District 5 AAA

[phishdad]

I think the surprise team of the year so far is Bradley Cental...

 

Walker Valley seems awfully tough though....

[ballcurmudgeon]

I think the surprise team of the year so far is Bradley Cental...

 

Walker Valley seems awfully tough though....

[ballcurmudgeon]

Bradley County and Walker Valley both have good teams and tradition.

[TheSwami]

Bradley County and Walker Valley both have good teams and tradition.

 

Bradley does have a proud baseball tradition but it is not looking good for the bears now that were to the midpoint in the district race. There youth of the past years hasn't matured into the team many thought they would be at this time. Its a repeat of last year with Soddy, WV and Ooltewah making it a three team sprint for control. I haven't seen Soddy play yet but have kept up with them in the news and it doesn't seem that they lack offensively and seem to have a solid #1 on the hill. I have to be honest its seems almost every school has a solid #1 but after that the battle for #2 is a bit (iffy). Bobby Towne for WV has been nothing less than stellar 4 wins 0.00 ERA and 2 one hitters on the season. Dupree for Ooltewah has looked solid this year as a Tennessee signee. Cleveland is just too young to compete this year but look out for the raiders in two years. I see it finishing up WV and Soddy championship game with Ooltewah on the outside looking in on the game. The Bears, Cleveland, Rhea and McMinn looking again to next spring. WV seems more solid at the plate than in past seasons but Soddys pitching may be the difference in a state bid.

[Bronxbombers]

Bradley does have a proud baseball tradition but it is not looking good for the bears now that were to the midpoint in the district race. There youth of the past years hasn't matured into the team many thought they would be at this time. Its a repeat of last year with Soddy, WV and Ooltewah making it a three team sprint for control. I haven't seen Soddy play yet but have kept up with them in the news and it doesn't seem that they lack offensively and seem to have a solid #1 on the hill. I have to be honest its seems almost every school has a solid #1 but after that the battle for #2 is a bit (iffy). Bobby Towne for WV has been nothing less than stellar 4 wins 0.00 ERA and 2 one hitters on the season. Dupree for Ooltewah has looked solid this year as a Tennessee signee. Cleveland is just too young to compete this year but look out for the raiders in two years. I see it finishing up WV and Soddy championship game with Ooltewah on the outside looking in on the game. The Bears, Cleveland, Rhea and McMinn looking again to next spring. WV seems more solid at the plate than in past seasons but Soddys pitching may be the difference in a state bid.

 

 

The Owls of Ooltewah are the top team in the district and one of the top teams in the state. What other team can boast of four DI commits including two signee? What other team has two starting pitchers commited to Tennessee and Tennessee Tech in Kevin Dupree and Zach Thompson, respectively?

 

Not only is Dupree an excellent pitcher who dominates from the pitching block, but he is a terror at the plate. According to Thompson's summer coach, the highly esteemed George Koontz, Zach was the Chattanooga Cyclones most consistent pitcher in the summer, throwing in the high 80's.

 

The star of the team is TJ Binder, one of the most highly decorated players in Chattanooga history. TJ is a two time all area pick and represented the Owls on last summer's Team Tennessee. The 6'1" 230 lb. c/ss is an absolute beast at the plate and has signed with Troy University.

 

Drew Toth is an outstanding center fielder with blazing speed. If he hits the ball to the left side of the infield, there is no throwing him out. He has signed with Tennessee Tech to continue his baseball career.

 

If there is a weakness on the owl team, it is their overall team speed as it is doubtful that there is a man that runs under a 7.1 sixty with the exception of Drew Toth. This complicates matters for the defense, expecially in the outfield where the corner outfielders have appeared to struggle at times.

 

I am interested in seeing how the season plays out, beginning this weekend when Ooltewah invades Knoxville at the Kessler's Tournament.

[spillthebeans]

This was too funny! The highly esteemed George Koontz?!.,' LMAO! Thank you for making my morning while reading this post.

[spillthebeans]

Bronx can you please do a write up on Coach Hitch. Please make it sound like he breathes fire, spits acid, and has devil eyes. Bronx you need to write books man. You would be a great fiction book writer.

[Bronxbombers]

This was too funny! The highly esteemed George Koontz?!.,' LMAO! Thank you for making my morning while reading this post.

 

Laugh if you must but George Koontz is the Connie Mack/John McGraw of Chattanooga baseball. Why, who do you think the great Ward Gossett consults when picking the all area team? When Ward wrote his pre season article about area baseball, it has George's fingerprints all over it.

[spillthebeans]

Connie Mack..lmao! Why don't we just call Koontz Abner Doubleday? Please keep making me laugh. This is too funny. I love it

[Bronxbombers]

Connie Mack..lmao! Why don't we just call Koontz Abner Doubleday? Please keep making me laugh. This is too funny. I love it

 

Soddy has some pretty good ballplayers as well. I think some of those young men have signed with some local junior colleges, but I don't see that they match the Big Owl Machine. Bradley has a pitcher that's ok that will throw against Ooltewah in the next couple of days, but I look for Ooltewah to put it all together as we head into the backstretch. I don't think Ooltewah loses another district contest. This is Coach Hitch's best team yet at the nest.

[TheSwami]

What i love about message boards is the pure unbiased opinion of the writer. I - although clearly biased to one team showed respect and NON-bias in my opinion trying to get a good conversation going. What I ended up with was some pissed parent who wants to make their team seem better than they really are....please.

 

George Koontz comment aside (lost 95% credibility) I only heard Bradley has a decent pitcher... Bobby Towne has 4 complete games and a 0.00 ERA for WV??? What is that? That's better than Ooltewah. WV top ten ranking, number 4 in Defense and yet all about the Owls. Who cares about signees unless they produce a championship... and they wont.

 

Ooltewah wasn't relevant last year and wont be again this year but keep quoting your Ward Gosset babel and making yourself feel better.

 

Your own coach was quoted saying and he said it best after a loss... “I feel this is the worst game that a team I’ve coached has played fundamentally,†Hitchcox said. “From walking guys, to hitting guys, to miscommunication on bunts, messing up first-and-thirds, passed balls, wild pitches, leadoff walks, missing a popup, messing up a first-and-third move, missing a cutoff man in a key situation.

 

“The kids will be over it in 10 minutes. They couldn’t care less. I probably won’t sleep for a week. That’s frustrating. They don’t have a concept of having just 35 games a season, 40 if you’re lucky in high school, and to show up and give an effort like that was pretty disappointing.â€

 

Hitchcox didn’t want to stop there.

 

“You would think they’d be a little more focused, excited and ready to play,†he said. “What I saw today was a lot of guys that acted tired and lethargic. There’s no excuse. They acted like they didn’t want to be here.â€

 

That sounds like a Coach that understands what the four D1 coaches have seen all along...Signing and playing = CONNECTION...now tell me how the corner outfielders were the ones to blame ~ BRONX!

Edited April 10, 2012 by TheSwami

[spillthebeans]

Could not agree more Swami !