Skylar Bratcher of Westwood baseball

The Westwood Rockets 5 to 4 loss in middle school baseball on Thursday night to Cornersville could best be described as a game of missed opportunities. The Rockets had bases loaded, with the tying run at 3rd base when a strikeout ended the Westwood rally in the 7th inning. Additionally, the Rockets left runners in scoring position in 5 of the 7 innings and strong pitching performances from Trenton Thompson, Wyatt Nugent and Winston Alford were wasted by 4 costly errors by the Westwood defense. Skylar Bratcher led the Rockets in hitting as he had a pair of doubles. Jacob Garms had a hit and scored twice. The Rockets are back at home on Monday when they play host to Fayetteville. That game is set to get underway at 5 PM at Fred Deadman Park.

Grace Pippenger

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider softball team swept a doubleheader at South Franklin on Thursday night as they ran their winning streak to 6 games. Coffee County won the 2 games by scores of 18 to 0 and 13 to 0 via the mercy rule. In game #1, Sarah West, Grace Pippenger, Jayden Scheller and Kiya Ferrell each had 2 hits. In game #2, Olivia Evans had a pair of hits as well. The Lady Raiders travel to Cookeville this weekend to participate in the Cookeville Invitational. On Friday they take on Prescott Middle and Overton Middle at 6:15 and 7:45 PM respectively. On Saturday, they meet Warren County at 9:15 AM before single elimination bracket play begins.

Haidyn Campbell bats for Westwood softball on Thursday night

The Westwood Lady Rockets dropped a 15 to 1 decision to conference leading Cascade on Thursday night at Lady Rocket Field. Missing a pair of starters, the Lady Rockets held their own through the first 2 innings trailing 5 to 0 entering the 3rd inning. In the 2nd time through the order, the Lady Champions bats came alive as they plated 10 runs over the next 3 innings. The Rockets were held to 2 hits in the game as Faith Willoughby and Haidyn Campbell each got singles for Westwood. Campbell scored the lone run on a passed ball in the 3rd inning. Westwood is back at home on Monday when they play host to Fayetteville. That game is set to get underway at 4:30 PM at Lady Rocket Field.

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team saw conference favorite Harris blank them on Thursday in middle school soccer action in Shelbyville. The Red Raiders had no answer for the talented Eagles dropping the 11 – 0 contest. The JV Raiders were blanked in their contest 4-0. Coffee County is back on action on Monday when they travel to take on Fayetteville. That match kicks off at 6 PM.

The Coffee County Central High School JV baseball team split a pair of games in Shelbyville on Thursday night. After dropping the 1st game 3 to 2, the Raiders captured a 5 to 2 win in the nightcap. The JV team travels to Lincoln County on Monday night for a JV doubleheader at Lincoln County. The first game gets underway at 4:30
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The Coffee County Middle School JV baseball team swept a pair of games from Cannon County on Thursday night in convincing fashion. The Raiders won the first game by a score of 11 to 2 before capturing the nightcap by a score of 13 to 1. The JV team will be back in action on Friday afternoon at home when they host a doubleheader with Christiana. The first game is scheduled to get underway at 5:00 PM at the CCMS field.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

James Neal of the Nashville Predators

Ryan Johansen and James Neal each had a goal and an assist to help the Nashville Predators to a 4-2 win against the New York Islanders at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Nashville (36-22-13) improved to 18-10-6 at home and has one regulation loss in its past 17 games (11-1-5). They are nine points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

New York (38-22-9) has one win in its past five games (1-2-2). The Islanders are one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, for third place in the Metropolitan Division with one game in hand.

Neal gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 9:15 of the first period on a wrist shot from the slot. Forward Calle Jarnkrok made a cross-ice pass through traffic that Neal shot past Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss for his 27th goal.

“The last two games, [the first line has] really been feeling it,” Johansen said. “Like we all know, [Predators forward Mike Ribeiro] line has really been carrying the load offensively with the other two lines chipping in as well. For us, we’ve done well defensively but it’s nice to be back on the contributing side and getting some pucks in the net.”

Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock tied the game 1-1 at 6:02 of the second period on a wrist shot from the point. Pulock took the puck from forward John Tavares and took the shot through traffic that beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne for his first NHL goal.

Ryan Ellis gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 8:13 of the second period on the power play. Johansen passed the puck to Ellis, who took a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Greiss for his eighth goal.

“It was a great play, even getting in the zone and turning up,” Ellis said. “[Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm] getting a little ice, and then [Johansen made] a great pass across the seam. Good net-front presence as well so it’s all things that we work on every day in the practice, and it’s finally coming together.”

Johansen gave the Predators a 3-1 lead at 9:54 of the second period on a wrist shot on the rush. Neal made a backhand pass that sprung Johansen into the offensive zone, and he beat Greiss over the shoulder for his 12th goal.

“That [pass] was great,” Johansen said. “Just the way [Neal] thinks the game, his instincts and his hockey sense. Just knowing that I’m going to be there. Just trying to use as much speed as I can there to be available, and he gave me a perfect pass on my backhand. Nice to be able to get one in there.”

Islanders forward Brock Nelson scored to make it 3-2 at 1:55 of the third period on a wrist shot from the slot. Nelson made a backhand-to-forehand move and took a shot that slid through Rinne’s pads and into the net for his 23rd goal.

Austin Watson added an empty net goal to give the Predators a 4-2 lead.

The Predators are back in action on Friday night when they take on the Washington Capitals in DC.  Face off is at 6 PM and you can hear the action here on Thunder Radio