The Manchester Youth Baseball Association postseason tournament got underway on Tuesday.  Five games in 4 age divisions kicked off the action at Fred Deadman Park.  The league’s postseason tournament’s championship games are scheduled for Monday, July 27^th.  

In the 8U division, Lions Club topped Interstate Auto 31 to 27 in extra innings.  Lions Club built a 23 to 12 lead through 3 innings only to see Interstate stage a roaring comeback to tie the game at 25 after 6 innings and force an extra frame.  In the extra inning, the Lions Club plated 6 runs and played strong defense to grab the win.  For Lions Club, Mia was the leading hitter as she had a home run, a double, 3 singles and 5 runs scored while Harrison added 2 doubles and 2 singles.  For Interstate, Kaden Spencer and Keyton Childress each had 5 hits including a home run apiece as both scored 6 runs. 

In the 10U division, Chico’s Bail Bonds downed Coffee County Bank 9 to 6. Chico’s got off to a red hot start scoring 7 runs in the 1^st inning.  The Bears added 2 more in the 2^nd inning to advance to Thursday’s semifinals.  Trailing 9 to 1 entering the 3^rd, Coffee County Bank rallied for 5 runs but could not catch Chico’s.  Christian Meadows knocked a 3 run home run to lead Chico’s.  Clayton Keele hit a pair of triples and drove in 3 runs to lead Coffee County Bank. 

In the 12U division on Aaron Miller Field, First Vision Bank stopped Bush Insurance 6 to 5 and Shelter Insurance edged Peoples Bank 7 to 6.  In the opener, First Vision pushed across 5 runs in the 1^st inning and added the game winner in the 3^rd to advance to Thursday’s semifinals to take on Powers Storage.  Bush Insurance jumped out to a 3 to 0 lead in the top of the 1^st inning and tied the game at 5 in the top of the 3^rd.  Eli Hancock had 3 singles, 4 stolen bases and scored once while Bryceton Bunch added a double, a single and 2 runs for First Vision.  Kasen Morrison and Elijah Vernon each had 2 hits and scored twice for Bush Insurance.  In the late game, Shelter built a 6 to 0 lead through 2 innings before Peoples rallied to tie the game in the top of the 3^rd.  Shelter pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the 3^rd and held off Peoples in the 4^th inning for the win to advance to Thursday’s semifinals against Clower Automotive.  Ian Smith clubbed a home run and David Featherson ripped a pair of singles for Shelter.  Ayden VanWinkle crushed a home run and Cole Shedd had a double and single for Peoples.

In the 18U division, the Expos dumped the Christiana Braves 3 to 2 in extra innings. The Expos took a 2 to 0 lead into the 7^th inning only to see the Braves rally to tie the game.  The Expos pushed across the winning run in the 8^th inning on an RBI double from Grayson.  Rashad had a double and a solo home run and scored twice for the Expos.  Kameron Smusz had a pair of singles for the Christiana Braves.  The Expos advance to Friday’s semifinals where they take on the regular season champion Yankees.

The league returns to the diamond on Thursday with 8 games as all 5 age divisions are in action. 

Thursday MYBA Schedule

6U Division at T-Ball Field

5:00 PM – Manchester Tire & Brake vs. Lovelady Auto Parts

7:30 PM – Star Physical Therapy vs. Cooper Sports

8U Division at Fast Pitch Field

6:00 PM – Freedom Automotive vs. KK’s

10U Division at National League Field

5:00 PM – State Farm vs. Chico’s Bail Bonds 

7:30 PM – Viam vs. 1^st National Bank

12U Division at Aaron Miller Field

5:00 PM – Clower Automotive vs. Shelter Insurance

7:30 PM – Powers Storage vs. First Vision Bank

18U Division at Looney Riddle(Babe Ruth) Field

6:00 PM – Manchester Braves vs. Mets

The pictures, material and information contained in this story may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, for commercial gain, without the express written consent of Coffee County Broadcasting.

The Coffee County Youth Golf League hosted their 3^rd week of matches on Monday night at Willowbrook.  The league, sponsored by the Coffee County Junior Golf Association, plays each Monday evening through July at Willowbrook Golf Club.  Four teams make up the league with 2 sets of head to head, 9 hole matchups each week using the Junior PGA flag scoring system. 

On Monday, Team Confidence edged Team Sportsmanship 7 flags to 5.  Earning full flags for Team Confidence were Avery Hill, Katie Grace Nichols, Gavin Smith, Brylee Chansky and Cade Williams.  Earning full flags for Team Sportsmanship were Brayden Kesling, Allie Judge, Kylan Jones and Landon Collins. 

In the other match of the afternoon, Team Respect out distanced Team Perseverance 10.5 to 1.5.  Earning full flags for Team Respect were Zach Tidwell, Gavin Kuhn, Dax Carney, Jaxon Phillips, Thompson Lowe, Ryan Brown, and Danica Fleenor.  Cooper Hinson grabbed a ½ flag for Respect.  For Team Perseverance, Luke Baskin grabbed a full flag and Sheng Fish captured a ½ flag. 

The league concludes play on Monday, July 28^th at Willowbrook Golf Club.  

The pictures, material and information contained in this story may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, for commercial gain, without the express written consent of Coffee County Broadcasting.

For the first time in his career, Roman Josi has a chance to be named the NHL’s best blueliner.

The Predators captain has been named a finalist for the 2020 James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded annually “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”

Translation: Josi is one of the best in the world at what he does.

The first-time Norris finalist is joined by John Carlson of the Washington Capitals and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning as the three defensemen up for the honor.

Josi’s talent – particularly throughout the 2019-20 regular season – has been well documented in Nashville, and those from the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, who vote on the award, have taken note as well.

Although the 2019-20 campaign was shortened, Josi’s numbers are still outstanding. He was one of just two Preds to dress for all 69 of Nashville’s games, and over that span, he recorded 16 goals, 49 assists and 65 points, all career highs. His totals for points and helpers both set franchise records in a single season by a defenseman.

The native of Bern, Switzerland, was the only League blueliner to record at least 15 goals, 45 assists, 60 points, a plus-20 rating and 25 minutes of average ice time over the past season.

Josi ranked among the top three League defenders in several categories, including shots (1st, 260), points (2nd, 65), goals (t-2nd, 16), assists (2nd, 49) and average time on ice (3rd, 25:47).

The point streak Josi accumulated as the calendar changed over is also worth a mention.

The 30-year-old posted points in 12 consecutive games from Dec. 16 through Jan. 9, a period that saw him tally seven goals and 20 points. For those four weeks, Josi turned in a franchise-record point streak for a defenseman and the second-longest overall point streak in Predators’ history.

The mark was also the longest point streak by an NHL defenseman since Shayne Gostisbehere’s 15-game run in 2015-16, and Josi became one of eight NHL blueliners in the past 20 years to record a point streak of at least 10 games. The seven goals Josi potted at the start of the streak came in just five games, the longest goal streak by an NHL defenseman in the last decade, since Mike Green posted an eight-game streak back in 2009.

The 2020 NHL Awards were scheduled for June 18 in Las Vegas but were postponed March 25. The winner of the Norris Trophy will be announced during the Conference Finals or before the Stanley Cup Final.