In what could be the City Tournament's last year with a blind draw, not even a difficult schedule can keep the Cathedral baseball team from being considered the favorite to claim its fourth straight championship.

"When (Anthony Agnew's) on the mound, they're the best team in the city," said Bishop Chatard coach Mike Harmon. "I anticipate playing them in the second game and facing (Agnew), so we're going to have to be ready offensively, (and) they do a good job producing runs in different ways."

The athletic directors are considering some form of seeding in the future, which would avoid having Cathedral and Bishop Chatard -- the city's two best teams -- play in the second round of a bracket that also includes Heritage Christian and Scecina.

In the first round at 5 p.m. today, Cathedral hosts Northwest and Broad Ripple plays at Bishop Chatard. The winners will meet at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cathedral.

Heritage Christian hosts Scecina at 5 p.m. today, with the winner facing Covenant Christian at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Cathedral.

The winners play at 5 p.m. Monday for a berth in the championship game.

On the other side of the bracket, Arlington hosts Manual at 5 p.m. today, with the winner facing Howe at 2 p.m. Saturday at Arlington.

Washington, Tech or Cardinal Ritter also will be in the semifinal at 5 p.m. Monday at Arlington. Ritter is the favorite to reach the championship game at approximately 8:30 p.m. May 18 at Victory Field.

"I don't put a lot of stock in (seeding)," said Cathedral coach Rich Andriole. "You need to get past that and play well no matter who you're facing.

"What tournaments do is force teams to execute under pressure. That's what you have to do to advance since it's one-and-done, and there's little margin for error. The teams that come through it have a lot of enthusiasm, and their roles are better defined."

Bishop Chatard (8-4) has been the City's second-best team -- it lost to Cathedral 7-4 on March 30 -- thanks to a potent lineup. Led by first baseman John Dury (.595, nine doubles, two home runs), catcher Scott Mourey (.432) and second baseman Billy White (.415), the Trojans average 8.6 runs per game, including 6.8 in their losses.

As that production in losses indicates, however, Bishop Chatard is looking for improvement from a pitching staff led by Michael Zimmerman (3-0), Bobby Akin and White.

"I don't have a clear-cut No. 1 . . . I'm not sure I've got a clear-cut No. 2," Harmon said. "I'm pleased with the offense, but if I had to pick one or the other, I'd rather be solid on the mound.

"The kids are looking forward to the challenge (of the City Tournament). We'll find out about our team against Agnew."