Dalton's Grant Sane headed for Chattanooga State

Thursday, March 27, 2014

photo Dalton catcher Grant Sane has signed to play college baseball at Chattanooga State.

A little inside information paid off for the Chattanooga State Tigers this week. Dalton senior Grant Sane, on the advice of CSTCC assistant coach Joe Wingate, signed on to play for the Tigers in a ceremony at the high school.

"He played for Coach Wingate a couple of years ago (on the Chattanooga Baseball Club), so he had a pretty good feel for Grant and really liked him," Chattanooga State coach Greg Dennis said of Sane. "He has a very legitimate chance to be an everyday player on of the corners for us. He swings it well and we're excited to get him."

Sane, a middle-of-the-order hitter for a Dalton team that has started the season 10-3, is the Catamounts' catcher but has played third and first base in summer-league ball. He also earned all-region honors in football this past season as an offensive lineman.

Deja-vu for 7B-AAAA

The start of the second season of playing three-game series in Region 7-AAAA looks very similar to last year, with three opening sweeps. Reigning champion Northwest Whitfield, which lost just once in league play last year, got off to another strong start with a sweep of Ridgeland. Coach Todd Middleton says there's no big secret to the Bruins' success.

"You need deep pitching, but each game is different," Middleton said. "I wasn't sure about liking the format at first but it seems to suit us."

Heritage and Dalton, as they did last season, also opened this year's campaign with sweeps.

Trojans rise in power rankings

The latest edition of the Class A power rankings is good news for Gordon Lee. A strong week, which included wins over Region 6 foes Whitefield Academy and Walker, has the 10-3 Trojans ranked fifth. Gordon Lee's ranking has been boosted by nonregion wins over higher classification schools Heritage (twice), Sonoraville and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, but it's in region play where the team will make its case for moving up further.

"No doubt that in single-A this is the toughest region in the state ," said coach Mike Dunfee, noting that region teams Mt. Paran, King's Ridge, Darlington, and Walker are ranked in the top eight in the private school ratings. "Which is why we're not worrying about the rankings right now. If we take care of business in our region it should work out, though last year we had the most points in the rankings but ended up seeded fifth."

Trion (8-5) is ranked 13th on the public side and Christian Heritage (5-7) is 24th on the private side.

Contact lindsey young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.