Area Baseball

Player of the year

Jared Allen

There were no surprises with Polk County's Allen, a four-year starter who also was named the Best of Preps male athlete of the year and the 2010 all-area football defensive player of the year.

"He made me a great coach, but Jared is actually the ultimate teammate," Polk baseball coach Bill Triplett said. "He has always been that even when he was a freshman, but I don't want that to take away from his abilities as a player. He has done a lot for Polk County. When he gets to the next level and the levels after that, those attributes are going to mean a lot to those coaches and those teammates. He has always been about winning rather than individual accolades."

This season the University of Tennessee signee hit .514 with 14 home runs, 62 RBIs, 51 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, 10 doubles and a slugging percentage of 1.029.

Coach of the year

Wes Stone

Stone's South Pittsburg Pirates finished the year with a 37-4 record, winning their first district championship since 2000 and their first region championship since 1999.

The run to their first state-tournament appearance since 1996 was a team effort from top to bottom, according to Stone, who has had winning records in all three of his seasons as head coach.

"This year's team was one of those where I looked forward to going to the field coaching these kids," he said. "I have to share this award with them and my assistant coaches, Brian Paris and J.J. Gatlin. Any time you have a season like this, it takes everybody from the administration to the coaches to the players to the parents."

Chris Caffrey

Walker Valley

Junior infielder

He hit .384 with two homers, 10 doubles, 30 runs scored and 28 RBIs and stole seven bases in eight tries.

J.D. Cowart

McMinn Central

Senior catcher

He threw out 19 of 27 base-stealers, was 1-0 as a pitcher and hit .419 with four home runs and 15 RBIs.

Spencer Crabtree

Meigs County

Senior outfielder

The University of Tennessee signee hit .370 and had a 2.06 pitching ERA and 106 strikeouts in 52 innings.

Hunter Giles

South Pittsburg

Senior pitcher

The left-hander was 11-0 with two saves, 96 strikeouts, six shutouts and just 11 earned runs allowed.

Michael Hargrove

Polk County

Senior outfielder

He hit .414 with eight homers, two triples, 36 RBIs and a postseason streak of 11 plate appearances reaching base.

Michael Houchin

Walker Valley

Junior pitcher

The left-hander had two key wins in the District 5-AAA tournament and was 6-2 with a save for the season.

Drew Masingale

McMinn County

Senior outfielder

The Tennessee signee hit .355 with seven homers and 27 RBIs and pitched a 10-strikeout one-hitter.

Scott Moses

McMinn Central

Senior utility

The Belmont signee hit .435 with nine homers, 40 RBIs and 23 steals and as a pitcher was 4-3 with a 1.47 ERA.

Derek Murray

Cleveland

Senior infielder

He hit .405 with eight homers, had a 4-2 pitching record and earned a Lee University academic scholarship.

Jeb Scoggins

Cleveland

Senior pitcher

He had five wins, a 1.70 ERA and 107 strikeouts and threw a two-hitter with 16 strikeouts against Soddy-Daisy.

Brackton Smith

McMinn County

Senior infielder

The Tennessee Wesleyan signee hit .413 with 10 homers and 36 RBIs and was 5-for-5 with three homers in one game.

Jake Stone

South Pittsburg

Sophomore infielder

He batted .418 with 12 extra-base hits, 52 RBIs, 45 runs, 25 steals and only four strikeouts in 117 at-bats.

Second team

MATT ALLEN South PittsburgSenior Outfielder

ANDY CASE South Pittsburg Senior Infielder

KENZIE GOINS Rhea County Senior Infielder

JOSH HOWARD McMinn County Senior Pitcher

TYLER LEE Polk County Senior Infielder

JAKE ROWLAND Meigs County Senior Infielder

CADEN SHADRICK Marion County Senior Infielder

DUSTIN STOWERS Walker Valley Senior Catcher

CAMERON TALLENT Rhea County Senior Infielder

BOBBY TOWNE Walker Valley Junior Outfielder

CODY WILSON Grundy County Senior Pitcher

BRANDON ZAJAC Walker Valley Senior Infielder

Teams of the year:

1--South Pittsburg (37-4)

The Pirates lost only twice on the way to the state tournament, taking the team's first district title since 2000 and its first region championship since 1999.

2--Polk County (24-13)

The Wildcats finished second in the district but then won the Region 3-AA title and a sectional game to get to the state tournament.

3--Walker Valley (22-14)

The Mustangs' late-season push carried them to the District 5-AAA title and a region runner-up finish, but they fell a step shy of the state with a sectional loss to eventual state runner-up Columbia.

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