(WJHL) – From Kingsport to Greeneville, a whole host of high school squads from the far corner of the state began their journey to the Spring Fling and their respective state championships.

Greene Devils baseball hopped a bus Monday afternoon, with the hopes of repeating as Class 3A state champions. Greeneville earned that trophy in 2023 in dominating fashion, compiling an overall record of 36-4.

The road for this year’s team has been a bit bumpier, having lost double-digit games entering the postseason. But, head coach Andy Collins and his players believe the resilience they’ve needed this spring will come in handy this week.

“When you’re 36-4, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of response – you just play,” Collins chuckled. “This is a group that is a little bit different in the way that they have responded.”

“I think we lost a couple early and we kind of decided to have the confidence that we won (state) last year,” junior pitcher Carson Quillen explained. “Then we kind of brought that back into it and we started to get rolling.”

The Greene Devils are glad to be going back to Middle Tennessee, but the trip will be strictly business.

“We need to get rest, focus on why we’re actually down there and play to the best of our abilities,” senior Eli House added.

Greeneville will open the tournament with Signal Mountain on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

It was a busy day of departures at University High, as well. Members of the Bucs’ track and field squad, as well as both tennis teams will compete for a state title this week.

For University baseball, this spring will be their sixth-consecutive season trying for a Class 1A championship. Head coach Christian Taylor says the success of the team has come from playing an aggressive style – a style the staff hopes will continue this week.

“I think that our work ethic this offseason has made us so successful and I think – we just have a will to win,” senior infielder Jack Harman said.

“It means a lot to our players – it means a lot to this staff as well,” Taylor added. “U-H has a tradition of winning and we’re looking to carry on that and build upon it.”

The Bucs will play Halls in the opening round on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET.

Across town, Providence Academy celebrated the school’s first baseball squad to ever qualify for the Division II state tournament. The Knights (26-11) are one of four teams remaining in Class 1A. They meet Columbia Academy in the semifinals at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Six members of the PA track and field squad will also compete for a medal on Wednesday at Middle Tennessee State University.

In the Model City, Dobyns-Bennett softball is wading into uncharted waters. The Lady Tribe claimed its first Regional championship this season and got over the sectional hump to qualify for the program’s first trip to state.

But, this group isn’t content with the accomplishments they’ve compiled already.

“I mean, a lot of people go to the state tournament and they’re very happy with the fact that, ‘Hey, we’ve made it,'” senior pitcher Julianne Tipton said. “That was our goal. Like our goal this year was, ‘I hope we get to the state tournament,’ but now goals change. You know what I mean? Now we’re here. Now we’re winning the state tournament. That’s the goal.”

“That’s the thing that we’re preaching,” head coach Andy Hubbard said. “You’re going to go down there and try to win it, you know, be satisfied. And I don’t really have to say anything to them because they know they’re hungry.”

D-B meets Walker Valley in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET.

On the pitch, Science Hill boy’s soccer is making its first trip back to Murfreesboro since 2017. They earned that place with a convincing 4-2 road sectional win at Hardin Valley over the weekend.

The Toppers’ opening round opponent is coming in on a ten-match winning streak, but it could be this group’s intangibles that pushes them along this week.

“When you just go take a snapshot of some guy’s record, you don’t know what they’ve done to get there,” head coach David Strickland explained. “And yes, it was a nice victory, but it was a group of about 14 guys who played in that match who made it happen. They did a fantastic job to make that happen.”

“We say our defense has definitely strong at midfield and forward,” senior forward Lucas Trull said. “All of that is really just extremely strong. But most of all, I think it’s our heart and our dedication is.”

Science Hill will face Howard in the Class 4A quarterfinals at 5 p.m. ET.

Greeneville soccer is ‘Boro bound, as well and seeking a fourth state championship in program history.

Last season, the Greene Devils lost to Valor College Prep in the Class 2A state championship, 1-0, in a heartbreaking round of penalty kicks. The team has let that loss fuel them for much of this year.

That is, until senior defender Brandon Rogers went down with a season-ending leg injury in the postseason.

Now, the squad is playing for No. 13 – to send him and the rest of the seniors out on top.

“In the past two weeks they’ve been pretty resilient in how they’ve responded to his injury and guys playing out of pocket just a little bit,” head coach Jerry Graham said. “So, we feel pretty good about where we are as a team right now going into the tournament.”

“We play for Brandon and with that, like you said, it has boosted us to win our past two games,” senior defender Connor Stayton. “We’re playing with a lot of heart now. If we can keep that up, I say we can go all the way.”

Greeneville begins with a rematch against regular-season foe, Alcoa, in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Finally, Science Hill boy’s tennis is headed back to the Adams Tennis Complex at Middle Tennessee State University, as the Hilltoppers won a fifth-straight regional title earlier this month. The Toppers made it all the way to the Class 2A state championship last season, before falling just short.

Their run to reclaim the trophy will begin against Collierville in the semifinals at 12 p.m. ET.