tonybologna

6 hours ago, mrbigster said:

I wouldn't sleep on Lake Co.The Puckett kid is a stud.Believe several colleges are looking at him.Think he hit 3 home runs in a game last week.The Wilson twins didn't play summer ball in Lake Co last year but played for Dyersburg and won the World Series with one of them pitching.I think Snyder hit one out last week.Games they lost may be because of depth of pitching but if a new series ,and the right pitcher on the mound,who knows.TCA easily beating LC.?Could happen but they didn't easily beat UC.So who knows?  Don't know if Snyder can pitch or not.He went to Dyersburg as a freshman fire baller and moved back to Lake Co where he started at QB.Tore his labrum.So not sure if they ever pitch him any.

Lake County is a good team. I didn't say they weren't. I said in a 1 game & done situation this can happen but I just don't think they are good enough to beat a deeper Gibson County team in a Best of 3 series. 

2 hours ago, shockernation said:

I’m truly struggling to see opinions such as Gibson County would have won a series etc? Gibson Co was a great senior heavy team (6 I think) and had several chances to win last night! Squandered opportunities in the 7th 8th 9th and 10th but it was the same for the Falcons...that’s baseball! GC had 5 hits in 10 innings and neither team hit the ball well...compliments to both pitching staffs! Everyone in LC has been waiting on this group to start producing like we knew they could...maybe a year earlier than some thought? In single A when you have 2 great arms it’ll get you a long way! LC is probably the biggest team you will see and not a speedy bunch but a ton of gritty guys! I’d also say a great group of young men! Hats off to Gibson Co...hard for anyone to lose that one! Study before we start the upset mess because I saw two very equally matched teams!

There really are no what I would call MAJOR upsets at this time of the year. That's unless you get say a team kind of like the Lookout Valley loss to Harriman. Harriman was a #7 seed in their own District tourney while Lookout Valley was #1. That's an upset when you combine that with their overall records. Would it have been a MAJOR upset if TCA lost to Union City? I would say in between a mild & MAJOR upset because Union City was in the state tourney last season.

Yes there are upsets but it's 1 game! That's what makes these games so tough. One & Done! I also agree that all these 1 run semifinal games are certainly due to each team pitching their ace pitchers. However, not ALL of the Regional Semifinals were low scoring games either. Most of them were but not ALL of them with still 2 more left to play today. 

2 hours ago, tradertwo said:

The thing that just doesn't feel "right" about the baseball playoffs is that it depends not if you lose a game, but when. You begin with double elimination in district, and end with double elimination at state... lose in regionals or sectionals, and you're done. The entire regular season seeds the district, which is rendered almost meaningless by the double elimination format. In the next two stages, a lone loss ends your season. I'd be more inclined to go single elimination for district with the higher seed hosting all games, double elimination for region, and a sectional with a best of three series, if allotted time isn't enough for all to be double elimination.

I can go with that format too. +1 on that post. Something has got to be changed for sure though. Like you said lose a game at the wrong time of the season now & your GONE! The TSSAA has GOT to fix this but they just don't seem to get it.

I did forget one other upset & it might be a bigger upset than the Gibson County loss. Harriman defeated Lookout Valley on the road 4-1. Harriman has been a team that has shown it can be good at times but also very inconsistent as well. Lookout Valley did have 8 losses coming into tonight's game vs Harriman but all of their losses were against Top 10 or Top 20 ranked teams from various classifications. Harriman was a team because of the inconsistent play had a .500 record of 16-16.

This again is another one of these 1 game cases were I feel no way the best team won but they did on this 1 night but if you stick these 2 teams in a 3 game series & Lookout Valley wins just like I feel that Gibson County would have done the same against Lake County. It is what it is for now though. One bad game & you're GONE! If the TSSAA can make the state tourney double elimination then they can do the same for these Regional Semifinals as well.

I know Div. II-A & Div. II-AA are a different class of baseball but still very good teams & even they have implemented this best of 3 series format for the postseason so they already have a double elimination format for their postseason games. I'm not holding my breath though that the TSSAA will make this change to Class A-AAA in the near future.

1 hour ago, lakecounty1968 said:

Lake County beat Gibson County 3 to 2 and Trinity beat Union City 2 to 1. Trinity travels to Lake County Wednesday.

I'm shocked Gibson County got knocked out. But, like I said previously any one team can beat another a game in these Semifinal games. That's why I think the TSSAA has got to figure out a way to make these semi-finals the best of 3 format for ALL classes (A-AAA). It's already like that for most of Div. II-A & Div. II-AA. TCA just barely got through in extra innings but I think they will easily beat Lake County for the Championship & advance to the Sectionals. There was an awful lot of 1 run games tonight. That just shows the competition is solid & also indicates that certain teams like a Gibson County just got upset & having a best of 3 would more than likely end up with Gibson County beating Lake County twice in a row after that 1 loss.

A few upsets tonight for sure but most of them except for the Gibson County game were mild upsets. I don't call Tenn. High in Region 1-AAA beating Sevier County an upset myself. TH was picked to be right where they are to begin the season. Hardin Valley beating Powell could be considered a pretty big upset. GCA (Grace Christian-Franklin) even though their record wasn't good beat a good Cornersville team. Hendersonville beat a red hot hitting Rossview club so that was a little bit of a surprise to me. Some might consider Arlington beating Brighton a pretty big upset. I think it is a mild upset but Arlington had played well the 2nd half of the season.

Lincoln County beating Blackman was a mild upset. Chester County beating South Gibson is a pretty big upset. Forrest even though they had a record just above .500 beat a Creek Wood team that was 24-7 so that's a decent upset. We still have 2 more Semifinal games left to play tomorrow. I can't understand for the life of me why these 2 games were postponed for today. The weather was beautiful ALL across the state of Tennessee.

The Greeneville/Sullivan South game for some crazy reason was rescheduled for tomorrow on Sunday. The other rescheduled game is also from Region 1 as well. These 4 teams have placed themselves or at least the school systems have in a bad situation compared to the rest of the Semifinal games being played today. They will not have a day off now. Some may say high school baseball is played on back-to-back days all season long & they are but it's the postseason now & rest is more important between games than it was in the regular season.

7 hours ago, tradertwo said:

Or take it back a level and resemble basketball... top four district to region, with a double elimination format to go to sectionals. I'd rather see the regionals be double elimination than sectionals. 

The basketball format would be fine too with 4 teams from each District going to the Regionals. I'm more like you in that the Regionals be double elimination rather than the Sectionals. I just wished they would consider doing it for one or the other though. Or, the basketball option of 4 teams advancing to the Regionals.

I just know this 2 team thing with one & done needs to be changed in the Regionals. A bad game by a good team & they could be gone just like that. People could say at this time of the season a good/great time shouldn't have a bad game but it happens.

By the way guys. I wish the TSSAA would change the format for the Regional Semifinals. It's just one game between opponents. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. That's just baseball. I wish they would do like some of the Div. II-A & Div. II-AA tourney matchups & make these semifinals or sectionals best of 3. I mean this format would show who deserves to move on & advance in the postseason. If this isn't done for the semifinals then definitely for the Sectionals. One or the other.

Not both necessarily because that would be difficult to pull off because of time limits to get the games in by a certain date. They (TSSAA) could make one of these changes though with enough time to get it done.  I just don't know whether it would be better doing this for the Semis or the Sectionals but either one would be fine with me. 

3 hours ago, mrbigster said:

I thought Lake Co were the district champs and Union City was runnerup

Keep in mind these were my Semifinal picks to win & not all the District winners/runner ups listed. I have both Gibson County & TCA beating Lake County & Union City so that's why they're not listed in my semifinals post. These were just my semifinal picks & not all teams competing. The post you quoted of mine was my state tourney picks anyhow. Thanks.

I guess that I should add my Regional Final predictions as well. Forgot to do that in my previous post. Here they are:

Region 1-A Final: Greenback over University High
Region 2-A Final: Lookout Valley over Wartburg
Region 3-A Final: Gordonsville over South Pittsburg
Region 4-A Final: Eagleville over Cornersville (tough one, could go either way)
Region 5-A Final: Columbia Academy over Richland
Region 6-A Final: Loretto over Huntingdon
Region 7-A Final: Gibson County over TCA (toss-up)(another rematch)
Region 8-A Final: Middle College over Oakhaven

Region 1-AA Final: Greeneville over Elizabethton (close one)
Region 2-AA Final: Alcoa over Pigeon Forge
Region 3-AA Final: Signal Mountain over Loudon
Region 4-AA Final: Sequathchie County over Smith County
Region 5-AA Final: Greenbrier over Sycamore (another rematch)
Region 6-AA Final: Nolensville over Creek Wood (mild upset)
Region 7-AA Final: South Gibson over Dyersburg
Region 8-AA Final: Covington over Haywood

Region 1-AAA Final: Science Hill over Sevier County (upset)
Region 2-AAA Final: Farragut over Powell (could Powell pull off the major upset vs the state's #1 ranked AAA team?)
Region 3-AAA Final: Soddy-Daisy over Cookeville (tough one to call)
Region 4-AAA Final: Blackman over Riverdale
Region 5-AAA Final: Rossview over Clarksville (Rossview's bats are on fire!)
Region 6-AAA Final: Overton over Independence
Region 7-AAA Final: Brighton over Bartlett
Region 8-AAA Final: Collierville over Houston (good matchup)

Here are my predictions:

Region 1-A Semifinals: University High, Greenback
Region 2-A Semifinals: Wartburg, Lookout Valley
Region 3-A Semifinals: South Pittsburg, Gordonsville
Region 4-A Semifinals: Cornersville, Eagleville
Region 5-A Semifinals: Richland, Columbia Academy
Region 6-A Semifinals: Huntingdon, Loretto
Region 7-A Semifinals: Gibson County, TCA
Region 8-A Semifinals: Middle College, Oakhaven

Region 1-AA Semifinals: Elizabethton, Greeneville
Region 2-AA Semifinals: Alcoa, Pigeon Forge
Region 3-AA Semifinals: Loudon, Signal Mountain
Region 4-AA Semifinals: Sequathchie County, Smith County
Region 5-AA Semifinals: TBD, MLK
Region 6-AA Semifinals: Creek Wood, Nolensville
Region 7-AA Semifinals: South Gibson, Dyersburg
Region 8-AA Semifinals: Covington, Haywood

Region 1-AAA Semifinals: Science Hill, Sevier County
Region 2-AAA Semifinals: Powell, Farragut
Region 3-AAA Semifinals: Soddy-Daisy, Cookeville
Region 4-AAA Semifinals: Riverdale, Blackman
Region 5-AAA Semifinals: Clarksville, Rossview
Region 6-AAA Semifinals: Independence, Overton
Region 7-AAA Semifinals: Arlington, Bartlett
Region 8-AAA Semifinals: Collierville, Houston  

Div. II-A Semifinalists:

Knox Webb
Goodpasture
Friendship Christian
St. George's

Finals: Knox Webb over Friendship Christian

Div. II-AA Semifinalists:

Baylor
St. Benedict
Father Ryan
Christian Brothers

Finals: Baylor over Christian Brothers

I will have the Class A-AAA Sectional predictions too when they are set. Thanks guys!

2 hours ago, bd4vols said:

Region Brackets are Set, who are the Favs?

I'll take a look & give my predictions.

16 hours ago, BigEdMo said:

I guess You were wrong. Tca won twice

Not wrong just incorrect guess. I didn't say it wouldn't happen. I said that I just don't see it happening. Just a smidge of difference! LOL! 

16 hours ago, LetMeHearYA said:

TCA beats Gibson Co twice 7-4, 6-5 to win the district

2 close games but especially the rubber & deciding game. I still think both TCA & Gibson County make the state because they're both just too good of teams not to be there.

3 hours ago, Bellsburg2 said:

TCA beat Peabody 3-2 in 9 innings tonight and will face GC in the championship game tomorrow.

And TCA will have to beat GC twice which I don't see happening. Regardless, both teams are Regional bound. I also think both teams are capable of making the state tourney for sure.

3 hours ago, GCPioneer said:

Gibson will have to have been beaten twice in order for someone else to win the district championship.

I can't keep up with which Districts are double elimination these days. I know quite a few Districts have double elimination but not all of them & I never can keep them straight. It's going to be really difficult to beat Gibson County twice. I don't care which team they face in the finals whether it be TCA, Halls, or Peabody. TCA certainly to me would have the best shot but I wouldn't rule out Halls being there with a chance. 
 

3 hours ago, bd4vols said:

Region 8 will not have anyone make it past the Sectional in baseball.  They do not match up very well in that sport. While anything could happen, it would be the most epic upset of all upsets. Single A baseball in inner city Memphis just historically isn't very strong.

You can tell that inner city Memphis baseball isn't very good in Class A just by looking at team's records. Middle College is really the only team from Class A that is any good at all even with their double-digit losses. The rest of the Region 8 Class A teams are bad in record & playing on the diamond. You're right! I listed Middle College as the pick from Region 8 but they probably aren't good enough to make the state tourney.

3 hours ago, LetMeHearYA said:

TCA plays winner of Halls/Trenton tomorrow with winner advancing to district championship against Gibson Co

I'm picking Halls over Peabody. So, then it will be TCA against Halls in my opinion for the right to play Gibson County in the District 14-A Championship. I think Halls has the better chance of beating TCA over Peabody anyhow. Halls has a pretty good club plus their schedule has prepared them well for the postseason. However, I think for either Halls or Peabody to beat TCA either team would have to play their best plus TCA have an off game. So, I am picking TCA over either one of these teams to play Gibson County again.

It was only 1 run difference the other day (4-3 Gibson County) so I would pick TCA next time if they were to meet again for the Championship. Both teams would of course advance to the Regionals though. Anything other than the Regionals for TCA or Gibson County would be a failure for both teams. These 2 teams were expected to make it to at least the Regionals & TCA or Gibson County were picked by a lot of media to make the state tourney in Class A.

Gibson County just defeated TCA 4-3 in the District 14-A Tournament. That means TCA now has the longer road back to get to the District Championship Game. They must make the championship game in order to advance to the Regionals. I thought Gibson County was a strong possibility to get in their way or even knock them out.

5 hours ago, TwoSix said:

you can take Midway off the board......

Yep. Saw that. It only takes 1 game & you're gone in most cases. So, in reality any of the favorites could be gone with just 1 BAD game.

2 hours ago, LetMeHearYA said:

Two teams from Region 7 will make it to State. No team from Region 8 will beat them in Substate.

I could see that happening.

Class A Favorites:

Region 1: Greenback or University High (sleeper Sullivan North)

Region 2: Rockwood or Lookout Valley (sleeper Midway)

Region 3: Gordonsville or Monterey (sleeper Whitwell)

Region 4: Cornersville or Eagleville (sleeper none)

Region 5: Columbia Academy or East Robertson (sleeper none)

Region 6: Loretto or Summertown (sleeper Huntingdon)

Region 7: Trinity Christian or Gibson County (sleeper Union City & Halls)

Region 8: Middle College or KIPP-Memphis (sleeper Oakhaven)

My actual picks for the state tourney from each Region:

Region 1: Greenback
Region 2: Rockwood
Region 3: Gordonsville
Region 4: Cornersville
Region 5: Columbia Academy
Region 6: Summertown
Region 7: Trinity Christian
Region 8: Middle College

My pick for the state champs: Trinity Christian (sleeper Gordonsville & Cornersville)

What's so interesting about my state title pick is that Gibson County could actually play spoiler on me & knock out Trinity Christian. They are certainty capable of doing it. If that was to happen then I just might have to say Gibson County would eventually be state champs. LOL!

Union City & Halls from that same Region are definitely sleepers in my mind. Halls has played a really tough schedule. Union City was in the state tourney last season. Those 4 teams are ALL from Region 7 & might be 4 of the best 8 teams in Class A but only 1 can advance to the state. Rockwood is another team that is playing really well. They too have a solid team that could make some noise.    

9 hours ago, HingleMcCringleberry said:

Hey balogna we need an update and prediction of your picks for the Single A state tournament . Media don’t cover baseball like they do football.

I will get my predictions for Class A baseball posted up either later today (Friday) or Saturday. Right off the top of my head without putting much thought into it & checking all the Districts/Regions I would have to say TCA (Trinity Christian Academy) is the favorite to take the title. And, I believe Gibson County might be their best competition or the team that could get in their way. I will post more on this in a day or 2. Thanks.

5 hours ago, Expatriate said:

The tournament could be crazy. The only lead pipe lock is Science Hill against Volunteer. Boone plays Cherokee, which beat the Blazers during the regular season, and Tennessee High plays Crockett, which beat the Vikings during the regular season. And even once it gets to double-elimination, D-B isn't an overwhelming favorite. 

Completely agree with your post. One of 4-5 teams are capable of taking the Big 7 District tourney. Boone has Cade Elliott (UT signee) that could dominate pitching for Boone . Crockett is ending the season on fire with 6 straight wins. Tenn. High was my pick to possibly go the farthest in the postseason. I'm not sure about that now but they have the bats to do it.

Science Hill has a team of decent pitching & really good hitting. DB even though they won the regular season title isn't the favorite to win the tourney in my opinion. I think Science Hill just might end up taking the tourney crown but even Boone, TH, or Crockett could sneak into the title game & win.

It's up for grabs among at least 4 teams in my opinion. There's only 2 teams that can advance to the Regionals so it's going to be interesting to see which 2 teams make the Championship Game & therefore onto the Regionals.

TCA (Trinity Christian Academy) got upset tonight by Halls (West, TN) by a score of 5-3. That was only their 2nd loss on the season (23-2). Halls (West, TN) isn't a bad team coming into the game @ 12-9 but I did not expect this especially with one of TCA's best pitchers on the mound. This loss just might drop TCA from that #1 state ranking they've had for so long this season in Class A. Their only other loss was a District game to a very good Gibson County team (24-3).

Gibson County will more than likely be the only team that gets in the way of TCA making the state tourney. They both are such really good teams. Either team can beat the other on a given day so if they meet in the Regionals let's hope it's not before the Regional Championship Game because both teams deserve to be in the Sectionals & a chance to make the state tourney. Right now, I think Gibson County is the better team or should I say playing the best but that doesn't mean TCA can't beat them or can't make the state tourney. 

Well, CAK beat GCA 2-0 @ GCA today so no excuses from you guys about the umps in this one for GCA. LOL!

Also, Farragut in Class AAA won again this afternoon against Bearden. I think that's 5 of their last 6 games now for Farragut in which they have won by only 1 run. It's something close to that anyhow. I said a couple weeks back that Collierville & Farragut were the 2 best teams in AAA but I give the slight advantage to Collierville.

Now, Farragut did defeat Collierville in a tournament game last weekend by a score of 3-2 but that was just one game. I still think Collierville has a slightly better team. I give them the advantage in pitching just a little even though Farragut has the better team ERA. Going to be interesting to see these 2 teams in the postseason & which one advances the farthest. I think both of them will probably make the state tourney though. 

1 hour ago, cbg said:

It is a NFHS rule and to my knowledge it is considered illegal equipment and no warning shall be issued.  Much like throwing a pitcher too many innings:  if the pitcher goes out to throw and if he throws one pitch it will be illegal it is not the umpires responsibility to warn the coach and pitcher.  The one that is responsible for the illegal catchers equipment is the player and more importantly the players coach.

That's not true in bold above unless the rule for improper/illegal equipment usage has changed since 2013.

3 hours ago, gcapride said:

Makes no sense to me. I’d like to know if the rule states the ump has to give the player an opportunity to change gear or if it’s an automatic ejection. Automatic ejection over a helmet doesn’t sound right to me, but I admittedly don’t know the rules. Thanks for letting us know how it went down. Doesn’t seem right unless it’s in black and white in the rule book. 

Let me jump in here as a former assistant high school baseball coach. It's been 6 years since I stopped coaching due to some health reasons but back when I coached the umpires were required to give a warning first before an automatic ejection. Now, I wouldn't think that rule has changed in 6 years. It's a rule that's been around for a long time. Automatic ejections are usually reserved for stuff pitchers might do like sandpaper or spitting on the ball or using any illegal substance.

I've never experienced an incident like this however while coaching. I've had an umpire back in like 2004 or 2005 that warned our team for an improper glove usage by our starting catcher. It was a warning & that's all. The glove was changed & that was it. Nothing further was done by the umps. This seems like a wrongdoing by the umps to Greenback. I would bet the TSSAA will look into this especially if the Greenback coach pushes it. I know as a coach I wouldn't allow this to go without putting up a fuss about it. I don't care if it's a scrimmage, regular season game, or postseason game. 

12 hours ago, ladykee said:

Oh bologna you really have no pulse on this team! Ok I could not resist. All in good fun! They are one of the most consistent teams in the state. A 21-4 record as a 1A team playing ranked teams in 2A, 3A & DII and winning most and you call that inconsistent? Plus they currently have a starting pitcher limited to batting duties only at the moment who pitched a game winner in region championship vs GCA as a Sophomore. So with that and the ejection of our ace GCA got lucky to say the least.

LOL! Loved the Bologna used in your response. Incinsistent probably wasn't the correct word/term to use for Greenback. They have only lost 4 games so inconsistent wouldn't be the right type of term to be used with a 21-4 team. I guess the correct thing to say is that they have blown most of those 4 losses. This last one against GCA sounds like a total robbery from the umpires.

I've seen players ejected from games for various reasons but over a catchers helmet that you all say was used before seems like something intentional done by the umps. The TSSAA should be looking into this closely because stuff like this shouldn't be allowed to happen at any level of baseball. 

47 minutes ago, tradertwo said:

I just chalk that up to it being baseball. The only sport in which the defense control's the ball, and where one dominant player (pitcher) has such an impact on the outcome of a game that the coaching staff can't compensate for. There have been unbeaten teams, and plenty of gaudy records... there have also been teams with barely over .500 records that were tough outs in the post season. Maybe just me, but a 21-4 record against even decent competition says that you'd better not overlook them.

Agree completely with you & especially on the bolded text above.

3 hours ago, cherokee23 said:

There’s a big story to this. Of course because the game was moved to GCA. Catcher was ejected for wearing a two-piece catching helmet which he has worn all season long. Head coach was then ejected for arguing the ejection. Fans from Greenback ejected for yelling. Again..... think about where this game is being played! Never seems to fail when the games are played at GCA. I wonder why the game had to be moved from CAK? Inconsistent isn’t the word. The ace pitcher who would’ve closed the game out was ejected for a catchers helmet? Give me a break. Never seems to fail when we go to that place. 

That certainly doesn't seem to be fair at all to Greenback. Geez!