With Graduations this week the end of the 2016-2017 school year is upon us. That means the Spring Sports Seasons are nearing their end. Districts get underway this weekend.
Hollister will host what could very well be the most competitive district in the state. The seedings themselves don’t look bad. 1) Aurora 2) Logan-Rogersville 3) Springfield Catholic 4) Reeds Spring 5) Mt Vernon and 6) Hollister. But then you look a little closer. The bottom seeded team (Hollister) just beat the top seed (Aurora) this past weekend. The four seed Reeds Spring beat the two-seed Rogersville. Reeds Spring and Mt Vernon played a ten inning game last week, won by the Mtneers. Plus, history tells us, just how close this district is.. A year ago, every single game in the whole Tournament was decided by just ONE run. Add the fact that the district dropped Marshfield and picked up Springfield Catholic and you get my argument for being the most competitive.
If you are going to pick a favorite you still have to go with Aurora.. The Houn Dawgs have more pitching. And, that is a factor when playing games right after one another. But, as you can see it could very well be anyone’s championship to win.
Branson will travel to Nixa for the Class 5 District 11 Tournament. Kickapoo is the top seed there. They are followed by Glendale, Ozark, Branson is the four seed. They are followed by West Plains, Parkview and Nixa.
The Pirates have battled injuries, this season, in numbers that are rarely seen. Coach Troy Nimmo and his group of guys deserve tremendous credit for putting together the season they have.. talk about a group that has battled together. At full strength I would like the Pirates chance to come out of this district and to be honest I still thing they have a decent shot. That being said for the sake of picking a favorite, I am actually going to go with the THREE seed…. OZARK.
Forsyth will be in the district hosted by Clever. They actually play the Blue Jays in the opening round on Monday. The Panthers are seeded third, behind Strafford and Conway, and ahead of Fair Grove, Spokane, and Clever.
This is another competitive district. Clever has lost to most of the teams in the tournament but several of them were one run games. They are dangerous for a six seed. When I started writing this, I had every intention on picking Forsyth. But, the Panther dropped two games this weekend including one to the Indians. We can’t forget the Conway is there as well. The Bears are the defending champs, and even though they Graduated some talent from last years club, they are obviously still pretty good… Overall, I think that Coach Jullian’s team is really the best team there. But, I can’t overlook what Strafford has done.. while I will hold out hope, this Panther team, advances… for the sake of this article Give me the Indians.
I like both Galena and New Covenant in the district being held in Crane. The Bears won and extra inning game against NCA earlier this year. Assuming both teams make it through, it should be a dandy final. I will go with the Bears, if they can find a way to save Sorrell to pitch that Championship game.
Soccer Districts are next week…. Track Districts are this weekend… folks the 2016-2017 year is about to get away from us…
Good Luck to All !!!!!
