JuanUribe

4:45AM 4:45AM 4:45AM - gotta love a man who is up at 4:45AM. you are the man catsbackr!

I amsure there are many fine catchers in the state but the discussion starts with Ryan Casteel of Bradley County.

Well done Ward??? what about Adkins & Walden? Quit being nice to Word. He will start thinking he's a sportswriter or something. Just kiddin. WG does a great job covering high school baseball in the area.

Good thread. As an ole timer I like the enthusiasm of the youngsters. Let's play this out on the field and see where it takes us. We all know it comes down to pitching, defense and timely hitting. Things Marion/Jasper has excelled in for the last three years. If you have two QUALTIY starters you can do very well in the district games. It's a long season and lots of things (injuries, player suspensions) can happen. I know it's a long way off but who will be hosting the district tourney this year - Bledsoe or Sequatchie? (Marion & Grundy have been the last two valley teams to host).

I"ll take Marion in the valley and Notre Dame in the city. I don't know about SeqCo's new coach but Marion has a good coach as well and has been thru the district. Hixson has new HC, as does ND (plus two young good assistants). CCS will be scrappy as always.

Marion marches thru the Valley and 6AA undefeated.

Marion will win 6AA easy. 6AAA will be RB and Ooltewah.

Thanks Catsbackr - just call me the insider for chattanooga baseball rumors. (Ha Ha!!!)

New coach at Hixson will most likely be S/D assistant Ted Mulder. New S/D coach will be Jared Hensley fron Red Bank.

Congrats to Marion Co. on back to back to back district championships. Good luck to the Warriors in the region. Please remember we are not all drunk rednecks and white trash in Hixson. Though you couldn't tell it Tuesday night.

Congrats to Marion County for a big win. As a Hixson alum and parent of a HHS player, the students and some dads from Hixson were simply - out of control last night. The Hixson students, dads and certain players were there to make sure everyone was there to see them and not enjoy the game. My apologies to the folks from Marion County for the unexceptable behavior of "our fans".

Games today are ar Hixson (the launching pad) Games times are EST

Scores from the North Georgia Gazette ortherwise known as the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Notre Dame 9 - 3 winners over CCS. Eberle hits two home runs. Holloway winning pitcher for Irish. Hixson 5 - 1 winners over Marion Co. Green winning pitcher for Hixson. Bettis took the loss for MC. Schedule for Monday. Games at Hixson (the launching pad) 4:00 CCS vs Marion (elimination game) 7:00 Notre Dame vs Hixson (winners bracket finals) Tuesday games at Hixson 4:00 CCS/Marion winner vs Hix/ND loser 7:00 Hix/ND winner vs winner of 4:00 game Wednesday game at Hixson 6:00 if necessary

The guy they should hire is a young gun from Chattanooga area who has applied on the job. Though young he is a solid baseball man and has experince coaching high caliber travel teams during his college days. Several former players from his travel team are now drawing interest from colleges around the area. A young coach hungry to make a name for himself would be perfect for this job.

We all know about the coaches in this one. Should be a great game but Marion always peaks at tournament time. The distrcit tournaments start this week - I'll take the boys from the valley - Marion Co.

Will be interesting to follow his progress this summer thru the showcase events. He certainly has met all expectations to this point.

Congrats to Marion for knocking off the Irish. How about Sequatchie beating Hixson. Looks like the district tournament will be full of valley teams.

This game will just be a preview of the district championship game. It does matter who wins but will not be a must win for either team.

This is indeed a BIG game - but the Irish helped themselves in the city division with a sweep of Hixson.

I've got a couple of words for you to catsbackr - "look a whole thru it" and "swing hard in case you hit it" Looks like a good week for Boyd Buch - wins over S/D and Walker Valley. Where have they been hiding all year or did I miss something?

Reports from Hixson folks at the game - Coppinger had a perfect game thru five. Faced only 22 batters on the night. He only threw 80 pitches.

Chattanooga paper has Hixson winning 2 - 0. Looks like Coppinger and Bettis each pitched well. Hixson had three hits. Marion had one hit. Probably not the last time these two will meet.

Soddy Daisy needs to play better defense than what they showed in the Wildcat Classsic. Red Bank needs to hit better. Central is too young to challenge in this district. Ooltewah may surprise everyone in the end.

I agree Hixson has had some very good teams the 2002 & 2005 teams should have been in the state. however, back 2 back losing seasons is the lately I was talking about.

Like catsbacker, I often get a good look from behind the plate. Marion is a hard nosed TEAM. The type we oldtimers like to see. They claw, scratch and scrap for everything they get. They may not have great individual talent but they are a very good TEAM. CCS comes close but doesn't have as much overall talent. ND may have better individual talent but not enough depth. NDs top five players could play for most anyone. Hixson? what have they done lately? Not sure about the other county teams. Marion will fight for the district and region titles with ND & CCS.