Author's posts
Coffee County Baseball Falls in District Tournament Opener
Deandre Wakefield
Three unearned runs in the first 2 innings spelled doom for the Red Raiders as Coffee County’s baseball team opened district tournament play on Thursday in Columbia falling 3 to 1 to the Lions.
Columbia scored twice in the 1st inning and once more in the 2nd inning against Red Raider starting pitcher Kohl Young who only gave up 5 hits through 4 innings of play. Wyatt Day came on in relief in the 5th inning with the bases loaded and no outs. Day got a pair of strikeouts and a beautiful diving catch by Deandre Wakefield to get out of the jam without allowing a run to score.
Coffee County loaded the bases in the 4th inning with no one out but could not get a run in as a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to shallow centerfield ended the Raiders scoring threat. Coffee County tallied their lone run in the 5th inning as Zach Wise led off with a double and moved to 3rd base on a single by Day. Noah Anderson brought Wise home on a sacrifice bunt only to see a pair of strikeouts once again end the Raider threat.
Day and Wakefield each finished the game with a pair of hits as both went 2 for 4. With his 2 hits and his run saving catch, Wakefield was named the Ascend Federal Credit Union player of the game.
The Red Raiders will fall to the loser’s bracket with the loss as they will be back in action on Saturday. Coffee County will take on the loser of Friday’s game between Lincoln County and Shelbyville at 2:30
Preds Victorious in Triple Overtime Thriller
Pete Weber’s Postgame Report
Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher
The longest game in Nashville Predators history turned out just fine.
Mike Fisher scored at 11:12 of the third overtime in Game Four against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena to even the Second Round series at 2-2. It’s the first time the Preds have won a postseason game in overtime at home, a game that has already made its mark on the franchise.
“We were just trying to do all we could do to just find a way, and everyone did a great job,” Fisher said. “Everyone in the lineup played solid, played hard. That was a great hockey game, and our fans had as much energy as anyone. Going out for that third [overtime period] they were unbelievable, and we tried to feed off of that a little bit too.”
Game Four couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for the Preds, as it took only 41 seconds for Colin Wilson to deposit his team-leading fourth goal of the postseason for a 1-0 lead. Mattias Ekholm’s point shot eventually found its way to the stick of Wilson, and the forward snuck it off the post and past Martin Jones for the fastest goal at home from the start of a postseason game in franchise history.
Brent Burns got it back for San Jose at the 3:08 mark of the opening frame, but Mike Fisher scored his first at 9:50, collecting a rebound at the side of the net and capitalizing for his third of the postseason to extend his point streak to four games and give his club a 2-1 advantage headed into the first intermission.
The only goal of the second stanza came on the power play for San Jose, as Joonas Donskoi’s shot found its way through the pads of Pekka Rinne. Nashville challenged the call for offside prior to the goal being scored, but the linesmen deemed the play to be valid, producing a 2-2 tie after two periods.
Burns got his second of the game to give San Jose their first lead of the night at 6:48 of the third period, but Nashville didn’t go away. After striking two posts to begin the third period, the Preds finally got one under the bar with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. James Neal pounced on a loose puck to the right of Jones and slammed it home for his fourth of the postseason to send the Preds to overtime for the first time in the 2016 playoffs.
Once OT was underway, the teams went back and forth. San Jose pushed a puck past Rinne, but the goal was disallowed due to goaltender interference. After that, it was save after save for Rinne – who ended up with 44 in total, before Fisher finally ended the contest after 1 a.m. (CT).
“You have to give credit to Pekka,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “He kept us in the game all OT and all game long. We are going to be tired coming into the second overtime and third. Usually it’s just a simple shot and a rebound that will decide these kinds of games, and that was the case tonight, and we’ll take it. It’s a huge win for us, and we’ll enjoy it tonight, forget about it tomorrow. It’s a new game on Saturday.”
While the series is far from over, Thursday night’s/Friday morning’s contest was one that won’t soon be forgotten. The hope in the Preds locker room is that the result will pay dividends moving forward, but for now, Game Four will undoubtedly go down as one of the best in franchise history.
“I don’t care how these wins come if we have to play all night.” Rinne said. “It’s a 2-2 series right now, and you can’t say enough about San Jose too. They have a great team, and they played a strong game, but like I said, it shows a lot of character when you pull out a win like this.”
“Certainly, I think that our guys are playing confidently right now, and I said that about Game Two, Game Three and now with Game Four,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was a good game for us, so I thought our guys did a good job.”
Peter Laviolette on winning in triple overtime: “The guys played so hard, and when you get that deep into a game, there is a lot invested. I’m so happy for our guys for pulling it out and getting the win. We invested a lot. There is a lot of character in our room, and to win a game like that is big. If you think about the other scenario, it would have been 3-1 the other way. One win and three losses. This ties it up 2-2. It shortens the series, and our guys played like champs tonight.”
Colin Wilson scored his 10th career postseason goal on Thursday night, putting him alone in second place in the category in Predators franchise history.
Wilson’s five-game, postseason point streak has tied former Preds skater and current Sharks winger Joel Ward for the longest such streak in club history.
At 111:12, Game Four was the longest in Predators franchise history, eclipsing the old mark set last postseason in Game Four of Round One against Chicago.
Nashville is now 3-7 all-time in postseason overtime games and 2-3 all-time in games that go to multiple overtimes.
Mike Fisher’s goal on Thursday was his second-career, playoff overtime game-winning goal. His last was April 18, 2004 (versus Toronto) in the second OT (21:47 time elapsed)
Game Five between the Preds and Sharks is set for Saturday night in San Jose, a 9 p.m. (CT) start and Thunder Radio will bring you the action as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network. Game Six, which is now necessary, comes Monday night in Nashville. A start time has not yet been announced.
Coffee County CHS District Tournament Brackets(updated thru Thursday’s Games)
Dist 8 Baseball(updated 5-5)
Dist 8 Softball(updated 5-5)
District 8AAA Soccer Bracket
Iowa’s Late Rally Sends Sounds to Loss
The Iowa Cubs scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning on their way to a 4-1 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 5,857 fans at First Tennessee Park Thursday night.
In a 1-1 game, Kristopher Negron led off the eighth with a triple to the right-center gap off of Nashville reliever J.B. Wendelken. Moments later, Munenori Kawasaki singled to right to score Negron and give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.
Wendelken came back to strike out John Andreoli for the second out, but then allowed a run-scoring triple to Albert Almora Jr. On the next pitch, Wendelken uncorked a wild pitch to allow Almora to score and make it 4-1.
The Sounds went quietly in the eighth and ninth innings to suffer their third straight loss to fall to 12-15.
Henderson Alvarez made his second MLB rehab assignment start with Nashville and worked 4 2/3 innings. He allowed one run on three hits and three walks to go along with three strikeouts.
Nashville trailed when Alvarez exited but came back and tied the game in sixth when Joey Wendle raced home from third on a dropped popup by Cubs second baseman Arismendy Alcantara.
Relievers Eduard Santos and Daniel Coulombe kept it a 1-1 game until the trouble began in the eighth to allow Iowa to take control and win the series.
The Sounds welcome the Memphis Redbirds to Nashville for a four-game series set to begin Friday night. Left-hander Dillon Overton (1-2, 3.38) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Thomas Lee (1-2, 5.48) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.
5/5/16
Birthdays:
Cameron Barnes — Pizza Winner!
Buggy Wilford, 60
Dawn Wimley, 34
Matthew Johnson, 29
Nadyne E. Simmonds
Nadyne E. Simmonds, age 85, of Tullahoma passed this life on Wednesday, May
4, 2016 at her residence. No services are scheduled.
Mrs. Simmonds, a native of Chebanse, IL, was the daughter of the late Cecil
and Emily Stark Vickery. She enjoyed being outdoors, working in her
gardens, hiking and traveling. She also enjoyed working jigsaw puzzles.
In addition to her parent, she was preceded in death by one son, Danny
Maxwell; two daughters, Peggy Maxwell and Cindy Kline; one brother, Dennis
Vickery; one sister, Iris Yost and three grandchildren, Amanda Maxwell and
Bradley and David Kline.
She is survived by her husband, Percy Simmonds of Manchester; two sons,
Dale Maxwell and his wife, Bonnie of Tullahoma and Floyd Maxwell of
Tullahoma; one daughter, Emily Parkison of Lafayette, GA; three
half-brothers, Jerry Vickery of TN, Gary Vickery of FL and David Berns,
IL; one half sister, Judy Frainey and her husband, William of Atlanta and
seven grandchildren.
DAVES-CULBERTSON FUNERAL HOME IS IN CHARGE OF ARRANGEMENTS
5/9/16 — Rena Elizabeth Fowler
Rena Elizabeth Fowler, age 70, of Tullahoma passed this life on Wednesday,
May 4, 2016 at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Memorial Services
are scheduled for Monday, May 9, 2016 at 1 PM at the Wesley Heights United
Methodist Church with Rev. Jim Fields officiating.
Mrs. Fowler, a native of Bremerton, WA, was the daughter of the late Ramsey
and Genevieve Hutcheson Batts. She was a member of Wesley Heights United
Methodist Church and enjoyed participating in church activities such as the
Craft Club. Her hobbies included crocheting, bowling and gardening.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death one brother, Dan
Baker.
She is survived by one daughter, Sonya Kay Fowler of Tullahoma; two
granddaughters, Tara Danielle Fowler of Memphis and Erin Michelle Raines of
Tullahoma; three great grandchildren and one on the way; two brothers, Van
Baker and his wife, Jane of Havana, FL and Sam Batts and his wife, Lou Ann
of Burleson, TX and one sister, Tishey Hughes and her husband, David of
Arlington, TX.
DAVES-CULBERTSON FUNERAL HOME IS IN CHARGE OF ARRANGEMENTS
Freedom Short-Lived for Woman Who Jumped From Deputy’s Moving Car
Allison Summer Gipson… Photo provided by the CCSD
On Wednesday morning around 11:30 A.M. Coffee County Deputy Aaron Miller was transporting Allison Summer Gipson age 22 of North 8th Avenue in Decherd from the court house to the Coffee County jail.
Gipson was at her scheduled probation appointment and was drug tested and failed. She was then taken to Circuit Court where Judge Craig Johnson revoked her bond. After taken into custody, Gipson was patted down by Deputy Janice Taylor and was found to be in possession of a bottle of prescription medication that was allegedly taken from her probation officer in the hood of her clothing. Gipson was then escorted to Deputy Aaron Miller’s patrol car by Miller and Deputy Taylor.
While in route to the jail, Gipson rolled down the back passenger side window and jumped out of the moving vehicle in front of Dotson’s Produce on the Hillsboro Highway. Miller stopped the vehicle and made a U-turn to go back around to where the woman had jumped out of the window. Upon his arrival Gipson was still trying to escape but was being held by two civilians who had witnessed the event.
An ambulance was called to the scene for transport because Gipson had sustained unknown injuries due to the speed of the vehicle and jumping from the window. She was transported to Unity Medical Center for treatment.
She was booked in at the Coffee County Jail on Thursday morning and is facing a charge of escape and 2 counts of theft of property with a bond of $28,000. She’ll be in court on May 19, 2016.
Woman Charged with Reckless Endangerment and more in a Shooting Incident
Jennifer Ann Amacher, former Tullahoma Planning and Codes director, has been charged with reckless endangerment, stemming from a shooting incident involving her son that occurred on Dec. 11, 2015.
The tragic shooting claimed 11-year-old Sienna Owens’ life.
The accused shooter was Sienna’s schoolmate, Amacher’s son, who was 12 at the time of the shooting, according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department reports.
At the time of the shooting, Amacher was home where the shooting had occurred, authorities said.
Since December, investigators have been gathering evidence for the District Attorney’s Office.
Now five months later, the District Attorney’s Office has filed official charges linking Amacher’s responsibility with the girl’s death, according to authorities.
Amacher, in the meantime, remains free on $15,000 bond with a May 13 court date set.
8th Person Charged in Connection with a Shelbyville Woman’s Death
Danny Allen… TBI photo
At the request of 17th District Attorney General Rob Carter, TBI Special Agents, working alongside detectives with the Shelbyville Police Department, began investigating the September 14, 2015 homicide of 45-year-old Angela Kibble. The victim was found deceased in her residence at 800 Belmont Avenue in Shelbyville by a neighbor. During the course of the investigation, Special Agents developed information that Danny Allen, now 21, was among several individuals who had entered the victim’s home and were present at the time of her death.
On Wednesday, authorities arrested Allen and charged him with one count of Especially Aggravated Burglary. He was booked into the Bedford County Jail on a $100,000 bond. The arrest of Allen brings to eight the number of individuals charged in connection to this ongoing investigation.