DOWN & DIRTY
Spring Fling set to begin today
Months of preparation and perspiration have led to this. More than 10,000 high school athletes from across Tennessee will meet in the Murfreesboro area today to begin the process of determining state champions in the five sports — baseball, boys’ soccer, softball, tennis and track and field — that make up the TSSAA Spring Fling.
The Chattanooga area will be well represented in each sport as all but track and field get underway today.
In baseball, Baylor returns to try to repeat its Division II-AA title, while Bradley Central is back in the Class AAA tournament for the first time since 2007 and Sequatchie County will compete in the AA state tournament for the first time in more than 20 years.
“It’s a huge deal for us because I think people understand how hard it is to get this far,” said Sequatchie coach Derrin Easterly, who added that the Dunlap area is especially proud to have three teams from the school — baseball, softball and track — qualify for state tournaments. “We’re a prideful community, so when you go out in town everybody you see is congratulating you. At school everybody is extremely excited for each other, and we’re anxious to see what we can do.”
Similarly there are three local soccer teams competing, McCallie in Division II and Arts & Sciences and Signal Mountain each in the Class A bracket. The Blue Tornado were 2018 runners-up while Signal Mountain coach Richard Northcutt will attempt to guide a team to a state title for the second time this school year after leading the girls’ program to its first championship last fall. His Eagles potentially could face CSAS for a fourth
time this season in the title game.
Tennis will be the first sport to begin play as both boys’ and girls’ teams get underway at 10 a. m. EDT, including Baylor vs. McCallie and Girls Preparatory School vs. defending DII-AA champion Baylor as well as defending small class girls’ champion Signal Mountain vs. Union City.
Softball, which long has been dominated by the Chattanooga area, will have more area teams (7) than baseball and soccer combined. At least one area team will compete in all five classifications, including five taking the field today.
There were six area softball teams that played for state titles last season, and at least one area team has reached the championship game every year since 2002. In the last decade a total of 33 area teams have played for TSSAA softball titles.
“It’s been that way for the last 40 years as far as our area being the strongest in softball,” said Sale Creek legendary coach Clifford Kirk, who won eight state titles at SoddyDaisy after two at Hixson and led the Lady Panthers to a runner- up finish last year. “A lot of it started with our area having such good summer programs for years and years. We were so dominant in Chattanooga that we made the rest of the state better.
“When I was at Soddy-Daisy I once went four years without losing to another team outside of Chattanooga. All those other teams from the rest of the state had to get better just to compete with us.”
In Class A, Sale Creek and Whitwell, which is making its third consecutive trip to the Fling, will each begin play today, as will Marion County and Sequatchie County in AA, Chattanooga Christian in Division II-A and Baylor and GPS in DII-AA.
The Lady Red Raiders and Bruisers have met each of the past 10 years for the state championship with Baylor claiming the last four titles. Both teams have run-ruled every D-II opponent they have played this season, making them the favorites again to meet in the final.