The Coffee County CHS baseball team welcomed Lincoln County to Powers Field on Tuesday to begin a 2 game district series. In a game you heard here on Thunder Radio, Coffee County struggled with walks, hit batsmen and errors as they dropped the 8 to 2 decision.
The Red Raiders had runners in scoring position in each of the first 2 innings but could not scratch out an early lead. Lincoln County erupted for 4 runs in the 3rd inning as they sent 9 batters to the plate. Coffee County cut the deficit to 4 to 2 in the 5th inning before the Falcons added runs in the 6th and 7th innings to take the win.
Coffee County’s Griffin Meeker had a single and a double and Bryson Hullett added a pair of singles to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. The loss drops Coffee County to 1 and 3 on the season and 0 and 3 in district play.
The Red Raiders will travel to Fayetteville on Wednesday for the 2nd game of the season series with Lincoln County. First pitch is set for 6 PM.
Hosting their 1st district game of the year, the Coffee County softball welcomed Columbia to Terry Floyd Field on Tuesday night for First Responders Night. After a rocky start, the Lady Raiders banged out 11 hits in the final 3 innings to get a 13 to 2 win in a Mercy Rule shortened game.
After Columbia built a 2 to 0 lead heading into the bottom of the 3rd inning, the Coffee County bats came to life. Coffee County took a 3 to 2 lead after 3 innings before plating 6 runs in the 4th inning to seize control of the game.
Coffee County banged out 13 hits on the night as Sarah West and Haley Miller each had a pair of doubles. Ashley Evans had 3 singles while Katie Rutledge had an inside the park home run and a single. West finished with 4 RBI while Rutledge finished with 2. Haley Richardson go the win in the circle striking out 2 while surrendering only 4 hits.
Coffee County will open play in the Riverdale Warriors Classic on Thursday in Murfreesboro. Coffee County will take on West Morgan, Alabama in an 8 PM contest at Riverdale. The tournament will run through Saturday.
Lilee Scott of WMS softball [Photo courtesy of Dana’s Digital]
The Westwood softball team traveled to Wartrace on Tuesday to take on conference foe Cascade. The Lady Rockets continued the hot start to the season as they jumped on Cascade early scoring 7 runs in the first inning as they rolled to a 13 to 0 win.
Westwood sent 10 batters to the plate in the opening frame as they banged out 4 hits including a 3 RBI triple from Aleah Wakefield. Wakefield finished with a triple and a single and 4 RBI. Cali Clark had a triple and a single while Lillee Scott finished with a double and a single and 2 RBI. Abby Clark had a pair of singles and scored twice. Emma Kidder go the win in the circle as she tossed a 1 hit shutout with 8 strikeouts.
Westwood is back on the road on Thursday as they travel to Unionville to take on Community. First pitch is set for 5 PM.
For the 2nd night in a row, the Coffee County Middle School softball squared off against North Franklin in a conference battle. A big 3rd inning gave the Lady Raiders the cushion they needed as they rolled to a 13 to 2 win.
The Lady Raiders pounded out 17 hits led by Katelyn Davis who had a double, 3 singles and 2 RBI in the win. Savannah Cooper had a a double and 2 singles as she scored 3 times and drove in 2. Channa Gannon went the distance in the circle to get the win as she gave up only 2 hits while striking out 8.
Coffee Middle will return home on Thursday for a non-conference game with Lincoln County. First pitch is set for 5 PM.
Jaden Talley of CHS tennis[Photo courtesy of Janice Talley]
The Coffee County CHS tennis hosted their first home matches of the season as they welcomed district foe Marshall County to the Raider Academy courts on Tuesday. The Lady Raiders dropped their first match of the year 5 to 2 while the Red Raiders ran their record to 2 and 0 on the season with a 5 to 2 win over the Tigers.
The Red Raiders got singles wins from Benedict Edinger(8 to 2), Jaden Talley(8-5) and Jonah Rollman(8-4). Coffee County swept the doubles matches as Ediger and Talley captured an 8 to 6 win. The team of Rollman and Tyler Rigney won 6 to 4.
The Lady Raiders were only able to capture 1 singles win as Wren Lawson won her match 8 to 5. Lauren Perry and Emma Fulks teamed up in doubles to win 8 to 4 for the other Lady Raider victory.
The Raider tennis teams are back in action on Thursday as they travel to Pulaski for a district match with Giles County. First serve is set for 4 PM.
The Coffee County Middle School baseball team ran their record to 7 and 0 on the
Jack Anderson of CCMS baseball
year on Tuesday as they completed the conference sweep over North Franklin. Trailing 9 to 5 entering the 4th inning, the Red Raiders pushed across 7 runs to take the lead for good. Coffee County battled their way to a 20 to 9 win.
The Red Raiders made the most of 4 walks, 2 hits, and a hit batter as they sent 11 hitters to the plate in the penultimate 4th inning. Jacob Holder finished the game with a double and 3 singles while scoring 3 times and driving in 3 runs. Nolan Jernigan and Cole Bryce each had a double and single as each scored twice. Jack Anderson came on in relief to earn the win for Coffee Middle.
The Raiders return to the diamond on Saturday when they head to Smyrna to take on Rock Springs. First pitch is set for noon. The JV Raiders will host North Franklin on Thursday at the CCMS field. First pitch is set for 5 PM.
The Coffee County Middle School tennis team earned their 2nd straight match sweep to start the season on Monday in Tullahoma. The Lady Raiders swept the Lady Wildcats 4 to 0. The Red Raiders cruised to a 7 to 1 win.
The Lady Raiders got singles wins from Savannah Blackburn(5 to 1), Claire Rondolet(6 to 0) and Morgan Tinsley(6 to 0) plus a doubles win from the team of Lauren Hogan and Raelin Tucker by a score of 6 to 0.
The Red Raiders won 5 of the 6 singles matches and swept the 2 doubles matches to over over the Cats. Winning in singles were: Krish Patel(6-3) and (6-0), Matthew Blomquist(6-3) and (6-2) and Nolan Sussen(6-0). The doubles team of Krish Patel and Matthew Blomquist won in doubles play 6 to 3 while the doubles team of Xander Blomquist and Nolan Sussen needed to go to the tiebreaker to get the 7 to 4 win.
The Coffee Middle netters are back at home on Thursday when they host Shelbyville. That match gets underway at 4 PM at the Raider Academy.
The Coffee County CHS soccer team opened district play on the road on Tuesday. Traveling to Columbia, the Red Raiders still struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Coffee County fell by a final score of 4 to 0.
Columbia notched 3 first half goals as they scored in the 5th, 15th and 36th minute to take a 3 nil lead into intermission. The Lions added a goal in the 52nd minute to close out the scoring.
Coffee County is back in action on Friday and Saturday as they travel to Cleveland to take part in the Cleveland Classic. The Red Raiders will take on Loudon at 8 PM (ET) on Friday before squaring off against Knoxville Catholic(10 AM ET) and McMinn County(3 PM ET) on Saturday.
The Nashville Predators moved to within one point of first place in the Central Division with a 3-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.
Pekka Rinne made 22 saves in his fourth shutout of the season for the Predators (42-27-5), who trail the Winnipeg Jets.
“Really good defense,” Rinne said. “Against a team like that, you’ve got to do it, not only the defensemen, but the forwards as well, as a unit of five. They did a really good job all night.”
The Maple Leafs (43-25-5), who are 1-4-0 in their past five games, trail the Boston Bruins by six points for second place in the Atlantic Division.
“I think we understood the way they play,” Toronto forward Auston Matthews said. “I mean, the shots were [22-20], so we know they don’t give up much. I don’t think we necessarily gave up much either. They capitalized on some opportunities. Obviously, that goal there for them in the first was pretty big. We had some opportunities. Their goalie came up big, but I think we understood the way they play and how they don’t really give up much.”
Brian Boyle gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 4:47 of the first period with a one-timer from the slot on a give-and-go with Craig Smith.
“I gave it to [Smith] so he could shoot,” Boyle said. “I tried to pump fake to get him the open shot, and he must have seen that the [defense] was cheating on him a little bit. He gives it right back, and it was right in the wheelhouse. It was perfect, so it would’ve been hard to mess that one up.”
Wayne Simmonds gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 9:13 of the third period. Ryan Ellis retrieved the puck in the right corner and made a cross-ice pass to Simmonds, who tapped it past goalie Frederik Andersen for his first goal for Nashville.
“I thought I was never going to score again,” said Simmonds, who played his ninth game for the Predators since being acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 25. “No, it went in the net. I think most importantly we got the two points and we played really well as a team. A strong, 60-minute effort. I think from the net out, we were good tonight.”
Filip Forsberg scored an empty-net goal with 2:09 left to make it 3-0.
“I think we’re starting to jell,” Simmonds said. “We’ve added a few pieces, myself included, [Boyle, Cody McLeod, Mikael Granlund], a bunch of guys. I think for us, we just needed to jell. I think we’ve had a little bit of time, we’ve had some practice time together. I think we’re only going to continue to get better.”
“To be honest, I think guys are just starting to work harder as a team. Everyone. All five guys on the ice. Like, [Ryan Johansen] blocked a shot at the end. That’s huge. It may not happen every night, but guys are sacrificing. As you get into playoffs, everyone is going to have to do the little things, whether it be blocking shots, good stick lifts, taking hits to make plays. Whatever it is, everyone’s got to do it. I think the last three games have been a good sign of that.” — Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis
The Predators shut out the Maple Leafs each of their two games this season (4-0 in Toronto on Jan. 7). … Nashville forward Kyle Turris returned to the lineup after he was a healthy scratch the previous two games.
Up next, the Predators host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at the Bridgestone Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 PM, Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game immediately following our broadcast of Coffee County baseball.
Coffee County Red Raider head football coach Ryan Sulkowski[file photo]
After meeting with principal Paul Parsley and the CHS football team on Tuesday morning, Ryan Sulkowski has tendered his resignation as head football coach at Coffee County Central High School. Sulkowski, who was hired in December of 2013 as the Red Raiders head coach, has accepted a position as head football coach and assistant athletic director at Hunt High School in Wilson, North Carolina.
Sulkowski made a short statement released on Tuesday.
“This morning I tenured my resignation at Coffee County Central High School to Mr. Paul Parsley, principal of Coffee County Central High School, as Physical Education teacher and the head football coach effective April 15, 2019.
This came as a family decision for our best interest, as we will be relocating to Wilson, North Carolina, where I will assume the duties as Assistant Athletic Director and Head Football Coach at Hunt High School.
Though it wasn’t an easy decision it’s what’s best for our family at this time!
Ryan Sulkowski”
Thunder Radio will have more information in Wednesday’s Sportscast
