2018 Red Raider Jam schedule – March 3, 2018

The Coffee County CHS Red Raider soccer team has postponed their annual Red Raider Jam scrimmage play day that was scheduled for Saturday at the Raider Soccer Field and Carden-Jarrell Field.  The event will move to NEXT Saturday, March 3rd.  Eleven varsity squads and 6 JV teams will fill out a field that will feature 36 games.  The action gets underway at 8 AM with the last game beginning at 5:55 PM.

The Coffee County Middle School softball team is scheduled to travel to Lynchburg on Friday, weather permitting, for the Moore County Playday.  The Lady Raiders will play 3 games on Friday beginning at 5 PM.  Coffee Middle will take on Moore County at 5, Community Middle at 6:16 and Eagleville at 7:30.  All 3 games will be held at the Lynchburg Park.

The Coffee County CHS baseball team is scheduled to travel to Murfreesboro on Saturday for a scrimmage game with Central Magnet.  The matchup is the 2^nd scrimmage of the year for Coffee County following Monday’s trip to McMinnville.  The game with Central Magnet will begin at 12 noon and will be held at StarPlex Park.

The Lady Raider softball team of Coffee County CHS hopes to travel to Shelbyville on Saturday for a scrimmage play day at Daisye Musgrave Hulan Park.  The Lady Raiders will play 4 games on the day.  Coffee County opens up at 9 AM as they take on Community.  They will follow that up at 10:15 game against Cornersville.  At 1:30, the Lady Raiders take on Forrest and close out the day with a 4:30 game against Giles County.

The Motlow Lady Bucks enjoyed their biggest offensive output of the young season when they beat the Martin Methodist College JV 14-2 in the second game of a doubleheader Monday afternoon in Pulaski. The Red Hawks won the opening game 1-0, scoring the lone run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Motlow (2-4, 0-0) will now embark on the season’s longest road trip, heading to Meridian, Miss. this weekend to take part in the Rush Invitational Tournament. The Lady Bucks will play two games Friday and three Saturday, facing Northwest Florida State, Wallace State-Hanceville, Wallace State-Dothan, Spoon River, and East Mississippi respectively.

Following that trip, Motlow will open Tennessee Community College Athletic Association play when they travel to Chattanooga State for a four-game series March 2 & 3. Game times are 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday central time.

Kendall Durard was outstanding for the Lady Bucks in the circle in the opener Monday afternoon, allowing only two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. However, MMC hurler Sydney Watson was equally impressive, allowing just three hits.

Neither team got a runner to third base until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the home team pieced together a leadoff double, a steal of third, and a sacrifice fly to get the win. Kylie Thackerson, Samantha King and Miranda Cooksey each had hits for the Lady Bucks.

Game two was a complete reversal. Motlow scored five runs in the first inning, one in the second, and six more in third. The Lady Bucks added a pair of runs in the fifth, as did the Red Hawks, and the game ended on the 10-run rule after five innings.

Six players had two hits each for Motlow; Ariel McAtee, Madison Hopkins, Breanna Owens, Durard, Ciera Dobbins and Caroline Sarris. Haley Hinshaw drove in three runs, while Dobbins, Chelbie Gannon and Ace Hanson each had two RBI.

Owens (1-0) got the win, pitching the first two innings and allowing two hits with two strikeouts. Samantha King pitched the next two innings and gave up just one hit, followed by Sarah Wilson who tossed the final inning and allowed four hits and the two runs.

Jennifer Corbitt currently leads the Lady Bucks with 10 or more at bats in hitting with a .545 batting average. McAtee leads in hits with seven, and Hinshaw is setting the pace in run production with nine runs batted in. The Lady Bucks have stolen 10 bases this season, with McAtee leading the way with four.

Pekka Rinne

The Predators made sure Pekka Rinne’s 300th win wasn’t in doubt.

Seven different Preds found the back of the net and Rinne reached the significant milestone as Nashville defeated the San Jose Sharks by a 7-1 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. It’s Nashville’s third win in four nights, bumping them to 83 points and a continued first-place spot in the Central Division.

A 33-save performance turned into Rinne’s 300th NHL victory as the Finnish netminder became just the 34th goaltender in NHL history to reach the mark.

“It was something that the guys were focused on too,” Rinne said of the milestone. “San Jose didn’t have a lot of scoring chances tonight. [It was an] easy night for me. I kind of helped [San Jose] get on the board. That was a soft goal. But a win like that in a milestone game is nice.”

“I think everybody knew what was going on,” Laviolette said of Rinne. “It was a big night for him. One of many, one of 300, one of his whole career. He’s just been fantastic, not only tonight, not only this year, but his whole career he’s just been incredible for this organization. The way he’s back stopped it for so many years with so much consistency. What you see on the ice is incredible. The person that he is, is even better than that, so we’re fortunate to have a guy like that here.”

The Predators gave Rinne a 2-0 lead to work with in the first period as Nick Bonino scored less than two minutes into the contest, and later found Scott Hartnell who directed the puck past Aaron Dell with less than a minute to play in the frame.

Logan Couture broke the shutout bid midway through the second stanza, but Kevin Fiala’s flubbed deke worked out in his favor, as it fooled Dell and slid through the five hole to give Nashville a two-goal lead once more after 40 minutes.

That lead widened in the third with Viktor Arvidsson tallying his fourth goal in the last three games, and then the forward found Ryan Johansen in the slot for a 5-1 score. Mattias Ekholm and Calle Jarnkrok added two more before the night was over.

“[I am] very proud,” Rinne said. “I was 22 when I came here to this organization. I spent three years in Milwaukee and now 10 years here. It’s my second home. It’s where I’ve spent my adulthood and grown up as a man and as a person. I consider this my team. Hopefully, one day, I can end my playing days here.”

While Rinne’s accomplishment took precedent, the fact Nashville put up seven goals against one of the West’s top clubs is nothing to take lightly. After a bit of a rough patch over the past couple of weeks, the Predators are starting to show once more just what they’re capable of when they play to their potential.

And if Thursday night’s effort is any sign of things to come, the Predators could be starting to peak with the final 22 games of the season in sight.

“The last two weeks we’ve gotten points and we’ve gotten wins, but I think there has just been periods and certain areas in the game that we’ve been playing really well,” Ekholm said. “Tonight, we really showed what kind of damage this team can do and when everyone is playing like this. It could be a fun stretch.”

Mr. 300:

Only 33 others before him have done it.

And as the final horn sounded on Thursday night, shortly after Pekka Rinne had made his 33rd and final save of the night, the veteran puck stopper became the 34th goaltender in NHL history to record 300 wins, an elite club to say the least.

In addition to becoming the seventh active goaltender to attain the feat, Rinne is also just the third Finnish netminder to record NHL win No. 300. As he stepped to the microphone on the Preds bench after being named the game’s First Star, Rinne became emotional as he thought of his family and friends watching back home and of all he’s been through to make it to this point.

“Right after the game, I got a pretty cool reaction from the crowd,” Rinne said. “I really appreciate it. You don’t really set that kind of goal for yourself, how many wins you hope to win in your career. It’s a lot of wins. I’m proud of it. Being here for a long time, playing for really good teams and winning hockey; I think that’s the biggest factor in my success.

“I didn’t want to cry to be honest with you,” Rinne said. “[It was] the crowd’s reaction. In those moments, you take a look back. It’s a lot of things.”

Rinne didn’t have to have his best night, but he was solid nonetheless, just as he has been night after night throughout his career. And for a guy often referred to as “the backbone” of the club by his Predators teammates, Rinne held firm once more – the 300th occasion in the past decade.

“To work with a guy like Pekka on a daily basis, off the ice, in practice, to watch his work ethic, his character, to see the leadership that he has and sets the example for our team… that’s the reason why this team has been successful, at least in my time here and probably for his whole career,” Laviolette said. “Like a game, it can never always be perfect but to have somebody like that who leads every day by example and is as talented as he his, that’s the reason why this organization has experienced some success.”

Notes:

Viktor Arvidsson skated in his 200th NHL contest on Thursday night, all of them coming with Nashville.

In the last nine meetings between the Preds and Sharks at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville has limited San Jose to two or fewer goals eight times and scored at least five goals five times.

For the first time in franchise history, the Predators will be on NBC for a regular-season contest, an 11 a.m. CT start this Sunday at Bridgestone Arena as the St. Louis Blues come to town. Nashville will then embark for a four-game trip, beginning on Tuesday in Winnipeg.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report