were good once upon a time, but they've changed their roster too many times to keep a team together. Now they rarely win big tournaments.