The Coffee County CHS baseball team got their first action on their home field on Saturday as they welcomed Grundy County to Powers Field for a 10 inning scrimmage.   The Coffee County pitchers struck out 23 Yellow Jacket batters on the day as the Raider defense needed only 7 defensive putouts.  The Red Raiders banged out 14 hits as they rolled to a 9 to 3 victory. 

After surrendering a run in the 1^st inning without giving up a hit, the Raiders captured the lead in the bottom of the 1^st with a pair of singles and a pair of triples.  Coffee County’s pitchers, throwing a maximum of 2 innings, did not surrender a hit until the 8^th inning.  Brandon Jernigan was the leading hitter for Coffee County as he had a triple, a double and 1 RBI.  Griffin Meeker had a pair of singles and 2 RBI.  Hayden Skipper had a triple, a single and an RBI.  Noah Bradshaw added a pair of singles.  On the mound, Jernigan stuck out 6 in 2 innings of work while Skipper had 5 punch outs in a pair of innings.  Meeker struck out 3 batters in one inning of work. 

“I was definitely happy with the way we threw the ball today” said Coffee County coach David Martin.  “I was happy with our energy and our approach to the game in general” added Martin.  Martin was happy with the confidence and maturity his team displayed despite not having any outdoor practice sessions prior to the game. 

The Raiders will attempt to get in a week of outdoor practices as they prepare for another scrimmage on Saturday in McMinnville.  Coffee County will square off against Warren County in a 10 inning scrimmage beginning at noon.  The Red Raiders open the regular season on Monday, March 9^th as they host Columbia.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast of that game.  First pitch is set for 4 PM. 

Pekka Rinne made a season-high 38 saves and Kyle Turris scored the game-winner with less than three minutes to play, as the Nashville Predators defeated the St. Louis Blues, 2-1, on Sunday evening at Bridgestone Arena.

The result gives the Preds a sweep of their home-and-home set – and the season series – against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blues. Perhaps more importantly, it’s Nashville’s first three-game winning streak since October, and the Preds are now currently just one point out of a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

As many said in the Nashville locker room postgame, this isn’t cause for popping champagne. However, for a group that has been searching for a spark most of the season, the past 48 hours certainly won’t hurt.

“October is a long time ago,” Rinne said of the previous three-game win streak. “I feel like we can be honest – it has been a struggle for the most part this year after October. I feel like we had a fairly good start, but after that it has been full of ups and downs. It shows in our game that we play with a lot of passion, just gutsy plays. I feel like we’ve changed the way we play a game. Obviously [Head Coach John Hynes is a big factor], but it’s also the players buying into it, and I think it shows.”

“We had great goaltending tonight, first and foremost,” Hynes said. “We were on our heels a little bit in tonight’s game, but I thought if you go from the net out – excellent game from Pekka… It’s not the recipe to win every game, but sometimes you have to win a game that’s gritty. It’s grinding, it’s not pretty, you need your goaltender to be probably your best player and you’ve got to have guys that just continue to hang in the fight and continue to battle. And we did that on the way to the win.”

After a scoreless opening period that saw Rinne, who was making just his second start in Nashville’s last seven games, turn aside 13 Blues’ shots, both clubs converted in the middle frame.

First, Craig Smith potted his sixth goal in his past five games, when he cleaned up a loose puck in front of the net and beat Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington for a 1-0 advantage. But approximately three minutes later, Tyler Bozak threw a pass toward the Nashville crease that deflected off of Dan Hamhuis and past Rinne to even the score after 40 minutes of play.

Rinne stopped 11 more Blues’ shots in the second, and his effort in the third – another 14 saves – gave the Predators a chance. At 17:48 of the final frame, Turris took advantage.

Off a turnover in the St. Louis zone, Filip Forsberg found No. 8 wearing Winter Classic white, and the forward snapped a shot from the left circle that found twine and sent the powder keg that was the hometown crowd into a frenzy.

“It was just a battle tonight,” Turris said. “They had a really good push back the whole game coming off of last night. Peks kept us in it. He played phenomenal. But just to stick with it, battle, grind it out and find a way to win, it’s really important for us right now in the situation we’re in. It was huge for us.”

No one deserved that praise more than Rinne, and he received a standing ovation during the third period from the Smashville faithful, as Bridgestone Arena flirted with playoff-level decibels. That was in large part due to the play of Rinne, and he earned every chant of “Pekka” that rained down.

“The guy is sick when he is in the net in front of us,” Smith said of Rinne. “Tonight, was a good example. He came out with some huge saves, seeing the puck well like he always does. I’m happy for him.”

“We’ve got the best fans in the League, for sure,” Rinne said. “It feels good, and I appreciate it a lot.”

Both games on the weekend against the Blues certainly felt like they were being played in April instead of February, and those are exactly the kind of challenges the Predators want at this point in the season.

Nashville knows points and wins are paramount no matter how they come, but to earn those in outings as intense as these seems to be bringing a little something extra out.

And that’s a very good sign.

“It’s growing,” Turris said of his team’s confidence. “It’s the time of the year you want it to be growing too. You want to get hot at the right time. We have a lot of work to do and ground to make up, but at the same time, we’re trying to move in the right direction.”

“Huge two wins in a row against one of the top teams in the League,” Rinne said. “It was a gutsy effort tonight. Two timely goals, we played solid defense and just got it done. All in all, you look where we are, I think these last three games have really given us confidence. We kind of see the light now.”

Notes:

Colin Blackwell and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Preds on Sunday.

The Predators are back at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday night (at 7 p.m. CT) when they host the Carolina Hurricanes before another back-to-back set, this time with Chicago and Columbus.

Kyle Turris had three points and Mikael Granlund tallied the game-winner in the third period, as the Predators began their weekend on a high note by topping the Blues, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at Enterprise Center.

The victory in a playoff-like atmosphere was Nashville’s third in as many chances against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, and the Predators will try to make it four wins when they host the Blues in Music City tomorrow, the second half of a crucial home-and-home set against their division rival.

“We came into the game really mentally prepared,” Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. “We talked about leaving [a 5-0 win against the Islanders in our last game] behind and making sure that we’re totally attached and invested in this game. I thought we had a very good first, they obviously had a good second period, but I really liked the fact that we had good mental toughness, good focus on the third period we found a way to win the game. That’s the most important part of this time of year.”

“It was a really big win for us,” Turris said. “We’re battling in the standings and trying to make up ground, so to start the back-to-back off with [a win], this was really important. It’s going to be a really important game tomorrow night too.”

The Predators were the superior team to start, as they registered the game’s first seven shots and owned a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. First, Viktor Arvidsson beat Jake Allen from a sharp angle less than seven minutes into the contest, and then Matt Duchene converted on the rush at the 12:23 mark.

There was also plenty of feistiness between the two rivals in the first frame with Filip Forsberg and Brayden Schenn dropping the gloves early on, and then Jarred Tinordi and Robert Bortuzzo had a scrap later in the period, the latter of which showed a true example of the Predators sticking together.

“It’s awesome to know that [Tinordi] has my back and everyone in this room has my back,” Arvidsson said. “I’m not a fighter, it’s hard for me to do it and it’s cool to see guys stepping up for other players.”

In the second stanza, the home team came to life, and although Turris got Nashville’s third of the afternoon, the Blues scored three of their own to see a 3-3 score through two periods. The first of those St. Louis goals marked the first time Juuse Saros had been scored on in over four periods of hockey.

But then, on a power play in the third period, a rebound off a Roman Josi shot came to the stick of Granlund, and the forward slid it into the back of the net to give a 4-3 lead back to the visitors – his third game-winning goal in the last six games.

“That was a real hockey game,” Granlund said. “There was a lot of emotion, a lot of 1-on-1 battles, and that’s a fun way to play the game. Overall, we played a pretty good hockey game, and we were able to get those big two points.”

The Predators would have preferred not to surrender three goals in the middle period, but a solid start before regaining the lead and finishing things off in the third was plenty satisfying for the group. Hynes has emphasized mental fortitude with his team since arriving in January, and Saturday was another prime example of their improvement in that area.

“There’s some certain things we certainly have to clean up in the second period, but I think when you look at the third period, that was a message in between periods to continue on the mental focus, the fortitude, the understanding what it takes to win games,” Hynes said. “The commitment level [it takes to] win games and the attention to detail [is imperative]. In the third period, we did a good job of that, and you know it’s important to be able to find ways to win tight games.

Josi assisted on Granlund’s goal to extend his point streak to five games, and Saros made 24 saves as he started for the fifth time in the last six contests for Nashville.

With the road portion of the weekend now complete, the Predators will return home to Tennessee and try for another two points in 24 hours. It won’t be easy, but nothing in the Central Division ever is, especially at this time of the year.

“You’re going to be in a lot of games like this down the stretch where teams are fighting for points,” Hynes asid. “Games get more and more intense, particularly teams that are fighting for playoff spots. I like where we’re headed in that direction, mentally, with the victory.”

Notes:

Colin Blackwell and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Predators on Saturday afternoon.

The second half of the home-and-home comes Sunday evening in Nashville, a 5 p.m. CT start as part of Hockey Day in America. NBC and NBCSN’s 10-hour broadcast, which kicks off Hockey Week Across America, will originate from the Bridgestone Arena plaza starting at 11 a.m. CT and will conclude with a postgame show following the Predators and Blues game at 5 p.m. CT. Throughout their full day of coverage, NBC and NBCSN will feature the diversity and growth of hockey in Nashville, and across the country, before airing the Predators home-ice tilt.

District 8AAA basketball coaches met on Friday morning and finalized the tournament brackets for next week’s District 8AAA basketball tournament. The Red Raiders and Lady Raiders will finish the year with the District 8AAA regular season district titles and will enter next week’s district tournament as the #1 seeded teams.  Both Coffee County teams will receive 1^st round byes and advance to the tournament’s semifinal rounds. 

The District 8AAA tournament will open on Saturday with a pair of play-in games.  The Red Raiders will open up tournament play on Thursday at Lincoln County at 6 PM.   The Lady Raiders will play in their semifinal game on Friday at 6 PM.  The finals and consolation games are on Saturday and all of those games will take place at Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville. 

The Coffee County CHS basketball teams hosted Tullahoma on Thursday night in their final regular season home games of the year.  In a pair of Senior Night games befitting the bitter rivalry, the Raiders and Wildcats split the district doubleheader.  The Lady Raiders battled back from a 4^th quarter deficit to capture a 37 to 32 win in overtime.  The Red Raiders saw Tullahoma hit 15 free throws in the 4^th quarter to upset the Raiders 55 to 40. 

In the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders got their first lead of the game with 45 seconds remaining in regulation when a Bella Vinson field goal made it 26 to 24.  Tullahoma tied the game to send it to overtime.  In the bonus period, Jenna Garretson drew a charge as the Lady Cats went for the tying basket with 3.5 seconds left in overtime and the Lady Raiders iced the game at the free throw line.  Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 14 points.  Garretson and Jalie Ruehling each added 8 points as Coffee County improved to 25 and 3 on the season.  The Lady Raiders finished the season with a perfect 12 and 0 district record for the 2^nd straight year.  Coffee County seniors Morgan Jones, Keelie Hillis, Jenna Garretson and Ellie Graham were named the Stone Fort Mortgage players of the game. 

(See more senior night photos here)

The Red Raiders trailed by 9 points entering the 4^th quarter but cut the deficit to 6 points with 5:45 left in the game.  From that point, Tullahoma outscored Coffee County 17 to 8 to grab the win.  Coffee County was led in scoring by Jaylon Wooten, C.J. Anthony and Rod Brinkley who all finished with 7 points.  Connor Shemwell finished with 5 points.  Red Raider seniors Wooten, Brinkley, Shawn Anderson and Collin Ward were named the Stone Fort Mortgage players of the game. 

The Red Raiders and Lady Raiders will finish the year with the District 8AAA regular season district titles and will enter next week’s district tournament as the #1 seeded teams.  Both Coffee County teams will receive 1^st round byes and have automatically qualified for the Region 4AAA Tournament.  The District 8AAA tournament will open on Saturday with a pair of play-in games.  The Red Raiders will open up tournament play on Thursday at Lincoln County at 6 PM.   The Lady Raiders will play in their semifinal game on Friday at 6 PM.  The finals and consolation games are on Saturday and all of those games will take place at Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville. 

Download the broadcast at: www.thunder1320.com/downloads

Craig Smith scored his first NHL hat trick in a 5-0 win for the Nashville Predators against the New York Islanders at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Juuse Saros made 31 saves for his second shutout and Rocco Grimaldi had one goal and one assist. The Predators (27-22-7) won for the first time in three games.

The Islanders (33-17-6) had won their previous two games. They are 4-2-0 in their past six games.

Smith gave the Predators a 1-0 lead 35 seconds into the first period. He stole the puck in the offensive zone from Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy and banked his shot in off Islanders goalie Thomas Griess.

Smith gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 7:41 of the first period on a shot from the slot on a pass from Grimaldi.

Mattias Ekholm gave the Predators a 3-0 lead at 13:33 of the first period on a wrist shot on the rush.

The Islanders pulled Greiss for Semyon Varlamov after Ekholm’s goal.

Grimaldi gave the Predators a 4-0 lead at 4:41 of the second period on a wrist shot from the right circle.

Smith completed his hat trick to give the Predators a 5-0 lead at 11:38 of the second period on a shot from the slot.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper and Nashville Soccer Club lead owner John R. Ingram announced this morning that they have reached agreement on an amendment to the future Soccer Stadium to be built at the Fairgrounds Nashville. Under the terms of the revised deal, the team has agreed to fund 100 percent of stadium construction with private dollars through cash investment, stadium lease payments, and revenues generated at the stadium by attendees of events. The parties have agreed to a statement of principles including open space between the soccer stadium and the historic speedway. Metro has agreed to begin the demolition process immediately.

The revised deal eliminates taxpayer and budget burden for stadium construction while keeping in place the first Community Benefits Agreement in Tennessee.

“We are very happy to be moving forward with the stadium construction,” said John Ingram. “The investment we are making is not just for our soccer team, it is an investment in the future of Nashville and the Fairgrounds.”

“I’m so glad we’ve reached a better deal for Nashville. I’m grateful to Nashville Soccer Holdings and John Ingram for understanding our city’s financial realities and agreeing to pay up to $54 million in additional costs,” said Mayor Cooper. “This deal saves the taxpayers money and provides a better site plan for the Fairgrounds. Today is an exciting step forward for sports in Nashville and I’m ready for the first Nashville SC game on February 29th.”

The revised stadium deal consists of the following elements:

• The Team will pay for infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of the stadium estimated to be $19 million.

• The team will assume metro’s obligation to pay up to $35 Million toward lease payments.

• The Team has agreed to a general statement of principles for parcel 8C in the 10 acre mixed-use development to account for an open plaza that can serve the operational needs of multiple Fairgrounds uses.

• Metro has authorized initiation of the demolition contract and will proceed with the demolition process immediately.

Earlier this week Nashville SC launched the first season ticket member program for the club’s inaugural season in Major League Soccer, the First String MLS Founding Members. This select community will have the ability to enjoy life-long benefits as Nashville SC season ticket members and will be eternally etched in history with their names featured in the new Nashville SC Stadium.

Tickets to Nashville SC’s inaugural MLS match against Atlanta United FC, presented by Renasant Bank, are available through Season Ticket Memberships starting at just $425 ($25 per game) and through single game and group tickets. Be sure to secure your place in history with the best seats for Feb. 29 and throughout the inaugural season by visiting NashvilleSC.com/Tickets or calling 615-750-8800.