bizazz

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.

Congratulations to the Admirals.

I don't know all the goings on at King. What I'm relating is from a couple of conversations I had with others who were more closely associated with King. Coach Lipker had a tough time transitioning from Coach Kleinman. There's always some tension between new coaches and returning players, but there seemed to be more than usual in King's case. Only a handful of players from the 2005 team ended up playing in 2006. The team was not very good, finishing 9th in a 10 team league. There's two sides to every story, but there was a lot of dissatisfaction from some players and their families. I also heard that Coach Lipker wasn't hired by the current Athletic Director. Year before last King had one of the best squads in the AAC. They lost virtually all of their pitching as well as some other key players prior to the 2006 season. King is moving from the NAIA to NCAA DII. They've spent some money on their facilities and I'd expect to see them more competitive in the future.

Series begins May 17 at Cumberland. http://baseball.victorysportsnetwork.com/

DeviledHornet, you're coming across as a sore loser. One of the negatives of discussion boards like this is that posters can write anything they want behind the shield of anonymity. Nobody knows how successful Catapano will be in college, much less pro ball. But one thing is for certain, his high school record speaks for itself. When it came time to get those last three outs yesterday, he took total control of the game. I guess it's doubley embarrasing when you run your mouth and you can't back it up. That's to take nothing away from Lockwood. He pitched an outstanding game. However the one thing pitchers cannot control is the defense behind him. When batters put the ball into play anything can happen.

I talked to someone on the phone who attended the game. Karns started Henry, but he didn't have his good stuff tonight.

It was a great game. Too bad about the weather conditions. Neither pitcher deserved to lose. The Halls 2b made a fantastic play to keep Farragut off the scoreboard. It seemed like momentum shifted when Farragut threw the runner out at home. Give little Delmonico credit for putting the ball into play. It should've been a doubleplay ball, but wasn't. Well who would've thougth that both Halls and South Doyle would not make the Sectionals this year.

TWC defeated Spalding 8-6 to win the Region XII championship. They'll be playing Cumberland in a best of 3 series to determine who goes to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, ID.

For Knoxville area you can go to knoxnews.com and click on PrepExtra. There are baseball stats for those that are turned in by the coaches. Not all coaches elect to send their stats in.

On paper - The pitching could be a draw. I'd have to give Halls the advantage in terms of batting lineup. Who's more solid defensively? The game could come down to a couple of lucky bounces or fielding mistakes.

I think changing conferences should help. They had to do a lot of travelling in their present conference. They had a lot of new players this year and started playing well at the beginning of the season.

Regular season AAC champ Tennessee Wesleyan won the winner's bracket game this morning over Union Ky. Spalding overcame a deficit in the bottom of the 9th to defeat IU Southeast in an elimination game and then bested Union in the nightcap. Spalding vs. Wesleyan in the championship. Spalding must win twice. Last year Spalding also came out of the loser's bracket to win the tourney, aided by a Milligan forfeit after they used an ineligible pitcher in the 1st championship game. Good luck to TWC.

I think Knox Halls has an excellent shot to get to the Fling. Question: has Halls' pitching been as consistent this year as compared to last year (excluding Lockwood)? Last year they had 1A and 1B in Lockwood and Larsen. If they get to the Fling that's when their pitching depth will be a key. Until then they can ride Lockwood. However, Catpano and Lockwood may be the best two hurlers in E. Tennessee. When you get two outstanding pitchers together anything can happen. I hope someone from East Tennessee can bring home the AAA crown. However on paper I'd say there are several teams outside East Tennessee that will be strong contenders this year.

If my schedule permits I plan to be there. Could be a great game.

It would be nice to get a little more college talk around here. JMHO.

Unless things have changed coaches get to nominate players for the all-district team based on order of finish. For example South Doyle gets to name more players than Sevier County or Lenoir City.

South Doyle is hosting the tournament.

Hey Dugout, how's your bruise.

Hozr I'm sorry I missed that one. I ended up at the FREE Tennessee game instead. As you are aware I'm saddled with college tuition these days. I can only budget so many games where I have to pay to attend. Since the Ads have made the Regional I'll probably wait and catch one of those games. For Farragut or Halls it would be better for those two not to square off in the opening round. That would mean one of those teams finished runner-up in their district. If that's the case however, and its Catapano vs. Lockwood, I'll make every effort to be there. Karns has a good ballclub and pitching, too. This should be a very competitive Regional. Good luck to you guys in the 4AAA championship.

You're correct. I think some may consider the Sectional to be the first round of the State tournament. However it is not played at the Spring Fling. First game of the Region is all important. Win the first game and you're in the Sectional, regardless of what happens in the Region championship. That means you may see your best pitchers in Round 1 of the Region. Thus the first game of the Region could potentially be the best game.

Agreed - classy post. Congratulations to SD on a great regular season. The Kees should be a force again next year.

Looks like E. Tennessee is getting break from Mother Nature. I don't think there's any rain scheduled for this afternoon. Of course it was supposed to rain a bunch yesterday and it barely sprinkled. I'd agree that Farragut has a tough task to beat Bearden twice. They have some good young pitching talent, but they've already thrown a lot of innings the past couple of days.

Having Catty available for this game was big for Farragut. It's going to be tougher to take 2 more from Bearden. Either way the region berths are set. There's a potential Catapano vs. Lockwood matchup down the road.

I guess rumors of Farragut's demise are greatly exaggerated. I know it's a disappointing end for the Kees.