John Martinez of Westwood soccer

The Westwood Middle School soccer team welcomed Webb to Dyer-Bouldin Field on Thursday. In a conference match originally scheduled for Bell Buckle, the Rockets returned to conference play hosting the Feet.  Westwood got another huge performance from John Martinez in a 5 to 0 win.

Martinez scored 4 goals for Westwood on the match.  Ian Weldon added the other goal as Westwood improved to 5 and 0 on the season and 4 and 0 in conference games.  The Rockets got 2 assists from Keiton Sherrill and one assist from Louie Frazier.  Bodey Todd had 2 saves in goal for Westwood.

Westwood will return to the pitch on Tuesday when they welcome Riverside Christian to Dyer-Bouldin Field.  The kickoff is set for 5:30 PM.

Kaitlyn Davis of CCMS softball

Needing to bounce back from their 2^nd straight conference loss, the Coffee County Middle School softball welcomed Harris to the CCMS field on Thursday.  After being held to 4 hits on Tuesday night in the first match-up with the Eaglettes, the Lady Raiders banged out 9 hits and had 8 walks in a 13 to 1 win.  The win improves the Lady Raiders to 4 and 2 on the season.

The Lady Raiders plated 6 runs in the first inning as they sent 10 batters to the plate.  Kaitlyn Davis pitched a 3 hitter for Coffee Middle as she got the 4 inning win.  Kiya Ferrell had 2 hits and a walk scoring 2 runs.  Honey Barnes had a double, 2 walks and scored 3 times.

The Lady Raiders return to the diamond on Monday when they travel to Winchester to take on North Franklin.  First pitch is set for 5 PM.

Raven Rogers of CHS softball[File Photo]

After grabbing a 1 to nothing lead in the first inning, Lawrence County added 3 more in the home half of the 2^nd inning to seize all the momentum. The Lady Raiders were able to get on the scoreboard in the 4^th inning after Lauren Tomberlin got aboard on a walk.  One out later, Raven Rogers drove home Tomberlin’s courtesy runner Alexcia Barnes with an RBI double.

Katie Rutledge and Kasarah Scheller each finished the game with 2 hits.  Rogers had the lone extra base hit and RBI for Coffee County.  Rutledge got the start in the circle for Coffee County and took the loss.  The Lady Raiders are now 1 and 2 overall and 1 and 1 in district play.

The Lady Raiders will be back on the road on Monday when they travel to Shelbyville for a district game.  First pitch is set for 5:30 PM.

Connor Shemwell of CCMS baseball

The Coffee County Middle School baseball team hosted a rematch with Harris on Thursday afternoon at CCMS.  After a thrilling comeback on Tuesday night over the Eagles, the Red Raiders were unable to get the bats rolling as they managed just 2 hits.  Coffee County lost by a final socre of 6 to 0.

Harris was able to get single runs on the scoreboard in the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 6^th innings with a 2 run frame in the 5^th.  The Eagles’ pitchers kept Coffee County off balance all night as they struck out 6 Red Raiders.  Connor Shemwell had both hits for Coffee Middle.

The Red Raiders return to the diamond on Monday when they travel to Winchester to take on North Franklin.  First pitch is set for 5 PM.

Hitting the courts for the first time this season, the Westwood Middle School tennis team traveled to Shelbyville on Thursday.  Both Rocket teams won the top 2 singles matches along with the top doubles match.  Unfortunately both Rockets teams fell by identical 4 to 3 scores.

The Rockets got singles wins from Jonathan Nelson(6 to 2) and Caleb Simmons(6 to 2) plus a doubles victory from the doubles team of Nelson and Simmons by a score of 6 to 3.  The Lady Rockets got singles wins from Lauren Perry(6 to 3) and Rylea McNamara(6 to 4).  The Lady Rockets got a 6 to 4 doubles win when Perry and McNamara teamed up as the #1 doubles team.

The Rocket netters return to the court on Monday when they play host to Coffee County Middle at Fred Deadman Park.  First serve is set for 4 PM.

In a make-up game from Monday, the Coffee County Middle School soccer team welcomed Harris to CCMS on Thursday.  Taking on the perennial conference power Eagles, the young Red Raiders were looking for their 3^rd conference win of the year.   The younger and smaller Raiders had no answers for Harris in a 9 to 0 loss.

The Eagles jumped out to a 4 to 0 lead in the first 15 minutes as they controlled the time of possession.  Harris carried a 5 to 0 lead into the half.  Coffee County got a decent scoring chance in the 22^nd minute but a save by the Harris keeper kept the Raiders off the scoreboard.

The Red Raiders will be back at home on Tuesday as they welcome North Franklin to CCMS.  Opening kick is set for 5 PM.

Kyle Turris of the Predators celebrates with teammate Calle Jarnkrok [Photo courtesy of Nashville Predators]

It’s been the same impressive story on the road as of late – Nashville has now trailied in five consecutive contests away from Bridgestone Arena, only to come back and win each one of them. And on Thursday in the desert, it was a former Coyotes forward in Turris who played the role of hero.

“We’re confident in our abilities,” Turris said. “We just stick with it, we don’t panic and we just find ways to win.”

“I thought our guys played well tonight,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was tough going on the road, traveling the distance, changing time zones, but I thought we played a pretty good game. It wasn’t overly exciting, but it was steady.”

Turris thought he had opened the scoring after he slammed home a rebound in the first period, but after an Arizona challenge, the play was ruled offside and the goal disallowed.

All three goals in the second period counted, however, and Christian Dvorak beat goaltender Pekka Rinne on a broken play to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Craig Smith found Ryan Ellis and the Predators defenseman potted his seventh of the season to even the score, but before the middle stanza was out, Oliver Ekman-Larsson gave Arizona the lead once more.

And then the Predators went to work. It only took Turris 22 seconds into the final frame to knot the game at two, and then minutes later, Turris won a faceoff straight to Kevin Fiala who wired his 23rd of the season past Darcy Kuemper to give Nashville its first lead of the evening.

From there, Rinne and the Predators shut down the remainder of the Coyotes chances as the Preds netminder collected his 39th victory of the season. Rinne has a personal 10-game win streak, just one off of his career high of 11 set in 2012 and is a remarkable 19-1-1 in his last 21 starts.

Just like their goaltender, the Predators continue to find ways to collect points, even in an arena they hadn’t emerged victorious from in over three calendar years.

“It’s a tough building to come play in,” Nashville forward Austin Watson said. “They are a team that’s been playing really well as of late, and there’s no secret to it. They work really hard, they forecheck, they don’t give up too many opportunities, so we just needed to stick with it, and we did a good job of getting a couple right away in the third.”

If At First You Don’t Succeed:

Kyle Turris appeared to give the Predators a 1-0 lead, only to see the call overturned because he was offside on the play.

He more than made up for it.

Originally drafted by the Coyotes, Turris finished the night with a goal and two assists against his first NHL club, giving him points in five of his last six outings and posting his first three-point game as a member of the Predators.

Not only that, but he and his linemates – Craig Smith and Kevin Fiala – combined for seven points on the night, a force seemingly each and every time they were on the ice.

“They were awesome,” Laviolette said of the trio. “From start to finish, I thought they were the best line out there. They were dangerous every time they were on the ice.”

“I’m just trying to do the right things,” Turris said. “Create opportunities and you get enough chances, eventually they’re going to go in. Kevin and [Smith] played great. [I was] just trying to give and go with them and get open.”

Sounds simple, right? Turris and his mates sure made it look that way at times, just another example of what the Predators are capable of when they’re playing at full speed. And they’ll give it another shot tomorrow in Colorado.

“We’re a confident group,” Turris said. “We know what we’re capable of when we’re playing to the level we want to play, and we just have to play like that for the whole game.”

Notes:

Prior to the game, the Predators announced forward Calle Jarnkrok will miss the remainder of the regular season with an upper-body injury.

Center Mike Fisher and defensemen Matt Irwin and Yannick Weber were healthy scratches on Thursday night.

The Predators are right back in action on Friday night in Denver as they complete their season series with Avalanche (at 8 p.m. CT) before concluding their three-game trip on Monday in Buffalo.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report