Coming of a solid all-around performance on Monday at home, the Coffee County Middle School baseball team traveled to Sparta on Tuesday. The Red Raiders squared off against White County for the final game of the season series with the Warriors. Coffee Middle needed to rally from behind but captured a 10 to 5 win.
Coffee County scratched across a run in the 1st inning only to see White County take a 2 to 1 lead in the 2nd inning. The Red Raiders took the lead for good in the 3rd inning with a 5 run outburst. Coffee County tacked on insurance runs in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings to capture the season sweep over the Warriors.
Jacob Holder led the Raiders in hitting as he was 3 for 4 with a double and 3 RBI. Connor Shemwell was 3 for 4 at the plate with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Cole Bryce and John McKelvey each drove in a pair of runs. McKelvey started for the Red Raiders on the bump and got the win as he allowed no earned runs through 4 2/3 innings. Tristan Grissom came on in relief and struck out 4 batters in 2 1/3 innings.
The Red Raiders will return to the diamond on Monday when they travel to McMinnville to take on Warren County. First pitch is set for 5 PM at Warren County Middle School. The JV Red Raiders will play host to Warren County at home on Thursday. That game is set to get underway at 6 PM.
The Lady Raider softball team of Coffee County Middle School traveled to Sparta on Tuesday night. The Lady Raiders matched up with White County for the 2nd straight night. Coffee County needed to score a pair of runs in the final inning to take the 3 to 2 win.
Leading 1 to 0 entering the 5th and final inning, Aly Harris got the Lady Raider rally going with a 2 out triple. 3 straight singles pushed the margin to 3 to 0 going to the bottom of the 5th inning. In the bottom of the frame, a pair of errors with 2 outs saw White County cut the deficit to 1 before the Lady Raiders could get out of the inning. Hannah Richardson got the nod as the starting pitcher as she took the win allowing no earned runs. Offensively, Kiya Ferrell and Olivia Evans each had a pair of hits as Ferrell scored twice.
The Lady Raiders will be back in action on Monday when they travel to McMinnville to take on Warren County. First pitch is set for 5 PM at Warren County High School. The Lady Raiders will also be participating in a fund-raising event on Saturday as they will partner with Al White Ford/Lincoln to host the “Ford Drive For Your School” event. Folks are asked to come and test drive a new Ford and the softball team will receive a donation for every car driven. The event will be held in the parking lot between Family Video and Coffee County Bank on the Hillsboro Boulevard in Manchester.
The Coffee County CHS soccer team welcomed Siegel to the Raider Soccer Field on Tuesday for a scrimmage. Seeing their first action of the spring, Coach Robert Harper was looking to fill some gaps left by graduation from last year’s team. The Red Raiders battled the Stars to a 1 to 1 draw.
Starting 3 sophomores on the back line, including keeper Kix Ferrell, Coach Robert Harper was pleased with the scrimmage result from his young team. Sigel scored their lone goal in the first half on a header in traffic to take a 1 nil lead at the intermission. In the second half, Briggs Haithcock banged home a free kick from just outside the penalty box to draw the Raiders even.
Coffee County will host their annual scrimmage play day on Saturday. The varsity and JV Raiders will be in action with each playing 4 matches. The play day runs from 8 AM to 6 PM behind the Raider Academy.
If first impressions are everything, consider Ryan Hartman golden.
Hartman scored the game-winning goal with exactly one minute to play in regulation and the Nashville Predators came back to defeat the Winnipeg Jets by a 6-5 final on Tuesday night at Bell MTS Place. It’s Nashville’s fifth consecutive win, and the victory gives the Preds 87 points, good for a four-point lead over the Jets for the Central Division lead with one game in hand.
It was a record night for Preds Captain Roman Josi, who recorded five assists in the win, tying the franchise record for most assists and points in a single game. In addition, Predators General Manager David Poile collected his 1,319th career victory as an NHL GM, tying Glen Sather for the all-time record for wins by an NHL general manager.
And after the scoresheet was filled to capacity, there was only one way to sum up what had just played out.
“It was crazy,” Josi said. “It was a lot of fun, back and forth and definitely a high speed game. A lot of goals, lot of fun looking back – I guess not as fun for the coaches – but it was a pretty crazy game.”
“I like the six,” Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “Could be better on the five, but I like the six. You never know, you never know what a game’s going to bring”
After a scoreless first period, the floodgates opened as the two clubs combined to score seven times in the middle stanza. Winnipeg tallied first, as former Preds forward Matt Hendricks beat Pekka Rinne for a 1-0 lead. Nashville winger Craig Smith got the Predators on the board when he potted a rebound past Connor Hellebuyck, but Mark Scheifele got the next two, giving Winnipeg a 3-1 advantage.
Nashville came back once more, first on a goal from Kyle Turris and then a power-play strike from Mattias Ekholm to even the score at 3-3. However, Nikolaj Ehlers beat Rinne on a rush before the frame was out to give his club the lead after a wild 20 minutes.
The third period was, at the very least, just as entertaining, at least if you’re a Predators fan. After Winnipeg took a 5-3 lead thanks to new Jets forward Paul Stastny, Nashville roared back. First, it was Smith getting his second of the game and 20th of the season to make it 5-4, and then Ryan Johansen made it 5-5 with 6:03 to play.
And to ice it, Josi found Hartman in front.
“I didn’t really have to do much for it,” Hartman said of his goal. “Josi put that right on my tape. I saw that seam, he saw that seam and I just pretty much put my knee on my stick there to make sure it didn’t get under my stick. But he put that right on the tape, great play by him.”
Tuesday’s game in Winnipeg – one that was billed as perhaps the most important contest of the regular season thus far for both sides – lived up to the hype. While a potential postseason matchup is still weeks away, there’s no denying these two could find themselves dancing in the springtime.
But for now, the Predators will certainly take the win, undoubtedly one of their grittiest, gutsiest efforts of the campaign.
“We knew before the game it was going to be a huge game,” Josi said. “It was probably the most important game up to this point in the season, and I thought we showed up, I thought we played really well in the first and I thought they were the better team in the second. We showed a lot of character in the third, and it’s a huge win and a great way for us to start off the road trip.”
Welcome to the Club:
Ryan Hartman only met his new teammates for the first time this morning. It looked as though he’d been playing with them for years.
Hartman was all over the ice in his Predators’ debut, and after creating chance after chance, the storybook ending came as he scored the winner with one minute left to play.
Sometimes the stories write themselves.
“That first goal is huge, and I’m pretty pumped up to get that in the first game,” Hartman said.
The scrappy winger, who proved he has plenty of offensive capability as well, felt confident prior to the contest that it wouldn’t take him long to become acclimated into the Nashville lineup. He certainly backed up that claim.
“He was awesome,” Laviolette said of his new winger. “He looked like he knew the system, he looked like he had been playing it forever just with regard to the offensive zone and what we were trying to do. It’s not an easy thing either, you walk into a locker room, you don’t know anybody, he doesn’t know any of the systems, he’s got video in front of him all day, he has to try to get some rest, and then to go out and play the game that he did, he was terrific.”
“He was great,” Josi said of Hartman. “Even before he scored that goal, he was really good. He was hard on the forecheck, he made a lot of good plays, had a lot of shots and I thought he played great and topped it off with the game-winner.”
Hartman, who primarily skated on a trio with Colton Sissons and Austin Watson throughout the night, complemented his linemates by getting in on the forecheck and, simply put, going to work. And when it was all said and done, the new guy endeared himself on night No. 1.
“The positivity in this room, even though you’re down a goal, down two goals, the guys know there’s enough tools in here to score plenty of goals and to win under any given time,” Hartman said. “It goes around the whole room.”
Notes:
With five assists in Tuesday’s 6-5 win, Preds Captain Roman Josi tied Marek Zidlicky for the most assists in a single game in franchise history. Josi also tied the Nashville all-time mark for points in a single game alongside Zidlicky, Dan Hamhuis and J-P Dumont.
With two goals on Tuesday, Preds forward Craig Smith extended his career-high point streak to eight games (4g-5a).
Nashville’s four-game trip continues Thursday in Edmonton before facing the Canucks on Friday and then the Avalanche on Sunday afternoon.
Monday
CCMS Softball defeated White Co – 13 to 3
CCMS Baseball defeated White Co – 13 to 1
CCMS Soccer vs White Co(Home) PPD until Tuesday – 5 PM
Tuesday
4:15 PM – WMS Boys’ Soccer at Cascade
5:00 PM – CCMS Baseball at White Co
5:00 PM – CCMS Softball at White Co
5:00 PM – CCMS Soccer HOSTS White Co
6:00 PM – WMS Baseball HOSTS Grundy Co
7:00 PM – CHS Boys’ Soccer HOSTS Siegel (scrimmage)
Fighting wet field conditions and the seasonal cold air, the Coffee County Middle School baseball team opened the 2018 season at home against White County. By eliminating the JV game and pushing first pitch back to 6 PM, the Red Raiders were able to get in the contest with the visiting Warriors. Coffee County scored in every inning as they won a 13 to 1 game that was shortened to 4 ½ innings via the mercy rule.
The Red Raiders got a huge night from Jacob Holder as the 7th grader pitched a 1 hitter with 13 strikeouts. Holder also had a big night at the plate as he was 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and 8 RBI. Tristan Grissom added a pair of hits, including a double, with 2 runs batted in.
The Raiders are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Sparta for the 2nd game in the series with White County. 1st pitch is set for 5 PM.
The Coffee County Middle School softball team opened the 2018 season at home on Monday night playing host to conference foe White County. Looking to defend their conference crown, the Lady Raiders took on the improving Warriorettes from Sparta. Coffee County clubbed their way to a 13 to 3 win.
The Lady Raiders used a 5 run rally with 2 outs in the first inning to jumpstart their offense to the win. Katie Crosslin went the distance on the mound to pick up the win for Coffee Middle as she did not surrender an earned run striking out 6. Alyssa McClanahan swung the big stick for the Lady Raiders as she had a pair of triples and 5 RBI. Hannah Richardson was 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles.
Coffee Middle is back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Sparta for the 2nd game in the series with White County. 1st pitch is set for 5 PM.
Grey Riddle of CHS basketball[Photo by Demarco Moore, Manchester Times]
The Coffee County CHS boys’ basketball team opened up play in the Region 4AAA tournament on Saturday night in Murfreesboro. Taking on Riverdale with their season on the line, the Red Raiders suffered from a poor shooting performance as their season came to a close in the single elimination tournament. Coffee County fell by a final score of 47 to 20.
The Red Raiders shot an abysmal 7 of 38 from the field and had 20 turnovers against the taller and quicker Warriors. Despite trailing by 11 at the half, Coffee County was able to cut the deficit to 8 points in the 3rd quarter. But Riverdale extended the lead back to 13 at the end of the period and held Coffee County to 1 point in the 4th quarter to win going away.
The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Darius Rozier who had 5 points. Garrett Booth and De’Aaron Rozier each chipped in 4. A.J. Rollman finished with 3 points Grey Riddle and Russell Smythia added 2 points each. For his hard work on the offensive end, Riddle was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. Coffee County will finish the season with a record of 17 and 10.
Hosting their first region tournament game since 2013, the Coffee County Lady Raiders squared off against Oakland on Friday night at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. On a night where the 1993 State Championship team was honored at halftime, Coffee County entered the game with the best record since that state title squad 25 years ago. In the end, a scoreless final 4 minutes saw Oakland capture the 31 to 30 win.
It was a back and forth battle all night long that saw neither team capture a lead of more than 5 points. But a crucial span of 40 seconds at the end of the 3rd quarter saw the Lady Raiders fail to get 4 points that many in attendance thought they should get. With 40 seconds left, Abby Morgan drove to the basket and was fouled. The official on the call indicated that the foul came before the shot wiping off Morgan’s goal that would have given Coffee County a 24 to 20 lead. As the 3rd quarter wound to a close, Alliyah Williams banked a shot off the glass. The officials waved off the made basket saying that she did not get the shot off before the horn sounded.
The Lady Raiders took a 2 point lead into the 4th quarter but a trio of 3 point baskets by Oakland helped lift the Lady Patriots to the win. Abby Morgan kept Coffee County close in the 4th quarter with a pair of 1st National Bank 3 point baskets herself. Morgan drove the length of the floor in the final 4 seconds but had the ball stripped away at the final buzzer.
Coffee County was led in scoring by Morgan who had 10 points as she was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. Senior Alliyah Williams finished the night, and her high school career, with 7 points. Jacey Vaughn finished with 5 points while Ellie Graham and Bella Vinson each added 4 points. The loss drops the Lady Raiders to a final record of 24 and 5 on the season.
Pekka Rinne made 27 saves and the Nashville Predators defeated the St. Louis Blues, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena. It’s Nashville’s fourth consecutive victory and gives the Preds a 4-0 season sweep of their divisional rivals.
Nashville put forth another effort that was worthy of a first-place seeding in the Central, throwing 39 shots at the net and refusing to let the Blues get even one goal on the board.
“We have a pretty good rivalry with [St. Louis], so any time we can assert our dominance against them, we’re all for it,” Preds forward Colton Sissons said. “We’ve been in tough battles with them throughout the season and in years prior but it feels good putting them away like that at home.”
The Predators had no trouble getting up for the early start, and less than five minutes into the opening frame, Sissons tallied on a power-play opportunity and then Kevin Fiala picked a corner over Jake Allen at the 14:21 mark to give Nashville a 2-0 lead after one period.
It took Scott Hartnell just 1:20 into the second stanza to redirect a shot into the cage, and then Austin Watson’s shorthanded tally extended the lead to four after 40 minutes.
From there, Nashville continued to turn the Blues away, thanks to Rinne and those in front of him, who continued to block shots until the horn sounded, to help the netminder record his sixth shutout of the season, just one shy of his career high.
“Pretty much every night you see a lot of big blocks, especially on the penalty kill,” Rinne said of his defensemen. “[Ryan] Ellis, even at the end of the game when it’s 4-0, takes a [Colton] Parayko shot somewhere in the leg. I thought to myself ‘ouch, that’s a heavy shot.’ Anytime they block a shot, I feel like they do it for me, so I feel very grateful for that.”
The Predators will now prepare for a four-game trip, starting on Tuesday in Winnipeg against a Jets team that is jockeying with Nashville for the first two spots in the division.
“It’s always good to get on the road with the guys and this will be a good trip for us,” Watson said. “[We are] going into Winnipeg right away – a team that we have been pretty tight with all season long. They have a great home record and a great team, so, it’s a challenge that we will have to be ready for.”
Rise & Shine:
Two days ago, Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said perhaps the most daunting challenge entering Sunday’s contest against St. Louis – with a puck drop approximately 20 minutes after 11 a.m. – would be ensuring his club was ready to compete before lunchtime.
Challenge accepted.
Laviolette’s team was ready from the start, refusing to let St. Louis into the game, and even when the Blues did have their chances, Rinne and his mates were there to record their League-leading ninth shutout of the season.
“Full credit to the guys,” Laviolette said. “It’s a different scenario, you’re waking up early just to eat something that you might not want to eat that early in the morning and getting ready for a game, warmups starting at 10:30, and it’s just a completely different time frame for us. Like I said, full credit to the guys in the room because when the puck dropped they were ready.”
“We had a really good start,” Rinne said. “I was really impressed with the guys and how they started off today. I thought that everybody did a really good job preparing themselves. It’s a kind of different time to play a game. It’s not your typical time when you eat breakfast and go play an NHL game so it was different but it was a lot of fun.”
The victory is a contrast to the team’s play after they dropped two consecutive games in regulation – a rarity for this Predators team – just over a week ago. But since then, things have been looking up once more, certainly a positive sign as the team prepares to enter the final full month of the regular season in the coming days.
“You know when you’re playing well and when you’re not playing well,” Watson said. “Just about a week ago, we weren’t very happy with the way that we were playing even though we might have been getting some wins. So, this has been good for us – it’s been a good stretch and (we) got back on the same page and have been playing well together.”
Trading Places:
Earlier in the day, the Predators acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and traded Pontus Aberg to Edmonton.
“It just wasn’t working out for him,” Laviolette said of Aberg. “Decisions are always tough, lineup decisions on a nightly basis, decisions inside of an organization are always tough. For me, it’s a new opportunity for him to kind of hit the reset button and get on track with what he’s trying to do as far as the National Hockey League goes. I thank him for his time here and what he did, but for us, we’re going to move on and into a different direction.”
Following the game, the Predators also made a move to acquire forward Brandon Bollig and goaltender Troy Grosenick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Notes:
With an assist in the first period, Craig Smith extended his point streak to a career-high seven games (2g-5a).
Austin Watson’s goal was his second shorthanded tally of the season. He now leads the Preds with three shorthanded points (2g-1a).
Nashville has won six of its last seven games against St. Louis – including four in a row – and has scored at least four goals in four of those wins.
The Predators are now set to embark on a four-game road trip, beginning Tuesday night in Winnipeg against the Jets. Nashville will then play in Edmonton, Vancouver and Colorado before returning home next week.
