Soddy-Daisy recently made its 2010 debut in the ESPN Rise FAB 50 rankings as the No. 36-rated high school softball team in the nation.
The Lady Trojans were listed as having a 19-1 record in the Week 4 poll, which included games through last Tuesday. They now are 27-1 after having won the Gibbs Invitational over the weekend in Knoxville.
"That deal is just somebody's guesswork. It's hard to figure it out," Soddy-Daisy coach Clifford Kirk said of the rankings. "We'd like for us to be up in the top 10, but at least we're getting some sort of recognition for what we've done."
The Lady Trojans have outscored their competition 221-5. Pitchers Kelsey Nunley and Tori Denayer have allowed one earned run each.
Soddy-Daisy's loss was 1-0 to District 5-AAA rival Ooltewah in the Brentwood Invitational in late March. The teams are 1-1 this season and play again Wednesday in a district game at Soddy Lake Kids' Park at 5 p.m.
Goodpasture Christian in Madison, Tenn., and Beech, from Hendersonville, were ranked 18th and 26th, respectively, in the preseason FAB 50. Goodpasture has dropped from the poll. Beech is up to No. 19.
Woody to LMU
McCallie catcher Nolan Woody will sign with NCAA Division II member Lincoln Memorial University on Thursday.
"He's a great leader, he has a great understanding of the game, he plays as hard as a player can play and he has a number of God-given tools," McCallie coach Chris Richardson said.
Woody will join Baylor infielder Adam Shuford in playing for the Railsplitters next season. Shuford signed during the early signing period last fall.
LMU reportedly is moving up to Division I in a couple of years.
Combs raking
Meigs County first baseman Courtney Combs is running away with the Chattanooga area's RBI crown in softball. The senior slugger, who totaled 32 RBIs her junior year, has already driven in 48 runs this spring.
"It seems like about every time she comes up to bat the bases are loaded with one out," Meigs County coach Jeff Davis said of his cleanup batter. "Even when she makes an out, she gets an RBI."
Combs has struck out three times this season, which is the same number of times she's hit a grand slam. She drove in eight runs in a recent doubleheader and had a seven-RBI game the next day.
Meigs County, which this week is competing in Disney Spring Training in Orlando, Fla., has another three and a half weeks of regular-season play remaining. The Lady Tigers are 18-6, 3-0 in District 5-AA, and have aspirations of a lengthy postseason run. If that comes about, Combs' ending RBI total could be astronomical.
"She may not get another one the rest of the year," Davis said, "but I think what she's done to this point is amazing."