That conference was pretty much a 3-team race. Any of the three could have been region champions. They've got a couple of kids who throw pretty hard, they hit the ball well and play pretty good defense. We will not have an easy time.

I think that we're seeing the stock at pretty fairly valued levels.

I think the pitching in our region (VI) was better than it has been in past year. That's why I'm happy with the way we've hit this season.

Offensively, I think we're going to have a little bit more punch than we've had in the past. We're getting a lot of production from our (Nos.) 6, 7, 8 and 9 hitters. I don't think we have a place in our lineup where a pitcher can relax and try to be economical with his pitches and just throw fastballs.

That sounds like a pretty high-priced consultant for this kind of race.

He looked pretty smooth through the race.