Polk County coach Bill Triplett has turned in his resignation as the school's baseball coach effective with the Wildcats' final game.
Polk is still playing and will travel to Sequoyah this afternoon for the District 5-AA winners-bracket final.
"I'm really getting out to spend more time with my girls," said Triplett, who picked up his 300th coaching victory just a couple of weeks ago.
Triplett's daughter, Lydia, is a fairly accomplished golfer and also plays softball.
"I got to see her play two games this year. I want to be able to get my popcorn and diet coke and sit out in right field and watch her play," the coach said.
Lydia has an active junior golf schedule in the summer.
"She is playing two or three days every week in the junior golf series, and I really didn't think I could work on the field and do what I needed to do baseball-wise and still be involved with her golf," he said.
Triplett started his career in 1986 as an assistant and moved to Copper Basin as head coach before going to Middle Tennessee State as an assistant. He was at Polk in 1990 as head coach and then left coaching for a year before going to Oakdale High for eight years. He returned to Polk in 2005 and took the Wildats to their first district and region titles last year.
Blevins athlete of year
Former Chattanooga Christian pitcher Seth Blevins has been named Montreat College 2011 male athlete of the year and the team's pitcher of the year. Blevins had a 6-3 record and a save while pitching eight complete games and accumulating 79 strikeouts and a 1.88 ERA. The team's captain, Blevins has served as a member of the FCA leadership team and the athletic advisory committee. He's scheduled to graduate this week with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies.
Eagles sign Dotson
Soddy-Daisy's Brad Dotson has signed with Carson-Newman.
The pitcher has a 6-1 record with 40 strikeouts and a 1.93 ERA. His opponents have managed a cumulative batting average of .171.
Notre Dame gains 7-AA final
Notre Dame won its losers-bracket final late Saturday and advanced to tonight's District 7-AA championship game opposite Chattanooga Christian.
The game will be played at Sequatchie County at 7. If the Irish win, a second title game would be played at 7 on Tuesday.
Their 7-6 win over Grundy County assured the Irish of advancing to the region tournament for the first time since 2006. Michael Luketic (1-1) was the winning pitcher and Chase White picked up his first save.