Ending the regular season against the bitter rivals from west Coffee, the Coffee County Red Raider soccer team traveled to Tullahoma to take on the Wildcats. The 2 old rivals were battling for possession of the Coffee Cup trophy and bragging rights for another year. The Wildcats got a pair of goals in each half as they dumped the Red Raiders 4 to 1.
The Red Raiders got off to a slow start allowing the Wildcats to score goals in the 1st and 5th minutes. After making some defensive adjustments, Coffee County was able to play clean the remaining 35 minutes of the 1st half to trail 2 nil at intermission. Tullahoma used a set piece play in the 50th minute as they scored on a corner kick to make the score 3 to 0. Leo Botello got the Raiders on the board in the 51st minute as he punched home a rebounded shot from Tyler Walker. Tullahoma added a goal in the 77th minute to make the score 4 to 1.
After the match, Briggs Haithcock of Coffee County was named the Raiders player of the game. The Red Raiders will open up District 8AAA tournament play on Saturday morning at Lincoln County. That matchup will kick off at 11 AM.
District tournament action begins on Thursday for the baseball and softball teams at Coffee County Central High School. Thunder Radio will be broadcasting as much live action as possible, but we will also be keeping you up to date on schedules and results. Each of the brackets you see below can be clicked on for a larger image that you can print. Remember to tune in to Thunder Radio for live play-by-play action and the latest in prep sports coverage.
Baxter White(in dark blue shirt center right) presents a $8,000 check to CHS soccer coach Robert Harper and the CHS soccer team
Al White Ford/Lincoln, in conjunction with Ford Motor Company, hosted a Drive 4 Ur School Event to benefit the Coffee County Central High School soccer team. The event, which was held on March 10th, earned $8,000 for the Red Raiders. A check was presented to the team at a ceremony in the newly remodeled showroom on Tuesday.
“We greatly appreciate the support from Baxter White and everyone at Al White Ford for providing us the opportunity through their Drive 4 Ur School Program” said Coffee County head coach Robert Harper. “Thanks to them, we were able to raise $8,000 which offset the fact that we lost both the Red Raider Jam Playday and the Red Raider Invitational Middle School Tournament due to bad weather” added Harper. He went on the thank Mary Kistler who arranged the event trough Baxter White and the players and parents who worked hard to make the event a success.
Al White Ford/Lincoln has raised $24,000 this year for schools and teams through test drive events like this one with both Ford and Lincoln. Over the past 3 years, Al White has helped raise $225,000 for the community through these events. On Friday, the Al White dealership will be presenting a check for $8,000 to the Coffee County Middle School softball team. On Saturday, Al White will host a Lincoln Driven to Give Event for the Westwood softball team. That event will take place in the parking lot of the vacant Southern Family Market to the east of Al White dealership and right beside the Hillsboro Boulevard branch of Coffee County Bank. That event will begin at 9 AM and continue until 4 PM.
The Colorado Springs Sky Sox jumped on the Nashville Sounds early and cruised to an 8-1 win at Security Service Field Wednesday afternoon.
Sky Sox catcher Jacob Nottingham set the tone when the launched a three-run homer off Sounds’ starter Eric Jokisch in the bottom of the first inning. The blast came right after a fielding error by Franklin Barreto and a free pass issued by Jokisch.
The deficit grew to 4-0 in the second when right fielder Nate Orf singled in Keon Broxton. Orf went 4-for-5 on the day and has nine hits through the first three games of the series.
Nashville got on the board in the fourth when red-hot Dustin Fowler started a rally with a leadoff double. Beau Taylor knocked in Fowler with a sharp base hit to center to make it a 4-1 game.
Fowler had his fourth consecutive multi-hit game in the losing effort. He went 2-for-4 and has 18 hits over his last nine games. Eight of the hits have gone for extra bases.
Jokisch saw his day end after giving up a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Mauricio Dubon and Ji-Man Choi had back-to-back run-scoring hits to give Colorado Springs a 6-1 lead. Jokisch allowed six runs (five earned) in six innings as his record dropped to 0-4 on the season.
With the series finale looming Thursday, Colorado Springs has outscored Nashville, 35-10, and has out-hit the Sounds, 47-28, in the hitter friendly confines of Security Service Field.
The four-game series concludes Thursday afternoon at Security Service Field. Right-hander James Naile (3-2, 1.21) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Aaron Brooks (2-1, 4.50) for the Sky Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
With today’s 8-1 loss, the Sounds dropped to 12-14 on the season.
Dustin Fowler had another multi-hit game, his team-leading 12th of the season. Over his last nine games, he’s hitting .439 (18-for-41) with 10 runs, 7 RBI, 4 doubles, 2 home runs and 2 triples.
Nick Martini extended his on-base streak to a team-high 14 games with a first inning walk. Since April 14, he has reached safely in every game he has played in and is hitting .316 (12-for-38) with 6 RBI, 6 runs, 4 doubles and 14 walks.
The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41st 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.
Tuesday Prep Results
> CHS Baseball defeated Forrest – 7 to 6 – See the story HERE
> CHS Softball lost to Tullahoma – 2 to 1 – See the story HERE
> Westwood Tennis Split with Lewisburg – Girls lost 4 to 3, Boys won 6 to 1 – See the story HERE
2018 CHS Senior Baseball players(left to right) A.J. Rollman, Nathanial Tate, Jacob Langham, Jonathan Sherrill and Hunter Courtoy [Photo by Jim Bratton – Manchester Times]
It took a pair of comebacks, but the Coffee County Red Raider baseball team captured a Senior Night win over Forrest on Tuesday. The Red Raiders end the regular season with some momentum as they celebrated the career of 5 Red Raider seniors. Coffee County will enter the postseason on Thursday after the 7 to 6 victory on Tuesday.
Forrest got on the board in the first inning with a run but the Red Raiders rallied back to score 4 in the bottom of the first to grab their first lead. Forrest bounced back with 4 runs in the second and held that lead until the 4th inning. In the 4th, the Red Raiders got a pair of runs to go on top for the 2nd time. Each team scored once in the 6th and senior Nathanial Tate came on in relief to retire the Rockets in order in the 7th for the save.
Senior Jacob Langham had 2 singles, a double and 2 RBI on the night. Senior A.J. Rollman had a pair of singles and an RBI and Hayden Skipper also finished with 2 singles and an RBI. Senior Hunter Courtoy got the start surrendering only 1 earned run. Skylar Bratcher threw 2 innings to get the win for Coffee County.
The Red Raiders will open District 8AAA tournament play on Thursday at home against Shelbyville. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast. First pitch is set for 6 PM, the pregame show will get underway at 5:45
Ending the regular season at home against an old rival, the Lady Raiders hoped to build on the momentum of Monday’s win. Coffee County played host to Tullahoma in another dandy of a rivalry game. In a game that came down to the last pitch, Tullahoma edged the Lady Raiders 2 to 1.
Tullahoma scratched across an unearned run in the 5th 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 7th inning. In the bottom of the 7th, Katie Rutledge hit a 2 out double to score Abigail Parker and get the Lady Raiders within one run. With Rutledge on 2nd, 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.
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’ 41st 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.
