PH takes crown and momentum entering tournament

6) Rural Retreat - From RR's view, this year's softball bracket is straight-up. The Indians must fight past GW to get the chance to play NW. Although one piece of hope is that before the game was rained out, Rural Retreat held second seeded Northwood to just six runs on May 8th. Should the Indians pull off an upset against their arch-county-rival, the Maroons, and move onto play the Panthers, the entire season was certainly worth it.

3) George Wythe - As far as HogoOnline knows, GW never made up the Marion double-header, ending the regular season at 18 games, winning eight. The Maroons have lost four of their last five games, two of which included the likes of Northwood and Patrick Henry - the district's juggernauts. Clearly the Maroons are favored to take the first round over winless RR - but that is where the fun could stop. The Wythevillians would then meet Northwood in the semis, who have outscored them 22-2 in their two meetings this season.

5) Holston - It was clear that Holston had a lot of fight in them for most of the season. As in my previous post when I vowed that Holston would not stay a one-win team for long, and to prove me right, they are now a four-win team. I will now take it a step further and say that Holston is probably the best four-win team in the state (there probably aren't many that exist anyway). Holston must face Chilhowie in the first round, a team they trounced 13-1 just last week. Should the momentum carry-over, the Cavs have a good shot at facing the tournament host, Patrick Henry, in the semi-finals. PH is a team that has given Holston their only mercy-rules this year with two 16-1 whoppings.

4) Chilhowie - With the games that were reported, the Warriors barely managed to eek out a winning record, going 8-7 on the year, 4-6 in the Hogo. The Lady Warriors have lost five of their last seven, including a 13-1 beat down by Holston (4-16). Should the Warriors manage to pull it together and overcome the ladies from Damascus, Chilhowie would move on to face PH in the semis - a team they only lost to at home by four runs. If the Warriors happen to overlook Holston again, their season could end a little sooner than they had wished for.

2) Northwood - The second seed always has the most pressure on them. You didn't win the district regular season - so advancement to regionals is not automatic - and because of that - huge, imaginary targets appear on your back. Northwood lost their last two games of the regular season, but now is not the time to lose confidence if the Panthers want another rematch with PH and an advancement to the Region C tournament. The bracket is favorable for NW, as they have eased by both Rural Retreat and George Wythe twice this year.

1) Patrick Henry - What a season for the Rebels. They started off by making a name for themselves in the Kingsport Eastman Tournament and then followed through by sweeping the Hogo. Now, Patrick Henry has won 16 games and has a free ride to the Region C tournament. Their side of the bracket is a little tricky, however- both Holston and Chilhowie are capable spoilers despite the regular season outcomes. Against Holston and Chilhowie this season, the Rebs have outscored the opposers 52-4. That is extremely convincing. Having won 11 of their last 13, including four straight - PH is carrying quite a bit of momentum with them.