[Hit and Run]

Smith got a regional title under his belt before his 25 years old. That's a pretty good accomplishment. I agree there are many great young coaches around, but I feel that Smith does an excellent job and I'd put him up there with anybody in the state. As it was stated earlier in the thread Clay was down 4 players, and 1 was completely out of his game because of serious family issues. Clay started 4 kids that day that never played any other varsity besides that game. I like King as a pitcher. I think he is terrific, but you can't hang your hat on a mid season weekend game when one team is clearly short handed. Don't think I'm knocking King because I'm not, he is as good as you'll find on the hill, and he is a great competitor. I love his mentality out there, and he'll have a wonderful career at my alma mater. Good pick up for the Splitters! I just feel that you can really tell what a team is made out of when the pressure is on, and Clay proved what they type of team they have last year in the region, while Knox bowed out early. I do think Knox will be much better with Hillard than Vanover, but if I were ranking the teams as of right now I'd have Clay as a strong #1, followed by North, then Knox close behind, then you have Corbin quite a bit below them. Corbin could be a sleeper if the bats are hot, but I think the loss of Hoover is huge. He was one of their most productive players last year.