thebaseballguru

There goes your biased opinion again. It's not the talent in the district that is down, it is that talent at Independence that was dropped off significantly. Every other school in the district with the exception of Ravenwood had its best team in recent years this year. Brentwood won the district regular season title and absolutely raked the ball all year, best team they've had since Robby Ray's younger years. Franklin went 26-12 and went to state after back-to-back losing seasons, is their talent down too? Centennial competed for the district title for most of the year and came one game away from the district title game, anyone around the district will tell you this is the best team they've had in recent memory. Heck, even Hilsboro performed above normal this year. Just because your mighty eagles lost their big senior class and finally had some fair zoning break up their strangle hold on Spring Hill doesn't mean everyone was affected. As for Franklin's run and their state tournament appearance, what coaches did you speak too? Was it Bearden coaches who were trailing the Rebels 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth? Or the Germantown coaches who were tied with FHS with only 2 innings to play? Nope, I bet it was probably the Independence coaches who were watching from the stands while their team sat at home. Maybe you should ask the Rossview coaches. You know, the team that was 31-8, playe in one of the toughest districts in the state, ranked on the top ten in the state, and give Mount Juliet one of their 4 regular season losses before they were defeated by the Rebels in Substate? I'd be interested to see what their opinion would be on the Rebels' "lack of talent". But apparently Rossview wasn't even good in your eyes, because they were one of the teams Franklin beat during their win streak. I'm sure you know more than all the voters who had Rossview in the top 10 in the state for the majority of the year. Franklin also beat Brentwood on their field TWICE during their win streak, swept Centennial (who beat Farragut and Tullahoma this year), and also defeated Overton (who also went to Substate this year) and Columbia (state contenders every year). Lastly, it's pretty crazy that a team from a district so down in talent in recent years has sent a team to the State Tournament 3 years in a row. Oh, and Brentwood and Centennial have nearly everyone back off two very solid teams this year. So I'm assuming the talent will be down again next year as well?

There goes your biased opinion again. It's not the talent in the district that is down, it is that talent at Independence that was dropped off significantly. Every other school in the district with the exception of Ravenwood had its best team in recent years this year. Brentwood won the district regular season title and absolutely raked the ball all year, best team they've had since Robby Ray's younger years. Franklin went 26-12 and went to state after back-to-back losing seasons, is their talent down too? Centennial competed for the district title for most of the year and came one game away from the district title game, anyone around the district will tell you this is the best team they've had in recent memory. Heck, even Hilsboro performed above normal this year. Just because your mighty eagles lost their big senior class and finally had some fair zoning break up their strangle hold on Spring Hill doesn't mean everyone was affected. As for Franklin's run and their state tournament appearance, what coaches did you speak too? Wasn't the Bearden c

To call this team subpar just shows how biased/ignorant you are about the teams in this area. Were they incredibly talented? No. But they were darn good overall. They won 10 in a row to get to state against all quality teams with the exception of Hunters Lane (including 3 wins over Centennial, 2 over Brentwood, and wins over Overton, Columbia, Rossview, and your mighty Eagles). They also had a run where they won 18 out of 21 during the year. You don't do that off pure luck, you need some talent. Now I'm not taking anything away from Glover, he did a great job. But he did have a lot of talent to work with. He had the district MVP (Sistrunk) and the RHP of the Year for the district (Robertson) on his team, and another starter (Payne) with an ERA under 2. This team had the best 3-man rotation in the region, and they rarely made errors. They also had 3 players batting over .400 at the conclusion of the regular season (Sistrunk, Rhoades, and Spierto). They had the best catcher in the region in Hutchins, and the best #3 starter in Bennorth. This may not have been a team of stars, but the talent overall and depth-wise made them the most complete team in the region. They competed in the State Tournament, scoring 12 runs in two games and losing both games close. They held a 2-run lead in the fifth inning against the state runner-up. To say this team was sub-par talent wise is an incorrect an ignorant statement, they were a complete, well-rounded team with a good coach who pushed the right buttons. Congrats to the Rebels on a great season.

Anyone have a list of the all-district team?

I don't know why anyone would want this job. The guy leads a team that wasn't even expected to get out of the district to a 26-12 record, district championship, region championship, sectional title, and berth in the state title tournament...and then gets fired (excuse me, "resigned"). I'd be surprised if any legitimate coaches even apply for the opening.

Bearden beats Franklin 7-5. Franklin looked good early and held the lead for the first five innings until the Bulldogs put up 4 in the bottom of the fifth. Bearden will play Walker Valley tomorrow, Franklin takes on Germatown in an elimination game.

MJ 6-4 over Farragut Arlington 7-3 over Riverdale Franklin 4-3 over Bearden Germantown 3-1 over Walker Valley

He can still hit though and the kid is a stud at the plate. Mt. Juliet is solid 1-9 and should be tough beat, but probably could be beaten if their opponent has a dominant arm on the mound. Anyone know anything about Walker Valley? I had not heard of them until this week, but they are obviously pretty good if they made it this far.

Anyone know anything about Bearden? I saw they beat Farragut this year, was that a fluke or are they really that strong? Do they have a strong #1 pitcher?

In case you haven't seen it, here's the link to the bracket: http://www.tssaa.org/2011Champions/StateBaseball/ClassAAA/State.htm I will agree it's very interesting that the brackets seemed to be split up 1-4 (Mt. Juliet, Farragut, Arlington, and Riverdale) and 5-8 (Germantown, Bearden, Franklin, and Walker Valley). But they're set in stone so we might as well just accept them and move on. I don't really know much about any of these teams, so I don't feel educated enough to make any predictions just yet. Anyone else confident enough to predict who gets out of each bracket?

Franklin comes in on a 9-game win streak after sweeping through the District 11 and Region 6 tournaments without a loss. Rossview enters the game as the Region 5 runner-up after falling to nationally-ranked Mount Juliet in the regional final. Thoughts/predictions anyone?

Franklin beats Overton 3-1 tonight. Only team left representing District 11-AAA, will host Region 5-AAA runner-up Rossview in Substate on Friday with a berth in the state tournament on the line.

Don't compare this Overton team to Bobcat teams from the past. No one underestimated them the last 2 years, they had a 5th round draft pick batting leadoff. They were 33-4 last year playing a 16-18 Franklin team, you really think Franklin was looking past that game? Yes, it is true this year Brentwood overlooked Brentwood. I can't really blame them, Overton was run-ruled by Ravenwood and Centennial this year. Overton won because they threw a very good pitcher, not because they were the better team. And I can guarantee you the Rebels will not be overlooking the Bobcats if they are lucky enough to face them tomorrow.

While I may not have predicted the Overton over Brentwood upset to tonight, I can't say I'm surprised. Coach Morrison one of the best coaches in the state and the Bruins were slumping as of late. Should be a great game between the Rebels and the Bobcats on Wednesday for the region title.

Overton beats Brentwood 3-1. Winner of Franklin-Hunters Lane tomorrow will play at Overton for region title on Wednesday night.