The nights in Knoxville are beginning to get warmeTSSAA state championship . The chilly air of late February has finally started to fade, bringing with it another opportunity. An opportunity to be great one more time has presented itself to the most decorated high school baseball team the country has been able to watch in the past six years. Four out of the last six state championships have been won by the Farragut Admirals Baseball team and building a dynasty is what many from around Knoxville believe is going on. Three years in a row now Farragut High School has won the and all focus is on number four.
Opportunity knocks. Eight seniors and a boatload of juniors, that's what the Admirals have this year and each one knows what that means, another title run. Eight young men in west Knoxville have achieved nothing but the best. As seniors they have won a state championship since their freshman year and possibly making it number four would leave them as the most successful Farragut seniors to play the game.
The Admiral’s senior class has a lot to up hold before reaching the coveted title of greatest Tennessee High School baseball class of all time. Ten players from that west Knoxville program have been drafted into the Major Leagues within the ten years, and fifteen more have received Division 1 scholarships from schools to advance their baseball careers. Knock. Knock. Knock.
The most prestigious baseball program since Lakeland High School in Fl. in the early 2000s begins the year with two of those seniors being Aflac All-Americans. Catcher Nicky Delmonico and Pitcher Philip Pfeifer, two of the highest-rated high school prospects in the country, start their senior year up on top. Baseball America has Farragut ranked number two in the nation as the season begins and climbing one spot is a major goal for the Admirals this spring.
Beginning late into the first semester of school the reigning champs start the work to prepare them for the championship push they strive for. Clinton High School Head Baseball Coach Casey Taylor understands the challenges his team faces as region foe Farragut looks to capture the crown again. “They are possibly the best high school team in the nation and rightfully so. For high school kids to play at the level they play is amazing.” As sophomores both were vital parts in helping the Admirals set state and national records for home runs in a year and most run rules in a season (meaning the game was stopped because the Admirals were winning the game by too many runs).
During the TSSAA state championships in Murfreesboro last year both All-Americans helped propel Farragut to the title game where each stepped up their play and showed why they actually are two of the highest rated prizes college coaches can get their hands on. Delmonico, who was the state tournament MVP, led the Admirals at the plate hitting .457 throughout the tournament including a walk off home run in the championship game to win the title. On the other side of the picture Pfeifer led the Admirals in pitching and didn’t back down to a single hitter. Pfeifer went 3-0 in the state tournament including a spotless 2-1 championship performance that lifted Farragut past championship contender Houston.
Nothing less than a state championship will be a successful year for the Admirals and that is the way it has been for the past couple of years. Former Admiral Sam Thomas said, “Every year we began training for the season, it was the only thing everyone talked about. It’s something everyone at Farragut expects now year in and year out.”
With the Admirals pumping out more MLB prospects than your average high school showcase, destiny seems to wait for the Admirals every year in Murfreesboro and this one seems to be no different. The opportunity to be great calls, so can these young men finish what they started?
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