bizazz

I'm not familiar with the inner workings of Central's baseball program, but it looked like the Bobcats were getting it turned around.

You might try Knoxville City Parks and Recreation. I think they run the Stan Musial League in Knoxville.

If anything Farragut exceeded many's expectations. Congrats to the Admirals for making it this far. Those of us left back in E. Tennessee are proud of all the E. Tennessee representatives.

I know this is short of what Halls was shooting for, but they had a great season nonetheless.

Who pitched for Farragut?

I think I may have been wrong about the Collierville game. Whoever posted the score on the Farragut thread may have gotten Overton and Collierville confused, because they posted the 13-3 score, which was the final of the Overton game.

I saw in the Farragut-Houston thread that Halls lost to Collierville. Is that right? If so, Halls is done. Injuries can make great teams - good teams, good teams - average teams. If Lockwood couldn't go, and Phibbs was already burned, then there was a lot of pressure on a staff that - on paper - was one of the best in the state.

I understand needing Lockwood, but if his arm is really hurting you have to consider his health. One unfortunate thing about this time of year is that there are a lot of sore arms. If Halls can plate some runs they can take some pressure off the pitching.

Congrats to my classmate David Ray. He played on some good Cherokee teams "back in the day". I didn't realize this was the first region championship for McMinn.

I'll give the Ads credit. They find a way to win. To come back from an 8-1 deficit has to be terribly disappointing for Halls, but they've had a great season and it's not over for them. 8 straight - wow. Good luck to both teams Friday. Hopefully the rain will have moved out. Lot's of good baseball in the area with the sectionals as well as the Vols playing Friday.

Sorry I missed this game. Good luck to both teams in the Sectional.

Baseball is a funny game in that there are a number of unwritten rules. Some have a thing against organized cheering. If Halls wants to cheer, and they back it up, there's not a lot anyone can do about it. In the end it comes down to winning and losing. If this helps Halls to win, then the end justifies the means. But, Halls should understand that there are going to be those that don't like it.

Farragut is starting a freshman tonight. I'd have to give the edge on paper to Halls. I'm never surprised when Farragut wins, though.

Winning this game provides a home-field for the Sectional and it offers some bragging rights, but that's a bonus. The real prize comes in Friday's Sectional. Based on pitching deployment it appears that both coaches are thinking ahead to Friday. Halls seems to have an advantage having someone like Phibbs to hand the ball to in addition to Larsen and Lockwood.

I was wondering the same thing. Obviously an outstanding outing. With only one hit allowed it sounds as if his pitch count would not be as high as it could be. This is a tough one for a coach. There's no tomorrow in the first round region game. Lose and you're done. I agree that the health of the player should come first. But if he threw around 130 pitches that wouldn't seem to be too extreme. On the other hand 150-160 pitches is way too much. Does anyone know what his pitch count was?

Another problem you have in E. Tennessee is that there are not a lot of quality 1A teams. Rockwood, Harriman, CAK, Greenback.... Middle and West TN have a number of good A teams, mostly private schools. I guess a lot of these will be moving to AA after the multiplier goes into effect. Either way, LC will see a different level of competition next year in 4AAA.

By disappointment I'd have to say who played below expectations. As far as my own personal opinion, I think the district played out similar to how I expected. I wasn't sure if SD was ready to bump Farragut off the mountain, but I expected those two teams to finish 1-2. I thought Bearden had a chance, but pitching would be the question mark. They got good efforts from some youngsters, but it's tough to win in 4AAA with young pitchers. Offensively Bearden could play as well as anyone at times. I didn't have a clue about the Blount county teams. In the past Maryville has always surprised me. But, like some other teams, Maryville lost some good senior pitching last year. I was surprised at how well William Blount played at times considering they lost Wojo, Tucker, and Young from last year's squad. Heritage showed last year that they had improved. Their finish in the district supported that. Sevier County may be a mild disappointment, because I thought they had a chance to win a few district games this year. In the end they had some close contests, but were only able to beat West. West lost 7 seniors (including 6 pitchers) from last year's squad. I expected them to struggle on the mound with their hope being a lot of offense and good defense. The pitching was as expected, and was compounded by Taylor Ross' arm troubles and a couple of players quitting mid-season. In the end they used a couple of true freshmen on the mound. So, overall I can't say that I have a lot of disappointments. Individual supporters of their teams may have had higher expectations, and be disappointed in their district finish. Farragut was "human" again this year. I'd expect 2006 to also provide a lot of competition from South Doyle and Bearden. Farragut is losing some key contributors. There aren't many seniors on either Bearden or SD's squads. WB will be returning a lot of players as well. It will be interesting to see how Lenoir City fits into the picture next year. While the folks at West will miss the traditional district jousting with Bearden and Farragut, I'm sure they're looking forward to joining 3AAA and having a fresh start. If West can regain some of the level they exhibited in 2002-2004 they will be competitive in that district.

Clinton would have to be an underdog to Farragut or South Doyle. The Halls game vs. Farragut or South Doyle could be a good one.

Anything can happen. Since SD would have to win twice to take the tournament championship I'd still give the edge to Farragut to claim the crown. Is Delmonico going to play?

Should be a great re-match. I haven't seen a 3AAA score, but I'd suspect the teams will be playing to see who gets to avoid Halls in the 1st round of the Region. I'll be out of town tomorrow, otherwise I'd love to catch the game. Somebody post a report on CoachT tomorrow night.

I opened up the paper this morning and realized that Heritage is still alive and well - will be playing Bearden for the right to meet South Doyle in the loser's bracket final. Nothing deliberate against Heritage. I just didn't do my homework before posting the message. Let me rephrase my question: What time do Bearden and Heritage face off?

Congratulations to the Admirals on securing another regional berth. Attention turns to South Doyle and Bearden.

Who pitched?

So when do Bearden and South Doyle face off?

This is an important game tonight. The winner secures a regional berth while the loser has to fight back through the loser's bracket. The winner of tonight's game is also in the enviable position of having to lose twice in the championship game(s). They can rest and set their pitching. With Halls the likely District 3 champ, winning the tournament and facing the the District 3 runner-up is also a desirable position.