bizazz

Appreciate the info. Good luck tomorrow against Maryville.

Not that I'm doubting you, but did you mean to type 151? The only time 151 is any good is when it's poured over ice.

I forgot to mention, Brandon Bell homered for West.

Does Clinton play at its high school, or somewhere else in town?

Knox West opened its season with a hard fought 9-6 victory. Catholic went up early 2-0. West came back and had a 9-3 lead going into the 6th when starter Ryan Connor ran out of gas. West walked in 2 runs before getting out of the inning with an unusual double play. Sam Mihalik settled down in the 7th with 2 strikeouts, including Ryan Gandy. Donohoo (sp?) hit a home run to make it 9-6. With Catholic's hitters at the top of the lineup, they can give teams fits. Overall it was a well-played game for early in the season.

Oops. The Admiral's runs per game has plummeted to 22 pg.

Any scores?

On paper it looks like a blowout. But the game is not played on paper. Bearden lost to Karns at the ETBCA Play Day in Oak Ridge. However, Central played Farragut a tough game that day, only to suffer Monday's pounding. Good pitching can be a great equalizer.

West's first scheduled game is Thursday at Clinton. However I heard that they picked up a game at Catholic on Wednesday. They start district play the following week with Heritage, Maryville, and South-Doyle.

I believe Farragut plays Karns on Tuesday.

All are good catchers. McHenry has gotten a lot of pub, and deservedly so. However, don't overlook John Weddle at Knox West. He's not too big, but can do it all. He's going to play at ETSU next year. He's had two home runs in preseason scrimmages. He's a tough competitor.

Does anyone have other scores from the Oak Ridge Play Day? Karns 8 - Bearden 5 Knox West 10 - Oak Ridge 7 Knox West 12 - Karns 1

I agree on the amount of talent in Knoxville area. The competitive programs such as Thunder and The Yard are helping to develop a lot of players who will be able to play at the next level. Farragut has players riding the bench that would start at most high schools. District 4-AAA is going to be interesting this year with Maryville, South Doyle, West, and William Blount.

Knox West scrimmaged Mon.,Tue., Wed. Against Catholic Monday Courtney, Weddle, and Bell had home runs. Snyder (5 strikeouts in 2 innings) and Ergen pitched well. Beat Karns 6-4 Tuesday with good pitching from Connor and Michalik. Karns was missing John Barrett, one of their senior leaders. I don't have any details on Wednesday's scrimmage against Fulton.

If the pieces fall together, West could be competitive this year.

West will be dominated by upperclassmen this year. Returning veterans include seniors Ryan Connor (P,INF), John Weddle©, Michael Courtney (Inf), Brandon Bell (OF, 1B), Alan Wallace (1B,C), Nick Baron (P,OF), and John Ergen (P,INF,OF). Junior Sam Michalick started at 3B last year, but may move to SS. Other returning lettermen are juniors Aaron Hookman (INF,P), Tanner Hiles (C,P), and Adam Snyder (P,INF,OF). Ryan Connor can't carry the team by himself. He needs help from the Michalick, Snyder, Hookman, Hiles, and David Zeanah. There may be some newcomers that show up in tryouts as well.