Grant Sadler of CHS baseball

A four run second inning by the Columbia Lions put the Red Raider baseball team in an early hole on Sunday as Coffee County saw their 3 game winning streak snapped in the 2nd round of the District 8AAA baseball tournament. Coffee County, who came in as the #3 seed, had to travel to the 2nd seeded Lions after the Lions earned a first round bye. Columbia used that extra rest to claw their way to the 8 to 1 win.
The Coffee County defense cleaned up their play with only 2 miscues on Sunday after committing 5 errors in Saturday’s win. Neither Red Raider error led to a Columbia run. Grant Sadler took the loss on the mound surrendering 6 runs on 6 hits while walking 3 and striking out one. Garrett Eldridge remained hot for Coffee County as he had 2 hits in 3 plate appearances including a double. Noah Anderson had a double and scored the lone run for the Raiders. Cade Giles was 1 for 3 with an RBI.
The loss is the first for the Raiders in the double elimination tournament. Coffee County will now take on Lawrence County in a loser’s bracket game on Monday at Franklin County. That game will begin at 6:30 PM and Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast.

District 8AAA doubles tennis champions Reid Lawrence(left) and Grey Riddle(right) show off their medals with CHS tennis coach Mike Ray

The honors and accolades continue to accumulate for the Coffee County tennis teams as 3 Raider netters were named to the District 8AAA All District team on Friday.  For the Lady Raiders, Kayla Wright was selected to the ladies’ all-district team.  For the Red Raiders, Grey Riddle and Joseph Sadler were named to the men’s all-district team.  Red Raider teammates Shlip Patel and Reid Lawrence were named honorable mention to the men’s squad.

Wyatt Nugent(left) and Skylar Bratcher(right) were named to the DRVC All-Conference team.

Wyatt Nugent and Skylar Bratcher were named to the All-Conference Baseball Team for the Duck River Valley Confernece for 2017.  The pair of 8th graders helped lead the Rockets to the most wins in a season in more than 3 years this spring.  The honor was announced on Sunday afternoon at the Westwood baseball banquet and was voted on by the league coaches.

The Rockets ended the season with a final record of 7 and 11. The Rockets made it to the round of 6 in the conference tournament.  The 7 wins this year represents the 2nd straight year of improvement for Westwood baseball. The Rockets are coached by Dusty Hereford and Herb Nugent.

They’re halfway there.

For the first time in franchise history, the Nashville Predators have advanced to the Western Conference Final, defeating the St. Louis Blues, 3-1, in Game Six to win the series by a 4-2 count.

Two goals in the third period – including the game-winner from Ryan Johansen, then an empty-netter from Calle Jarnkrok – punched Nashville’s ticket to uncharted territory, a journey that will continue later this week.

“It’s a big step for us – not only for us as players, but also as an organization,” goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “It’s something that we haven’t done before. To see that third goal – that empty-netter – that’s a great relief. It was a really tight game, and [the Blues] played hard. All series, I thought each game was really hard and tight – a lot of one goal games. To see Jarny put that in – that was a great feeling, and obviously a big relief.”

It was St. Louis who scored first for the second consecutive game when Paul Stastny pushed a puck over the goal line just over two minutes into the contest to give the Blues a 1-0 lead after one.

Nashville had quite a response, however, as Mattias Ekholm found Josi at the side of the Blues’ net just 35 seconds into the middle frame to even the score at 1-1. It was Josi’s fourth goal of the postseason, tying him with Ryan Ellis for the team lead in goals, and giving the Predators nine tallies from their blueliners, a franchise record in a single postseason.

From there, Nashville’s first line cashed in when it mattered most as Viktor Arvidsson found Johansen streaking to the net at 3:15 of the third period, and the centerman deked around Jake Allen to deposit the puck over the line and send the Bridgestone Arena crowd into a frenzy.

“There’s a lot of confidence from the team and from the coaches in that line to be able to execute like that and to be able to win a big game for us,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said.

The fans remained standing for the remainder of the period, and with the Blues goaltender pulled in one last fit of desperation, Jarnkrok got Nashville’s third of the game with exactly one minute remaining in regulation.

And then, the Predators and the Blues met for a handshake at center ice.

For someone like Rinne, the longest-tenured member of the club, this moment is something he’s dreamed of for a long time. And although there’s still a ways to go until the ultimate goal can be realized, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying this for the night.

“It means everything right now,” Rinne said. “Obviously, we haven’t gone further than this before – it’s a great feeling. But there’s also a lot of work left. After this round, there’s only four teams left, and we all know that we have what it takes and everything is in our hands. It’s a good feeling. This is why you play this game – I’m happy.”

With a win in Game Six over St. Louis in Round Two, the Predators have advanced to the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history, a monumental step for the hockey club, the city and their fans.

“It’s a really positive thing – certainly for our franchise, our fans and the city of Nashville,” Laviolette said. “You can see the excitement not only in the building, but outside of the building, and I think that that only helps promote hockey and helps promote the growth of what we’re trying to do here in Nashville. It was an unbelievable experience tonight in the building and really all year. Our fans deserve so much credit for how the atmosphere is here. It doesn’t have to be that way yet it is. Our players, coaches and organization really appreciate that.”

In the third period, the 17,240 in attendance at Bridgestone Arena combined to create decibel levels not often heard indoors. And once the Preds took a 2-1 lead, that was all the team needed to carry them home.

“You take a look into the crowd, everyone’s on their feet for the entire game, and the atmosphere that the fans bring for us is unbelievable,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “Standing ovations at every whistle almost. It was an exciting game, an exciting series, and now we’re on to the next one.”

So when the final horn sounded and the scoreboard read 3-1 in favor of the Predators, one could argue – and there may not be much of one anymore – that the franchise had just accomplished their most important win in its history. But it’s not over yet.

“The expectation is the Stanley Cup,” defenseman P.K. Subban said. “I think we took a big step today for us and obviously for this organization and this city, but it’s not our goal. Our ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and we’ve worked really hard to put ourselves in a good position and there’s a lot of hockey left to be played. It’s a good accomplishment for this organization.”

Notes:

A Preds defenseman has now contributed either by scoring or assisting on 16 of the last 18 goals and 20 of 27 in the playoffs, with 27 points overall from the backend.

Pekka Rinne recorded an assist on Calle Jarnkrok’s goal, his third helper of the playoffs.

With their series victory, the Predators will now face either the Anaheim Ducks or the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final. A full schedule will be announced later this week.

Tommy Pham capped a memorable first weekend back at the big league level and added to the frustrations the Braves experienced during this homestand, drilling a deciding two-run homer off Josh Collmenter to give the Cardinals a 6-4, 14-inning win on Sunday afternoon at SunTrust Park.

While completing a three-game series sweep and leaving the Braves with just one win during a six-game homestand, the Cardinals received a career-high four hits, including two homers, from Pham, who made his season debut on Friday. The Braves’ bullpen had allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings before Pham drilled his game-winner 411 feet with a 110.1 mph exit velocity, per Statcast™.
“I was joking around [in the dugout], saying, ‘We don’t get paid for overtime, so let’s go,'” said Pham, whose homer was the hardest hit by a Cardinal this season. “I was pumped to come through. It’s not like you can keep sending guys out to pitch in extras. Our bullpen is doing the job for us. They’re holding the game. We have to pick them up.”
Matt Carpenter drilled a two-out solo homer in the first inning and the Cardinals added to their advantage as they tallied four extra-base hits, including Pham’s leadoff homer, during a three-run third inning against R.A. Dickey. Michael Wacha preserved the early advantage as he cruised through the first five innings and exited after the sixth having allowed just two runs.
After his sixth-inning double — one of the four consecutive one-out hits recorded off Wacha — fueled the Braves’ comeback attempt, Freddie Freeman notched his ninth multi-hit game of the season with a game-tying home run off Brett Cecil in the eighth.
“You can’t just keep taking [positives] from each game,” Freeman said. “We’ve got to start winning. We’ve dug ourselves in a hole, really. You can’t keep taking a positive from every game and expect to come out here tomorrow or the next day and say we’ll get them next time. We’ve got to start doing it. Obviously, frustration has set in a little bit.”
The Braves stranded seven runners during the extra innings and came within inches of ending the game in the 11th as Ender Inciarte nearly beat out a two-out, bases-loaded infield single. The out call stood after a replay review showed Seung Hwan Oh may have received Carpenter’s toss while stepping on first base at the same moment Inciarte’s foot hit the bag.
“Obviously, that’s the game,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “I was worried when I saw it in real time. Hats off to an umpire making a tough call against the home team.”
After throwing four straight fastballs to Carpenter in the first inning, Dickey made a mistake with a 71-mph changeup that the Cardinals’ first baseman drilled into the right-field seats. The Braves’ knuckleballer encountered more trouble in the third inning, when Pham’s homer was followed by the doubles recorded by Kolten Wong, Randal Grichuk and Jedd Gyorko.
Dickey has become frustrated by how well the ball has traveled at SunTrust Park. He has allowed seven home runs over 25 innings at the new ballpark.
“I just didn’t throw enough good [knuckleballs],” Dickey said. “I gave up a couple solo shots today that hurt us. Realistically, I think I should have given up two runs.”
After recording just one hit through the first five innings, the Braves recorded four consecutive one-out hits off Wacha during the sixth inning. Inciarte’s one-out single was followed by Adonis Garcia’s bunt single and Freeman’s RBI double. After Matt Kemp’s single scored Garcia, Wacha escaped further trouble by getting Nick Markakis to ground into a double play.
“We have to do a better job as a staff,” Dickey said after the Braves allowed a first-inning run for a sixth straight game. “I think that will help take the pressure off everybody. Today, we were fortunate that we clawed back. But hopefully, that’s not the norm.”
With his first-inning home run, Carpenter joined Albert Pujols (Turner Field) and George Hendrick (Fulton County Stadium) as the only Cardinals to homer in three consecutive games in Atlanta. Carpenter leads the Cardinals with seven home runs and 20 RBIs on the season.
Bartolo Colon will be on the mound when Atlanta begins a two-game set in Houston on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. CT. Colon has allowed at least four earned runs in four of his past five starts and opponents have hit .400 against him over his past three starts.

A ninth inning rally fell short in the Nashville Sounds’ 3-2 loss to the El Paso Chihuahuas in front of 8,773 fans at First Tennessee Park Sunday afternoon.

Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, Matt Olson sparked a rally with a sharp single to right-center. After Phil Maton struck out Renato Nuñez for the first out, Matt Chapman lined a double to the gap in left-center to score Olson and make it 3-2.

A fly out to right field by Jaycob Brugman put Chapman on third, but Matt McBride struck out to end the game.

Going into the ninth, Nashville (13-14) had managed only four hits. For the first time since April 24th at Colorado Springs, the Sounds were held without a home run.

El Paso jumped out to an early lead when Dusty Coleman doubled in Jose Pirela with two outs in the second inning. Additional timely hitting gave El Paso another run in the third. Nick Buss rifled a two-out knock up the middle to bring in Franchy Corderdo to make it 2-0.

Starter Raul Alcantara went four innings and was tagged with the loss. The right-hander allowed two runs on five hits in his four frames.

Nashville got to El Paso starter Dinelson Lamet in the home half of the fourth as the clutch two-out hitting continued. Joey Wendle singled and moved to second when Mark Canha drew a walk. Moments later, Nuñez lined a solid single to left field bringing in Wendle to trim the deficit to 2-1.

Pitching on a MLB rehab assignment, Jarred Cosart worked four scoreless relief frames and kept the sounds high-powered offense at bay.

Pirela’s run-scoring base hit in the eighth extended El Paso’s lead to 3-1.

Cosart picked up the win, his first of the season. Maton earned the save, his fifth of the year.
Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Monday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Daniel Mengden makes a rehab assignment start for Nashville against right-hander Zach Lee (0-1, 9.35) for El Paso. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m.