Class A is making sure the Chattanooga area remains well-represented at the state softball tournament in Murfreesboro.
The TSSAA Division I classes - A, AA and AAA - each has eight teams in its state-tournament field. In what has to be a first, no area team can be found in either the Class AAA or AA brackets. But Marion County, Meigs County and Silverdale Baptist Academy all qualified in the small-school classification.
Marion County (34-7) plays Midway (28-11) today at McKnight No. 3 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Silverdale (37-3) and Meigs County (36-3) drew each other first and will play at the same time at Starplex No. 4.
"If we want the big trophy, we've got to beat them all anyway, whether we play them first or play them last," SBA coach Tim Couch said. "We respect them. They're a good team. I'm sure they're there for the same reason we are."
Those two played in a regular-season tournament last year with Meigs winning 6-4. They didn't meet this year, even though they played together in two tournaments.
Silverdale won Meigs' tournament this year. The Lady Tigers lost to Class AAA Ooltewah (41-6) a game before the final.
Both lost in Gold-bracket semifinals in Ooltewah's tournament. SBA lost to eventual champion Friendship Christian (36-8), which is in the Division II-A state tournament. Meigs again fell victim to Ooltewah.
"Might as well play them first," Meigs coach Jeff Davis said of the Lady Seahawks. "It seems like we've been on a collision course anyway."
Davis is in his 13th season heading the Lady Tigers' program. Couch took over at SBA in 2012 after his mentor, Chip Liner, retired. Marion County had a softball vacancy and Randy Ellis, the girls' basketball coach, agreed to coach the Lady Warriors this year.
Strong pitching and defense are key elements with winning teams, and these teams have it. Ellis said he'd put his infield up against any team in the state. Meigs has made 20 errors all season.
Silverdale has a balanced pitching staff in senior Taylor Moran (12-1), junior Emily Harkleroad (12-2) and sophomore Shelby Duggard (13-0). Marion features senior Taylor Roberts (18-3), but two others are a combined 15-4.
The Lady Tigers have a true ace in Tennessee commitment Ashley Rogers (23-2). She's a sophomore who's averaging slightly more than two strikeouts per inning.
"I've been told when she plays in the summer that the more she pitches the stronger she gets," Davis said. "We're going to ride her as much as we can."
The Lady Tigers and Lady Seahawks depend on power offensively. All three in the heart of Silverdale's order average a home run about every 10 at-bats. Meigs has 37 home runs from nine players.
Ellis said Marion relies more on "small ball." The Lady Warriors' slugging-percentage leader, Harlie Jordan, bats leadoff, yet she's second on the team with 32 RBIs.
"She's so comfortable there," Ellis said. "The team feeds off of it, or it seems that way, so we left her there. She enjoys starting us off."
As good as the Lady Tigers and Lady Seahawks have been, they're both receiving a late-season boost. Meigs sophomore Aubrey Reed (.521, 5 HR, 17 games) missed 21 games with a broken hand but was released by doctors last Monday in time to play in the Region 2 tournament.
Kaili Crawley, a sophomore, transferred to Silverdale after playing catcher on Central's Class AA state-tournament team last year. She just became eligible.
"She played in playdays, played in scrimmages, been to every practice, been to every game, but she didn't dress out," Couch said. "She's ready to go. We're excited to see what she can do."
The common thread with all three teams has been strong leadership from within.
"We've got five seniors who are team leaders in every aspect of the word," Ellis said. "All five start. All three pitchers are seniors. All five bat within the first six batters in the lineup. Our senior class is extremely strong."
The teams have done all they can do to this point. In four days, perhaps one will emerge as state champion.
"I think they're as loose as can be," Davis said of his players. "Last year we went over there with five freshman starters. They were a little bit wide-eyed then, but not real bad."
Said Couch of his: "No stage is too big for them. The bigger the stage, the more excited they get. As a coach, that makes you feel good."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.