bizazz

All remaining 4AAA games are at South Doyle.

Who has the most pitching left?

Good points by all. I also like the idea of making the substate a best 2 of 3. It would be analogous to the super-regionals played by colleges. One of the problems I've always had re: region berths is the disparity in districts. Districts like 7AAA and 4AAA have been brutal in the past. OTOH I don't know if it's changed but the West Tennessee district that housed Jackson Central-Merry used to only have 4 teams. It's a lot tougher to fight it out with 7 other teams to make a region vs. 3.

Bearden just flat out smacked the baseball last night. I was thinking while watching the game that Farragut might want to increase its 5-3 lead. I'd never personally seen Farragut suffer an inning like the 8-run 5th. A lot of it was Bearden hitting, but Farragut kicked the ball around too. I could tell a couple of years ago that this Bearden team would be good if they kept everyone together. The improvement in pitching, added to their hitting, has got them a Region berth. Farragut is young. They'll have a tough game vs. SD or WB, but I wouldn't put anything past them.

Congratulations to the Bobcats on a fine season. They've had some rough years lately.

Thanks Rebel. I got lucky on that one. Things are getting exciting now. Good luck to all.

Sorry, I don't have access to today's paper and was wondering if this is correct. If this is wrong somebody correct me. SD and LC matchup at 3:30. Who's next WB and Maryville? The winner of those two games will face off in an elimination game, with the winner to face the loser of tonight's Bearden-Farragut matchup? The winner of tonight's Bearden-Farragut game qualifies for a region berth. The loser of tonight's Bearden-Farragut game will await the team remaining from SD, LC, WB, and Maryville? The winner of that game makes the district finals and earns the other region berth.

Are the Ads turning it on at just the right time?

Slyder, I don't know you, but there's no reason you can't stay in the community. My son just finished his sophomore year in college and I still can't stay away from here.

There's a difference between fan behavior and behavior in the dugout. I wasn't at the game, but some of the things Baseballscout writes about belong in the softball dugout - not baseball dugout. And I don't think he was implying that the behavior had that much to do with the outcome of the game. If fans are out of line they should receive their criticism as well. A couple of years ago I was very critical of the behavior exhibited by some SD fans when they were playing Farragut in the 4AAA championship game. At that time my comments were directed squarely at the fans. The SD players stayed above all that and exhibited class on the field that night. Heckling by fans is a part of baseball, although I think it should be limited at the high school level. I can tell you that rock shaking and chants is not tolerated at the college level. It's an invitation to experience a couple of high and tight fastballs. Once again, there's nothing wrong with enthusiasm. But there's a right way and a wrong way.

Leave the softball cheering and chants to the softball teams. JMHO Nothing wrong with chatter.

4AAA has been one of the toughest districts around for several years. The district may not be as strong as in the past because Farragut is down a bit. This is the best that 3AAA has been in awhile. I'm still not sure it's as tough as district 4 though.

That's the way District 4 tiebreakers have been settled in the past (coin flip).

I remember Farragut finishing second to Bearden in either 2000 or 2001, but the Ads won the tournament, and they hosted a pool that year. It won't be the same not seeing any district games there. There's still the chance at hosting a regional game though.

Sounds like a real mess. Question: Was the batter standing in the batters box when the catcher made the throw?

Try Dr. Ivy at Knox Orthopedic. My son had elbow trouble and the end of last season and Dr. Ivy seems to know what he's doing. He'll give you an honest assessment of what you're looking at and your options. He's willing to try agressive therapy first, and surgery second. My son ended up with nothing more than a bad case of tendonitis, but he had to go through an MRI to determine that. He took the summer off, rehabbed, and was throwing again in the fall. Btw he's pitched about 66 innings in college this spring.

A lot of former Tennessee high schoolers will be participating for various Appalachian Athletic Conference teams in the tournament starting tomorrow. #1 Tennessee Wesleyan vs. #8 Bluefield #2 Union (Ky) vs. #7 Bryan #3 Brevard vs. #6 Milligan #4 Montreat vs. #5 UVA-Wise TWC and Union were the cream of the crop this year. The conference adopted a new tournament format this year and the #9 and 10 teams (King and Virginia Intermont) did not qualify for the tournament. Milligan and King took the biggest falls from last year. Union has been ranked in the NAIA top 10 for much of the season.

There's alway hope LC. Dugout, when was the last time Farragut did not host a part of the District tournament? SD is obviously the favorite. I think the other region slot is up for grabs between WB, Bearden, and Farragut.

Have the district 3AAA and 4AAA tournament schedules been set yet? I'd like to catch a couple of games.

Also, it's tough to replace a pitcher like Luke Hochevar.

LC, would you agree that it takes more than talent though? Somehow that talent has to mesh together into a team. Similar to LC, West had 7 or 8 players from its 04 and 03 classes playing college ball. However the best they managed in 4AAA was 4th place in both 2002 and 2003. West was plagued by poor defense at critical times, and the inability to advance baserunners.

Would you be talking A, AA, or AAA?

Grad, you are correct. I didn't mean to imply that the Jugs was "wrong". In order to be able to compare pitchers, however, you have to know which brand of gun is being used. Hitting 90 with a Stalker is obviously more rare than with a Jugs.

Farragut has no chance of winning the district for the first time in what seems forever. However - don't count them out in the tournament. I think the last time Farragut failed to win the district was around 2001 when they finished runnerup to Bearden. However Farragut won the tournament. At least that's how I remember it. It could've been the other way around. My memory's not what it used to be.

If the standings are correct over at PrepExtra, SD still has a commanding lead in the district. There's still some jostling between Bearden, WB, Farragut, and maybe Maryville for the higher tournament seeds. In years when Farragut was dominating it was always better to get into the 2-3-6-7 bracket. If Farragut stays #4 that could be an interesting bracket, with SD.