District 2AA

[rSquared]

2009 Union Co. Lady Patriots

 

Last year's finish:

 

Grainger (Rutledge)

Pigeon Forge

Union Co.

Claiborne

Gatlinburg-Pittman

Cumberland Gap (not entirely sure on these last two due to game scores not posted)

 

Players lost to graduation:

 

LHP Brittany Dyer

C Meagan Effler

SS/3B Whitney Cochran

DH/1B Kari Benziger

OF Carrie Droegemeier

OF Sarah LaVoie

OF Megan Beeler

 

Pre-season Outlook:

 

With ace Brittany Dyer's graduation, pitching duties fall to Junior RHP Ravyn Nease, while the other part of the battery passes from Meagan Effler to younger sister Haley Effler (Jr.). Backup catching duties could fall to Soph. Linsey Carey, Fr. Haven Housewright, Fr. Alexis Flutie, or Soph. Harli Dunsmore. Sr. RHP Samantha Williams will also log some innings on the mound for the Lady Patriots this season, as could Fr. Megan McAllister.

The hole left at SS will be filled by one of two seniors, Delana Cooke or Samantha Williams, or by Soph. Taylor Brown, while Jr. Linsey Carey and Fr. Haven Housewright will compete for the 3rd and 2nd Base spots. Nease may see some time at short when she is not on the mound. Sr. Brittany Maples returns to handle the first base duties for the Lady Patriots, though her versatility could find her at other spots in the infield if needed. Soph. Linsey Carey may also see some time at 1B.

Sr. Ashley Dyer returns in LF, while Fr. Megan McAllister, Soph. Brittany George, Jr., Fr. Alexis Flutie, Fr. Rachel Samms, and Soph. Brittany Patterson will compete for the remaining OF spots. Seniors Samantha Williams or Delana Cooke or Soph. Taylor Brown could also be moved to the OF as needed.

 

Predicted Finish:

The Lady Patriots have several holes to fill, but Coach Lance Lay always manages to have his team in the thick of district competition. Depending on how quickly several players step up and provide answers to some of the question marks, as well as how well Nease performs on the mound, the Lady Patriots should finish anywhere from first to third in the district. Key games, as always, will come against last season's first and second place teams---Grainger Co. and Pigeon Forge. Both the Lady Grizzlies and the Lady Tigers return more pitching depth than the Lady Patriots, and this could well prove to be the difference in the District 2AA race.

[GC Grizzlies]

The Lady Grizzlies of Grainger (Rutledge) lost two seniors in 1B/P Kendall Brabson and 2B Whitney Greer. Perhaps the biggest suprise loss was the early graduation of senior ('09) Melissa Fifield. She has been the CF and leadoff hitter for the last couple of years. They will really miss her speed and slapping ability from the box. Rumor also has it that Assistant Coach Day is not coming back this year, too.

 

They are bringing back the district MVP in P/IF Cierra Mudd and have two or three other quality pitchers available in Junior P/3B Heather Roach, Sophomore left handed P/1B Savannah Grubb and Junior P/IF Sierra Nicely. If her knee is healthy Sophomore Megan Greer will probably man CF and leadoff for the Lady Grizzlies. They also return Sr. LF Tia Black, Sr. OF Kayla Maples, Jr. Catcher Mary Collins and So. SS/3B Jessie Fennell. Junior OF Mia Spaw could get some time if Greer is not ready at the beginning of the season.

 

Grainger did not lose to many players from last seasons district championship team. Mudd has already signed with LMU, so she should be relaxed and ready to continue where she left off. PF has a good pitcher returning and UC always competes strong in the district. It will probably be a good race again this year for these three teams.

 

At least the girls don't have to share a field with the baseball team anymore. But, that mound usually was good for one or two big base hits a year and sometimes a Win or two...LOL.

[Parnokr]

The Pigeon Forge Lady Tigers returns all but one of their 2008 regular players, and hope to build on what they started in last season. All of the starters return, and they have added a new arm to help with the pitching. Makenzie Oliver and Lindsey Vaught will likely share mound duties this Spring, with Annie Vaughn controlling the area behind the plate. Ashley Wojnowski will likely share duties at 3B with Vaught and SS with Oliver and her skills as a slap hitter will likely lead off the batting line up. Danielle Rauhuff is expected to start at 2B, and 1B duties will probably be handled by Madison Price or Jordan Harveston. Outfield duties will be anchored by Megan Kelly and Brooke McCarter with help from Sara Clabo, Erica Denny, and Price and Harveston. Other Lady Tigers that will be working to earn playing time will be Taryn King, Landry Foreman, Brittany Wood, and Imelda Meza.

 

Coach Jessica Sterling returns for her third season assisted by Greg Cole, and hopes to have a strong year. Still young, although I think that word is banned from our vocabulary, the Lady Tigers will likely start 2 Seniors, 2 Juniors, and 5 Sophomores.

 

The schedule is tough with trips to Hendersonville Soddy Daisy, and Morristown for tournaments, and regular games scheduled with perennially strong teams like Powell, Stone Memorial, William Blount, Seymour, Alcoa, and Jefferson County, plus the always tough district schedule.

 

The Lady Tigers should compete well in district 2AA this season, and I would think will battle with Grainger, Union, and possibly Claiborne for the District Title and the right to move on to Region play. I think Grainger/Rutledge has won the regular season championship 5 straight seasons and obviously has to be considered the favorite although I think they will may miss Brabson's leadership and the contributions made by Fifield both at the bat and in CF.

 

Personal note - This starts my seventh season as a parent in this district, and with the TSSAA realignment scheduled for 09-10, this is our last. We have over the years had our battles and rivalries, and I will miss this district after this season. I have gotten to know many parents and coaches over the seasons and will miss seeing you all around the ball field.

 

GOOD LUCK to all in 2009, and we'll look forward to seeing you on the diamond!

[Parnokr]

If Cierra is healthy and Megan is healthy, ya'll will be real strong again. Megan is a very tough out. How is Cierra doing? I know she had a shoulder issue in the Summer and we are hearing she is having thumb issues on her throwing hand? I hope that is not the case as she is fun to watch play and I have a lot of respect for her game.

 

The Lady Grizzlies of Grainger (Rutledge) lost two seniors in 1B/P Kendall Brabson and 2B Whitney Greer. Perhaps the biggest suprise loss was the early graduation of senior ('09) Melissa Fifield. She has been the CF and leadoff hitter for the last couple of years. They will really miss her speed and slapping ability from the box. Rumor also has it that Assistant Coach Day is not coming back this year, too.

 

They are bringing back the district MVP in P/IF Cierra Mudd and have two or three other quality pitchers available in Junior P/3B Heather Roach, Sophomore left handed P/1B Savannah Grubb and Junior P/IF Sierra Nicely. If her knee is healthy Sophomore Megan Greer will probably man CF and leadoff for the Lady Grizzlies. They also return Sr. LF Tia Black, Sr. OF Kayla Maples, Jr. Catcher Mary Collins and So. SS/3B Jessie Fennell. Junior OF Mia Spaw could get some time if Greer is not ready at the beginning of the season.

 

Grainger did not lose to many players from last seasons district championship team. Mudd has already signed with LMU, so she should be relaxed and ready to continue where she left off. PF has a good pitcher returning and UC always competes strong in the district. It will probably be a good race again this year for these three teams.

 

At least the girls don't have to share a field with the baseball team anymore. But, that mound usually was good for one or two big base hits a year and sometimes a Win or two...LOL.

[GC Grizzlies]

If Cierra is healthy and Megan is healthy, ya'll will be real strong again. Megan is a very tough out. How is Cierra doing? I know she had a shoulder issue in the Summer and we are hearing she is having thumb issues on her throwing hand? I hope that is not the case as she is fun to watch play and I have a lot of respect for her game.

 

Cierra is fine. She took the fall off to rest a little after her travel team played sooooo much. She is getting ready for another big season. The Lady Grizzlies scrimmaged Mo East and came out on top 3-0. I think Cierra pitched pretty well. She'll get better as the season goes on and so will the rest of the girls. Megan is back and will be a tough out as she gets better and better slapping the ball. Good luck ladies!

[Parnokr]

Great day Saturday everybody. We really enjoyed having everybody in Pigeon Forge, and we hope you enjoyed watching some pretty good ball. Looks like we had the evaluation of the district right. Grainger is still the team to beat as both pitchers looked strong and they hit the ball better as the day went along. Pigeon Forge and Union will put up a fight. Union is replacing a lot but is getting better, and Pigeon Forge is also getting better but needs to cut out costly errors and get a little more umph on those hits. I still think Claiborne is getting better and on the right day will be a headache.

 

Anyway, thanks for coming down, and we will look forward to playing you again soon!

[gonehome]

parnokr hope everyone is well, good on this end. how are the facilities and everyone doing. from reading what you have wrote seems things still are the same o same o, still chasing coach singleton at grainger. will keep up with you this season. Hope littlle parnokr has a good year and how is the oldest little parnokr doing.

[Parnokr]

Doin pretty good. Mak went 0-4 last night against Seymour, but had 1 rbi, and played solid short. We won 5-4 on a walk off bases loaded single in the 7th. Nice to finally get a game under our belt.

[GC Grizzlies]

Saw where Pigeon Forge beat Seymour 5-4 and Grainger lost to Seymour 4-0. This looks to be the two teams to beat, but you cant count out UC either. Pigeon Forge may be the favorite now based on this common game outcome. Grainger will have to hit the ball better than they have, but most of their games have been against high quality teams. Most of their early games have been against 3A schools. Looks like it will be another battle this year.

[Parnokr]

I agree that the district should come down to Grainger, Pigeon Forge and Union, just like the last 5 years, but I still think Grainger is the favorite as they have not lost a regular season game in the district in 5 years. Pigeon Forge is playing better both offensively and defensively, but it seems Grainger is still a hurdle yet to be jumped. The Lady Tigers played Seymour well, then on last Thursday lost to Jefferson County 6-2 in 9 innings only allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run. There is certainly room for improvement, but the Lady Tigers lost to that same Jeff County team 3 times last year without really being competitive with them. I for one will never count out Union either as their bats always keeps them in the game.

 

See you on the dirt!

[GC Grizzlies]

Grainger played pretty good in the Gibbs tournament, but unfortunately the record doesnt show it. They did have a big win against Farragut 4-3. They lost to Karns, and Cookeville who I think ended up winning it. They also had a tie with LaVergne (I think thats right). Grainger has played some good competition early and this should help them getting ready for district play. Mudd has thrown the ball well and Heather Roach is throwing the ball well also. They will have pretty good pitching, both throw hard. Now the D needs to keep improving along with continued improvement with the bats. I'm ready for district play to get underway.

[rSquared]

Grainger played pretty good in the Gibbs tournament, but unfortunately the record doesnt show it. They did have a big win against Farragut 4-3. They lost to Karns, and Cookeville who I think ended up winning it. They also had a tie with LaVergne (I think thats right). Grainger has played some good competition early and this should help them getting ready for district play. Mudd has thrown the ball well and Heather Roach is throwing the ball well also. They will have pretty good pitching, both throw hard. Now the D needs to keep improving along with continued improvement with the bats. I'm ready for district play to get underway.

 

 

Naah! Grainger hasn't played much of anybody! LOL

Only kidding, as I was discussing with my head coach just a few days ago, Grainger's record doesn't mean squat at the current time. It's all about playing good teams to get yourself ready for postseason play, and nobody does any better job of it than Wendy!

Congrats on the impressive win over Farragut! I'd say Coach Moore was shocked! LOL

 

---rSquared