the finals

[rookie32]

whats everyones prediction for the game.

[rookie32]

how bout them tigers. who would have thought they would have made it this far. i knew they would be a contender and prolly make districts...but not the finals. i think it will be a good game. its hard to beat a team 3 times in a season. good luck to both teams. but i have to root for fm. play hard and have fun.

[Lindzh88]

I give alot of credit to this years FM Softball team. To go from having losing seasons for many years to being in the D5 finals. That is a great accomplishment. This is a completely turned around ball team from last year. I wish them the best of luck tom. evening. I will be there to cheer you girls on all game! I'm definetly hoping to see FM on top. Its going to be hard to do since they have lost to them 3 times this season.

[bull_in_pa]

I have to say one thing. If Tracy Cornelius is not the coach of the year in both District 5 and the Chambersburg Public Opinion, I will be one upset guy! This guy has proven to me that he is a great coach. I hope the girls do well, as posted before, its been real tough for any Sideling Hill League team to beat another 3 times in one year!! Good Luck FM, Ill be there too!!!

[Sneakers]

Not all of this message will be popular but I'm going to say it...
First, let me say that I'm a big Tracy Cornelius fan and know the type of person he is....one of many "nice guy" type coaches in the Sideling Hill League....others include NB's Over and Hyndman's Weaver (don't know SF's Shade enough for an opinion)
But let's face it, FM's last two game success is due to bracketing....put them in the Tussey, Everett, and Hyndman bracket and I'm not sure who would have emerged to the finals...ever since the first rankings came out, teams were salivating for a #8 seed and a matchup with Turkeyfoot.

Did FM do what was necessary to get there?... definitely, The biggest part of the Lady Tigers' season was a 6-2 record in the battles against TM, NB, Hyn and SF....In comparison, TM was 3-5, (3-0 with Donaldson pitching) NB was 3-5 but had an Everett win, Hyndman was 4-4, and SF was 4-4.
Congrats FM and Good luck!

Also next year..Everett will be up one class(so will North Star and Windber). Next year FM, TM, NB, SF and HYn(?) (Shaffer will be tough to replace), should be ones to watch in 2005. But that's a long way off.

[CoachK]

Lady Tigers, all I can say is don't be distracted by all the hype, jealousy and anger that is out there. Believe it or not it is there. No one can take away from you what you have worked so hard to achieve this year. You deserve to be where you are. You all have earned it. It is just that for so many years you have been everyone's pin cushin, and teams can't do to you the things that they used to be able to do. It doesn't sit very well with some of them. If it was one of the other teams sitting where you are right now, nothing would be said about bracketing or any thing like that. Like I said, you earned it, savor it, play hard, keep your heads up and despite what anyone says to you, you are all winners. Good luck tomorrow.

[InDepthCoverage]

Good luck to both teams, but I would really like to see FM come out on top. Since 1981, the FM softball program has not had a winning season, and this year, they have really turned it around. Congratulations to both teams for making this far, and I will be there to see a great game between two great teams. Tracy Cornelious and Coach Knepper have done an incredible job with the team. Way to go ladies. Good luck.

[Yard Dog]

Let's give the Lady Tigers a little credit for knocking off Windber and Turkeyfoot. I know that Turkeyfoot's record may have been inflated with some easy wins but when you win 19 games during the season, you beat somebody good at some point. You could go through every sports season and talk about favorable seeds, but why not just give them the credit they deserve and wish them well.

They will be a force to reckon with in the next few years. Great job ladies and coaches.

[zonebreaker]

sneakers...so the d5AA teams will be Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, Everett, Windber, and North Star. That means they can have their own district tournament with the winner advancing to the state playoffs (i think you need 4); any word if this will happen--can't imagine why they wouldn't want to.

[mjunkin]

The Tigers WON!!! We beat Everett 2-1 for the D5 Championship. Way to go ladies...you definitely earned it!

(Pics from the game in my album.)

Their next game will be on Monday at Bedford.