bizazz

South Doyle has been building for this since the current group of seniors arrived on campus. They were unable to get past Farragut in prior years, but that says a lot about Farragut.

Those guys got plenty of looks. In many cases the problem comes down to how much scholarship money UT is willing to allocate. And, whether real or perceived, opposing recruiters will try and point out arm problems with pitchers. Coach Rock has realized that there's a lot of talent in East Tennessee, and he's working to get some of those guys down to Memphis.

Nothing ends for Halls today. By virtue of being the winner's bracket champ they've already qualified for a spot in the Region. All that remains is whether they finish #1 (and host the District 4 runner-up) or finish #2 (and play at the District 4 champ).

West defeated Central 2-1 in what ended up being an excellent pitcher's duel. Jake Ryan just happened to be the better pitcher tonight. West meets O.R. in the loser's bracket final. Both teams will likely focus on that game and not worry about Halls. A region berth is at stake.

This is the deepest West has gone into a district tournament in a long time.

Wow. I read where Farragut had made the sectionals something like 10 years in a row? All things come to an end. Farragut has had a tremendous run. I figured they would climb out of the loser's bracket and make the region. Congrats to LC.

At Halls 5/4 5:00 #1 Halls - #8 Campbell Co. 7:30 #4 Powell - #5 West At Oak Ridge 5/4 5:00 #2 Oak Ridge - #7 Central 7:30 #3 Karns - #6 Clinton

Anymore word on this? I've heard some rumors.

I'd guess there's a bias toward picking players from AAA teams. 11 of the first teamers come from AAA programs. For the most part AAA is much deeper across the Knoxville area. There are some good AA clubs, but not nearly as many as AAA. A ball is even more lacking. Just look at the relative success in postseason. West and Middle Tennessee are more competitive at the A and AA levels. Because of this I'd say players from A and AA programs have to do a lot more to get noticed. This is not to say that there aren't outstanding players at those levels. However it's easier for a "stud" to accumulate some big stats when the overall competition is weaker. Oftentimes there are a number of deserving players left off an "all-star" team. There are only so many slots available. Also, some deserving players get omitted because they cannot put up the numbers or get recognition due to player for a mediocre to bad team.

Looks like a strong lineup. Is there a tournament schedule posted anywhere?

Sorry the boys couldn't bring home the championship, but a great showing nonetheless.

Based on the article I read, Zach understands why he was selected. As far as all-district is concerned, there are some players that miss post-season recognition because they play on mediocre teams. It can also depends on the level of competition. A batter in one district can feast on opponent pitching whereas a batter with equal ability might not fare as well in a district with tougher pitching. A HS team's #1 pitcher may have a worse record than the #2 and #3 guys because he faces the best opposition. If a pitcher never gets run support, or has a defense that surrenders a lot of errors, he's going to have a tough time winning games -regardless of his ability. That's not to take away from the players that earn post-season recognition. More often than not they are deserving of their accolades.

I was also surprised about Catapano as well as a couple of other E. Tennessee players - Lockwood and Cannon. It could be the word got out that these guys were intent on enrolling in college and the pros decided not to waste a pick.

CAK could build a program similar to some of the West Tennessee schools if they wanted to. They have a lot of resources. Now that they are playing AA ball they should be more competitive. They played pitifully weak competition at the Class A level. As far a wholesale transfers, I believe players would be required to sit out a year. As I recall you can transfer from a DI private school to public school without penalty, but not the other way around. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I've also heard the Lindsay and Pharr rumors.

So far, Farragut is the team of the century. 3rd title in 4 years.

Congratulation Admirals. Who woulda thought? From 4th place in the District to State Champs. Ad25 and Soup - good to hear from ya.

I believe the NCAA has gone back to the true double-elimination haven't they? They went to a single game for a few years while CBS was televising the event.

I have mixed emotions. At times I'd like to see it set up where a team needs more than just one pitcher to make the state. OTOH I like the current Sectional because it doesn't penalize a stronger Region (they can send 2 teams to the state like in 2004 when the two Region 2 teams met in the championship game). That's my main objection to just making the 8 Region champs the representatives to the Fling. Having a 8-team field is consistent with the way the colleges do it. I like that better than just a "final 4".

Wow Ads, way to go. I must admit I underestimated this team. I wasn't surprised to see them make the state, but I didn't think they'd make it this far. Fortunately nobody relies on my opinions anyway.

Hozr, good luck to your Ads. It's a tall task, but I'm sure Tommy will have the team prepared to fight. Even with the Collierville loss it sounds as if the Farragut pitching staff has stepped up. Solid effort by Powell even in the loss.

That would be Dolinak(sp?).

BwAnG No need to shout. We can hear you just fine . You are correct that there were elements from Halls and SD that engaged in the frivolity as well. Heck, everybody has some trash talkers. I'll agree with you that I didn't read nearly as much from the DB camp once the season started. But as I recall you and some others initiated a lot of discussion back in February and early March. That's way there have been comments directed at you. Like I said, feel free to talk smack all you want. Just remember, that when you don't back it up (e.g. "we're going to the State"), you're going to get it back at you. I don't have a horse in this race, I just prefer to see teams do their talking between the lines.

Stonewall, you make good points. It's been discussed elsewhere that a team can ride a stud pitcher through the Region and Sectional games. However, the team must still play solid defense and manage to score at least one run, regardless of how good the pitching is. Therefore Farragut deserves credit for making the plays when they needed them. I didn't witness the Sectional game, but Farragut made a couple of crucial defensive gems in the Halls game last Monday or Halls probably wins that game. Also, Farragut was able to put the ball into play at the crucial time. One of the reasons that DB has been chided on here is because of all the mouth-running that went on early in the season. DB had a fine team. However many get tired of DB supporters filling up the message board with trash talk. I'm old school when it comes to that. I believe in making your statement on the field. As long as it stays within bounds of acceptability, posters have every right to talk smack on this board. But if they do they should be prepared for a backlash if they can't back it up. If it was just DB supporters rather than players that did all the talking, then I'm sorry. I realize that you can't control what someone decides to post in this forum. However I would hope that supporters would realize their actions can backfire. Congratulations to DB on a fine season. There are a lot of good teams that are sitting at home right now. That's just the nature of the sport.

Careful, or I'll report you to Bill Higdon the next time you're at LNS.

Wow, radio props! Thanks DD. I'd love to see some Spring Fling games, but the Boro is just a little too far away. I'm leaving for the beach week after next and need to get some work done. I've gotten to know many associated with the Admiral Baseball program over the years and you guys are a class act. We all expected Catapano to be good, but for this team to make it to the State demonstrates what a great coach Tommy is. I think some of us on the outside looking in were a bit fooled because Farragut has lost so many "name" players the past couple of years. The Admirals rode out some tough times early in the year and came together at the right time. Baseball is a tournament sport - Farragut has proven that point by emerging from the #4 seed in the district. I'm glad to see Region 2-AAA represented at the Fling again this year. Hope that some folks will keep us posted on what's going on.