Katie Rutledge of CHS softball[File Photo]

Tullahoma scratched across an unearned run in the 5^th inning as Lady Raider pitcher Katie Rutledge worked out of a bases loaded jam.  The Lady Cats used a walk, a wild pitch and an RBI single to make it 2 to 0 entering the 7^th inning.  In the bottom of the 7^th, Katie Rutledge hit a 2 out double to score Abigail Parker and get the Lady Raiders within one run.  With Rutledge on 2^nd, Raven Rogers hit a slicing liner to left center field that was tracked down by Tullahoma’s Shayanne Sheffield to end the game.

Rutledge took the hard luck loss in the circle as she fanned 9 allowing only 3 hits.  At the plate, Rutledge had a single and 2 doubles.  Keri Munn finished with a pair of singles for the Lady Raiders.

The Lady Raiders will open up District 8AAA tournament play on Thursday night at Lincoln County.  Coffee County will take Franklin County.  First pitch is set for 7 PM.

The Westwood tennis season came to an end on Tuesday as they hosted Lewisburg.   The Lady Rockets dropped their contest 4 to 3.  The Rockets blitzed their way to a 6 to 1 win.

The Rockets won 4 of their 5 singles matches and swept doubles play to get the win.  Jonathan Nelson(6 to 0), Caleb Simmons(6 to 4), Isaac Simmons(6 to 4) and Jeffery Hale(6 to 3) all won in singles play.  In doubles, Nelson and Caleb Simmons teamed up for a 6 to 4 win.  The doubles team of Isaac Simmons and Jeffery Hale won by a score of 6 to 2.

In girls’ play, the Lady Rockets got a pair of wins in singles play from Lauren Perry(6 to 3) and Rylea McNamara(6 to 1).  Those 2 teamed up in doubles play to get a 6 love win.

The Jets scored four in the second period and got the winner on a late power play to defeat the Predators by a 7-4 final in Game 3 on Tuesday night.

The result sees the Jets earn a 2-1 series lead while taking advantage of their home crowd for the first time in Round Two.

The first period couldn’t have gone much better for the Predators, while the second period couldn’t have been much worse. After taking a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes of play, Nashville surrendered four straight to the Jets in the middle frame, but then battled back to even the score at four midway though the third.

A pair of late penalties gave Winnipeg opportunities with the man advantage and the Jets eventually found the game-winner, but it was the middle 20 that did the Preds in.

“We just stopped playing, clear as day,” Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis said of the second period. “You could see that, and you can’t win hockey games when you stop playing midway through the second.”

Mike Fisher gave the Predators a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest, then P.K. Subban and Austin Watson converted before the period was out for a 3-0 advantage. But Winnipeg roared back in the second stanza, tying the game before the period was six minutes old, and Dustin Byfuglien’s second of the frame with 45 seconds left before the intermission gave the Jets their first lead of the night.

“We stopped moving our legs, we did a lot of things poorly and they got better,” Nashville center Ryan Johansen said of the second period. “The momentum swings in playoffs, they can be deadly and they did a great job with climbing back in the game. We did a good job of tying it up again though as well, just an unfortunate ending.”

Nashville’s mindset was back on target in the third, and Filip Forsberg snapped a shot into the top corner on the man advantage to tie the score at 4-4. But seven minutes later, on Winnipeg’s third power play of the period, Blake Wheeler put home a rebound. The Jets then tacked on two empty-netters before the horn sounded.

“We talk about it all the time, being consistent, playing a full 60 [minutes], and no team is perfect, but I think we all know we have to be better all the time,” Ellis said. “We’re going to learn from our mistakes, break down some video, see what we can do better and come back with a better effort.”

The series will continue on Thursday night in Winnipeg with Game 4, leaving the Preds with time to regroup and refocus once more after suffering their second loss of the series. But, as the playoffs go, so do the highs and lows.

It’s apparent which side of the coin the Predators are enduring right now. They have a chance to reverse course before heading back to Nashville.

“It was another emotional game, but I think that’s the way it’s going to be against these two teams,” Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “We have to just look at this game and find the positives and move on – obviously easier said than done – and get ready for Game 4.”

Notes:

Calle Jarnkrok did not play for Nashville in Game 3 and there was no immediate update on his condition. Miikka Salomaki took Jarnkrok’s place in the lineup, skating on the fourth line with Mike Fisher and Ryan Hartman.

Game 4 between the Preds and Jets is set for Thursday night in Winnipeg and an 8:30 p.m. CT puck drop. The series will then turn back to Nashville on Saturday night for Game 5 at Bridgestone Arena.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

A back-and-forth affair in Colorado Springs went to the Sky Sox as the Sounds dropped a 10-6 decision at Security Service Field Tuesday night.

The Sounds had leads of 2-0 and 5-2, but it wasn’t to be as the Sky Sox came back with a pair of late four-run innings to win game two of the four-game set.

Consecutive run-scoring base hits by Anthony Garcia and Slade Heathcott gave Nashville a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Colorado Springs quickly bounced back with a pair of runs against Sounds’ starter Kendall Graveman in the fifth. Keon Broxton’s RBI double made it a 2-1 game, and Nate Orf’s sacrifice fly evened the game at 2-2.

Sheldon Neuse put the Sounds ahead in the top of the sixth with a two-run double down the left field line. Dustin Garneau followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-2.

Again, it wasn’t to be as Colorado Springs came right back. The first six batters reached in the bottom of the sixth inning, resulting in four runs for the Sky Sox. Christian Bethancourt hit a two-run homer, Broxton had a game-tying single, and Nate Orf doubled to give Colorado Springs a 6-5 lead.

Graveman was cruising through four innings before faltering in the fifth and sixth when he allowed a total of eight hits. The right-hander allowed six runs on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He did not factor into the decision.

Neuse drew a bases loaded walk to even the game at 6-6 in the seventh, but the Sounds missed a big opportunity with the bases loaded and nobody out.

Kyle Wren’s RBI single put the Sky Sox ahead for good in the eighth, and Mauricio Dubon’s three-run homer extended their lead to 10-6.

The four-game series continues Wednesday afternoon in Colorado Springs. Left-hander Eric Jokisch (0-3, 4.15) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Alec Asher (0-0, 0.00) for the Sky Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 10-6 loss, the Sounds dropped to 12-13 on the season.
• The Sounds dropped to below .500 for the first time since they were 8-9 entering the April 23 game at Omaha.
• Dustin Fowler continues to swing a hot bat for Nashville with two more hits. Fowler is hitting .432 (16-for-37) with 9 runs, 7 RBI, 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 2 triples over his last eight games.
• Sheldon Neuse doubled his RBI total on the season with three tonight. Neuse had a two-run double in the sixth and drew a bases loaded walk in the seventh.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.