Several district baseball races still undecided
With district baseball tournaments scheduled to start the first week in May, just four teams have secured championships in Chattanooga-area districts.
South Pittsburg secured the 6-A title with a doubleheader win over Van Buren County, and Chattanooga Christian clinched in 7-AA with two wins over Bledsoe County on Tuesday. Meigs County locked up the 3-A championship with two wins Monday.
Central became No. 4 with its 5-1 District 6-AA win Wednesday against Hixson.
Boyd-Buchanan is undefeated in 5-A but hasn’t locked up the top seed for its postseason tournament. The Buccaneers ( 5- 0) have a makeup game with Grace Academy and two games with Silverdale Baptist, currently in second place, a half-game back.
CCS (8-0) still has two games remaining (Monday and Tuesday) with Notre Dame, but the Chargers have the tiebreaker advantage over second- place Grundy County.
Hixson suffered its first 6-AA loss on Tuesday, 2-0 to Central, but lost again to the Purple Pounders on Wednesday. That made Central the top seed for their tournament.
The 5-AAA district is somewhat convoluted. While Soddy-Daisy is 9-1 and holds a twogame lead over second- place Bradley Central, it’s possible that Bradley could get at least a share of the title by sweeping Walker Valley on Monday and Tuesday and then beating Ooltewah in a makeup game Wednesday.
“We haven’t locked up No. 1, but we have locked up No. 2,” Soddy-Daisy coach Jared Hensley said.
The way 5- AAA rules are set up, Soddy-Daisy could also secure an automatic region berth if it has a two-game lead after all district games are played. The Trojans have a Monday-Tuesday home-and-home series with East Hamilton, which has a 6-4 record and currently is third in the standings.
“If we win Monday then we’re No. 1, and if we win Monday and Tuesday we’re No. 1 with a region berth,” Hensley said.
He emphasized that East Hamilton could still be No. 2 depending on how the Hurricanes fare with his Trojans and how Bradley does with Walker Valley.
South Pittsburg rolled through 6-A, losing only one game (to Lookout Valley).
“They’re beatable,” said Marion County coach Scott Barton, whose Warriors have a makeup game with Whitwell that could decide second place. “The thing about them, they have more experienced depth.”
South Pittsburg beat Marion twice, winning the first game 2-1 with the tying run on third when the final out was made. Then Pirates then romped in the second game.
Whitwell and Marion got the first game of their series in Monday despite the weather.
“The playing conditions weren’t ideal. We went through two dozen baseballs,” Barton said.
Back to 6- AA, Red Bank, which has a makeup game with Tyner next Wednesday at Tyner, was still in the running — at least for No. 2. The Lions would have a tiebreaking edge over Central if Hixson winds up winning the district. Tyner, too, is still in the running for a third tournament seed if not a second.
Meigs skated through its district, only a split with Knoxville Grace Christian keeping the Tigers from an unbeaten run.
“Our pitchers did a great job in district games,” coach Justin Jennings said. “As a team, though, we have been humbled at times. We had to learn we can’t just show up.”
In 12 3-A games, Tigers pitchers, led by Justin Kennedy and Walker Malone, threw eight shutouts.
“The guys are playing hard and believing in each other,” Jennings said.