Category: Sports

A bid at another comeback fell short as the Nashville Predators dropped a 4-3 decision to the Calgary Flames on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result sees Nashville’s seven-game point streak come to an end, just the second time in their last 17 outings they’ve failed to record at least a point.

Despite Nashville’s ability to collect points in the standings with regularity as of late, the Preds have admitted there have been some holes in their game – a fact that may have been accented in Thursday’s loss.

“They all look the same – they’re not good enough,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Nashville’s recent games. “We’re not working hard enough. I don’t know what else to say. If you don’t invest a lot, you won’t like it at the end. The stretches that aren’t going our way, the stretches where we are getting outplayed – it’s because we are missing some bite. We’re missing some bite in our game.”

“We weren’t sharp,” Preds defenseman Yannick Weber said. “You don’t want to be chasing the game like we have in the past. I think we were all disappointed with the effort today. We know we had a chance in the third to win it, but I think overall we can’t be happy with it.”

Ryan Johansen got the Preds a 1-0 lead when he poked home a loose puck at the 13:45 mark of the first period, but Matthew Tkachuk evened the score on the power play with less than a minute to play in the opening 20.

The second period saw Viktor Arvidsson sprung on a breakaway halfway though, and after he hit the post, Weber followed things up to slam his second of the season past David Rittich to give Nashville a 2-1 lead. Another power-play opportunity – this time a 5-on-3 man advantage – saw the Flames tie it once more before the second stanza was out, thanks to a goal from Dougie Hamilton that eluded Pekka Rinne.

Calgary struck twice to open the third period, and although a goal from Nick Bonino gave the Preds yet another chance to force overtime, Rittich made a number of key saves late to save the victory for the Flames.

“Our energy – I think we’re losing too many battles,” Nashville Captain Roman Josi said. “It seems like teams are playing faster especially early in the game. We just have to win battles. You can’t win games if you don’t win battles.”

Nashville will have a chance to start a new streak on Saturday night when Detroit comes to town, a chance they’ll be eager to capitalize on after a string of efforts that have been less than satisfactory in the Predators locker room.

“We lost the game and we are better than that,” Laviolette said. “We know it. There’s no sugarcoating that.”

“It’s definitely a wake-up call that we can’t just watch and be satisfied and think we [will] still win every game,” Weber said. “Maybe we needed that one. It shows us that we do have to go back to the way we need to have success. We’ll do that Saturday.”

Notes:

Predators center Kyle Turris missed Thursday’s game due to illness; forward Pontus Aberg entered the lineup in his absence.

Nashville’s home stand continues on Saturday night when the Detroit Red Wings come to town before finishing things off on Monday with the Ottawa Senators.

Former Coffee County Lady Raider and current Motlow freshman Haley Hinshaw drove in classmate Ace Hanson with a two-out line drive to center field to cap a five-run seventh inning and give the Motlow Lady Bucks an 8-7 win over Northeast Mississippi in the softball season opener Thursday afternoon in Booneville, Miss.

The Lady Bucks (1-3, 0-0) dropped the second game of the doubleheader 7-4. Motlow resumed action on Tuesday, traveling to Decatur, Ala., where they fell short in a pair of games to Calhoun 3-0, 5-4. Next is a trip to Pulaski on Monday for a doubleheader against the Martin Methodist College JV, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

Heading into the seventh inning in game one in Booneville, the Lady Bucks trailed 7-3. With one out, Jennifer Corbitt started the rally with a double. Kylie Thackerson singled, with Corbitt advancing to third. On the first pitch to Madison Hopkins, Corbitt stole home and Thackerson stole second. Hopkins drew a walk and Thackerson advanced to third on a wild pitch.

Ariel McAtee then ran for Hopkins. With two outs McAtee stole second and Thackerson scored on a passed ball, closing the gap to 7-5. Madison Woodruff drew a walk before Breanna Owens singled to left, driving in McAtee and advancing Woodruff to second. Hanson then entered to run for Owens and advanced to second when Miranda Cooksey singled, scoring Woodruff on the throw. Hinshaw then delivered her game winner, with Hanson scoring on the throw from center field.

Corbitt got the win in the circle, pitching the final 1.2 innings with four strikeouts and only one hit allowed. Samantha King was the starter for Motlow, pitching four innings and allowing three runs. Sarah Wilson pitch the middle 1.1 innings and allowed four runs, although only one was earned.

Owens went 2-4 and drove in a run, while Cooksey was 2-3 and Hinshaw had a pair of runs batted in. Corbitt was 2-3 with two doubles, and the Lady Bucks stole six bases.

Game two saw Motlow get on the board with two runs in the second, but Northeast tied it with two of their own in the bottom of the inning, then scored four more in the third. The Lady Bucks fought back with two runs in the sixth, but a second comeback was not in store.

Corbitt (1-1) took the loss, allowing six runs with two strikeouts in her two innings of work. Owens pitched well over the final four innings, scattering five hits and allowing only one run with three strikeouts. McAtee went 3-4 and Hinshaw slammed a home run, while both Hinshaw and Chelbie Gannon drove in a pair of runs.

Game one against Calhoun featured a fine pitching performance by Calhoun’s Sydnee Uhlman, who shut the Lady Bucks out, allowing six hits and striking out four. King (0-1) took the loss for Motlow, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing all three runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. Corbitt pitched the final 1.2 innings and allowed just one hit with one strikeout. Owens had a double, the only extra-base hit for Motlow.

The Lady Bucks led game two 4-1 after three and a half innings before the home team scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the sixth to steal the win. The game was called after six innings due to darkness.

Kendall Durard (0-1) started in the circle, pitching into the sixth inning and allowing five hits with five strikeouts. Owens took over with one out and hit one batter, then walked in two batters, including the winning run. Hinshaw and Corbitt each had two hits, with Hinshaw slamming two doubles and driving in a pair of runs.

The Motlow Bucks slammed three home runs, including a game-winning grand slam by Troy Weatherly in the bottom of the sixth inning, and won their third consecutive game by beating visiting Lawson State 11-5 Tuesday afternoon at the Driver Baseball Complex on Motlow’s Moore County campus.

The Bucks (3-4, 0-0) have rebounded nicely since their season opening trip to Alabama, where they lost 11-6 and 3-2 to Wallace State and 8-2, 1-0 to Birmingham Southern. Motlow played its first home games last weekend, sweeping Vincennes, Ind., 4-3, 9-3. The Bucks will travel to Niceville, Fla., for a three-game series against Northwest Florida State College this weekend, with a single game scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.

After falling behind 2-0 against Lawson State, Motlow’s Johnny Mangini hit an opposite-field homer in the third inning to give the Bucks a 3-2 lead and Jake Chaney followed that with a two-run blast to give Motlow a 5-2 advantage. After Lawson chipped away at the lead and tied the score at five, Weatherly hit his third homer of the season in the sixth with the bases full to give the Bucks back the lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish again.

Colin Smith got the start on the mound for the Bucks, allowing four hits and two earned runs in three innings. Chase Dixon pitched the fourth, also allowing two runs to score. Dallas Bryan (1-1) pitched the middle three innings and got the win, allowing just two hits with two strikeouts. Kobe Foster notched his second save, pitching the final 1.2 innings of hitless baseball with a pair of strikeouts.

Vincennes was originally scheduled to visit for a three-game series last weekend, but wet field conditions forced the teams to only play a Friday doubleheader.

Game one saw the Bucks stage a comeback, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to win 4-3. Carson Pack got the win on the mound in relief of Jase Carvell, who started and went 4.2 innings allowing seven hits and striking out six. Foster picked up his first save with a perfect seventh inning where he struck out the side. Chaney had two hits, including a double, and two runs batted in, while De’Andre Pitts also drove in a run.

In Friday’s second game the Bucks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. Logan Walters (1-1) picked up the win, pitching four innings and allowing only two hits and one earned run. Foster struck out six in two innings of work and Michael Bruhin struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh inning.

Paul McIntosh had a home run for the Bucks, while Patrick Music, Colin Smith and Kirby Smith each had doubles. Pitts and Nathan Sanders each drove in two runs, with Sanders adding a stolen base.

The Bucks didn’t play badly in their first four games in Alabama, they just didn’t play well enough to get a win. There were quality pitching performances and good run production, just not together in the same game.

Tyler Harmon (0-1) allowed only one hit and struck out five in 6.1 innings pitched on Feb. 3, but the Bucks managed only three hits themselves and lost 1-0 to Birmingham Southern. Carvell had a quality start against Wallace State the day before, scattering six hits and allowing no earned runs in four innings, but Motlow managed only one hit in their 3-2 loss. In the season opener the Bucks got home runs from McIntosh and Weatherly, but Motlow’s defense committed six errors.

Following their trip to Florida, the Bucks will host Wallace State-Hanceville for a single game at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The following weekend, Marshalltown, Iowa will visit for a four-game series, with doubleheaders scheduled both Saturday and Sunday at noon at the Driver Complex.

The Temple Baptist Christian School Eagles will be back at home on Friday and Saturday as they will host their annual Eagles Invitational basketball tournament to close out the season.  Temple will welcome 5 other schools to the E.C. Bailey Gym in the 2 day tournament.  Action will begin on Friday afternoon as Temple will play at 2:00 and 7:00 PM in the round robin portion of the tournament.  The double elimination tournament bracket begins on Saturday morning.

Joining Temple will be Faith Christian Academy of Jamestown, TN; Shenandoah Baptist Academy of Cleveland, TN; Victory Baptist Academy of Shelbyville; Dogwood Christian Academy of Tunnel Hill, GA and Philadelphia Baptist Academy of Calhoun, GA.  Pool play games will go from 2 PM through 8:15 PM on Friday.  The double elimination bracket will begin at 8:30 AM on Saturday morning.  All the games will be held in the E.C. Bailey Gym at Temple Baptist Church.  The church is located at 66 Fairlane Drive in Manchester, ½ block off the Murfreesboro Highway.

Baseball season is right around the corner and the Coffee County CHS baseball team will host a skills clinic on Saturday, March 3^rd at Powers Field.  The camp is open to ages 6 to 15 years of age.  The camp will run from 9 AM to 12 noon

Campers will work with Head Coach David Martin, his high school staff, and varsity players.  Each camper will receive age appropriate, hands on instruction in all aspects of the game.  The camp is open to players of all ability and skill levels.

Cost for the camp is $20 per player when paid in advance.  There is a half price discount for the 2^nd, and all successive, siblings.  Cost for the camp on the date of the camp is $25 and all proceeds will go to benefit the Coffee County Central High School baseball team.

Campers will need to bring with them: Bat, Glove, Tennis Shoes, Cleats, Hat and Batting Helmet.  Players will utilize the facilities at Powers Field and the Crethan Hansert Hitting Facility on the campus of Coffee County Central High School.   Please contact Chris Langham at ctlua37@gmail.com or 931.247.2629 with any questions.

To register, please fill out the form and return to the address given.  The preregistration discount is available to all forms received by February 23^rd

The Nashville Sounds Baseball Club has announced its weekly promotions for the 2018 season. The 70-game home schedule at First Tennessee Park includes player-inspired t-shirt giveaways, fireworks shows, ticket discounts, food and drink discounts, social media guests, special jerseys, musical guests, military appreciation, and family days.

Opening Day at First Tennessee Park is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10 when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs at 6:35 p.m.

Kroger Plus Mondays and Music City Mondays (9 Occurrences): Score a “Family 4-Pack” of Select section tickets, 4 hot dogs and 4 fountain sodas for just $44 when showing a Kroger Plus card at the Sounds Box Office. Additionally, the Sounds will sport their black “Music City” jerseys to represent Nashville’s rich music heritage.

Takeover Tuesdays (7): Special guests and/or fans take over the entertainment and social media at First Tennessee Park. Features include anthem performances, meet-and-greets, autograph signings and more. Brand new in 2018, Takeover Tuesday is presented by Pepsi.

Wear It Wednesdays (9): New in 2018, the Sounds are rolling out a player-inspired t-shirt collection with a unique shirt available to the first 2,000 fans at every Wednesday game.

Throwback Thursdays (10): We’re going retro as Budweiser presents Throwback Thursdays when the Sounds wear their 1978 uniforms to commemorate the team’s original uniform style. Fans can purchase Pepsi fountain soda and Budweiser products at a discounted rate.

FOX 17 Fireworks Friday (12): Watch the Nashville sky light up with a post-game FOX 17 Fireworks show presented by Koorsen Fire & Security.

Saturday at the Park (11): The roar of the crowd at First Tennessee Park gets loudest on Saturday. Make the ballpark the place to be in Nashville with entertainment options like The Band Box.

Military Sundays and Family Fundays (11): On Military Sundays, presented by Piedmont Natural Gas and Tennessee 811, the Sounds salute the troops with special military jerseys and ticket discounts. Family Funday starts with the Hyundai pre-game autograph session with select Sounds players and finishes with kids 12 and under run the bases post-game, presented by First Tennessee.

Seniors and Military families can enjoy a $2.00 discount on single game ticket prices at First Tennessee Park. The offer is valid for any reserved seat section on Sunday through Wednesday games – subject to availability. Offer valid for up to four (4) tickets per I.D. (Seniors 55 +, government issued military I.D. required at box office; no phone orders).

The Nashville Sounds’ media partners for weekly promotions include Nash FM 103.3, 104.5 The Zone, 96.3 JACK-fm, iHeartRadio, FOX 17, and WSMV-TV Channel 4.

The full 2018 promotional schedule will be announced in early March.

The 2018 season will be the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Opening Day is set for Thursday, April 5 when the Sounds begin the season in New Orleans. Opening Night at First Tennessee Park is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10 when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs at 6:35 p.m. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

The District 8AAA basketball district tournament schedule was announced on Monday.  Action began on Tuesday night with the girls’ “play-in” game at Fayetteville.  The boys’ “play-in” game is set for Wednesday night as Franklin County plays host to Shelbyville.  Quarterfinal action will take place on Friday with the semifinals scheduled for Saturday at Columbia Central High School.  The girls’ championship and consolation games will be held on Monday night at Columbia with the boys to follow on Tuesday night.

As announced over the week-end right here on Thunder Radio, the Red Raiders and Lady Raiders each received a bye into the semifinals.  The Lady Raiders will open up tournament play on Saturday at 2:00 PM against the winner of Friday’s matchup between Lawrence County and Tullahoma.  The Red Raiders will take the court at 6:30 PM against the winner of Friday’s second boys’ quarterfinal.   Those games will take place at Columbia Central High School and Thunder Radio will be on hand broadcast the action for you.

Regardless of Saturday’s outcomes, both Raider cage teams will advance to next week’s consolation or championship games. It also guarantees a Region 4AAA Tournament berth for each team.  The 1^st round region tournament games will take place on Friday, February 23^rd and Saturday, February 24^th .  Teams that advance to the district championship games will host the first round region tournament games.  The region tournament semifinals and finals will take place at Columbia.

Down three goals entering the third period? No problem.

Austin Watson tallied twice and Filip Forsberg ended it on a penalty shot in overtime as the Nashville Predators roared back to defeat the St. Louis Blues by a 4-3 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.

It’s the fifth consecutive game in which Nashville has seen overtime and the result gives them points in 15 of their last 16 games to hold onto first place in the Central Division.

After the Blues went up by a 3-0 score through 40 minutes of play, Nashville scored three times in the final frame to force overtime before winning it, certainly not the easiest night to explain when it was all said and done.

“I don’t know if you can,” Watson said of summing up the evening. “I don’t think there’s a recipe for that other than just continuing to work and not getting discouraged. We were frustrated by the effort that we put out for the first two periods, but this group never backs off and never just gives up. We kept pushing, were able to get a couple to go for us and tie up and Fil had a great penalty shot in overtime.”

“More than anything, between the second and third period, we talked about things and put it on the table,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I thought the guys really responded. There wasn’t a question going out into the third period that we could win a hockey game. I don’t think there was a question for them. Once we got a goal, we really started getting things rolling in the right direction.”

Jay Bouwmeester’s slap shot gave the Blues a 1-0 lead late in the first and then Alexander Steen and Jaden Schwartz both beat Pekka Rinne in the second stanza for a 3-0 advantage after 40 minutes.

But the Predators came out for the third with a renewed sense of urgency, and at the 9:06 mark, Calle Jarnkrok slammed home a rebound past former Preds goaltender Carter Hutton to give Nashville life. Then, at 14:33, Watson finished off a shorthanded rush for his sixth of the season to pull the home team to within one. But he wasn’t done.

Less than two minutes later, Watson batted the puck out of the air and just over the goal line, and after a short review, referee Brad Watson pointed to center ice to confirm Nashville’s tying tally.

Then, in the extra session, Forsberg was hauled down on a breakaway and awarded and penalty shot, the perfect opportunity to beat a former teammate for the winning goal.

“It’s huge,” Forsberg said of the win. “That’s what this team is all about. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first line or third line or fourth line or second line, everyone contributes, and it’s great to be a part of that.”

Watson’s effort in particular – someone known more for his shot blocking than his goal scoring – brought the house down, particularly his second strike, only the second time in his career he’s converted twice in the same regular-season game. And it’s performances like that from unlikely candidates that Nashville will need not only now in a tight division race, but in the springtime, especially.

“The division is so tight and that’s a really good hockey team,” Watson said. “They’re playing really well. Hutton is playing awesome for them. It looked like he was going to get them all there for a while and was great back there. Any time you can beat a division opponent, especially one that’s up there in the standings with you, it’s a huge win.”

Come On Back, Now:

The second intermission in the Predators locker room could have included shouting and stick breaking. Down 3-0 against a Central Division rival and coming off a period that saw the Preds outshot 16-3? Would you have blamed them?

But instead, Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said he simply talked to his team. They nodded their heads in assurance.

And then they responded.

Three goals within a span of less than seven minutes in the third period salvaged a point for the Preds, and then an exclamation point from Filip Forsberg in overtime sealed Nashville’s 11th win in their last 16 tries, with an even more impressive point streak – 15 of 16 contests – to go along.

“We talked,” Laviolette said. “I yelled a couple times in the past four games, so we just talked. I guess I talked. It was more just a message of some reality. We didn’t play hard enough in the second period. We didn’t have enough energy. We didn’t do things the way we are capable of. As I’m talking, you can see them shaking their heads, ‘yes,’ so they know that, too. They’re an honest group in there. They know they didn’t play to their capabilities. It was more a conversation that anything else. It ended with the fact that we could win the hockey game.”

After a road trip that saw them collect six out of a possible eight points in four games over six days, the Predators returned home to begin a four-game set in the Music City, and they couldn’t have started in more dramatic fashion.

“We talked about it in the second intermission, just throwing that away and just focusing on just being a whole lot better in all areas of the game and I think we did that,” forward Colton Sissons said. “We had to stick with it for a little bit. We didn’t get the first one until close to the ten-minute mark, but it showed a lot of character in here. We talk about coming back in games that we’re not playing that well and I’m just really proud of the guys’ effort in the third.”

Notes:

Ryan Ellis recorded his 100th career assist on Austin Watson’s first goal.

Nashville has now won four-straight games at home over St. Louis, outscoring the Blues 18-7.

Pekka Rinne is now two wins away from 300 in his career.

Nashville continues their home stretch on Thursday night when the Calgary Flames come to town, followed by a date on Saturday against Detroit before hosting Ottawa on Monday.

Monday marked the opening of practice for high school spring sports teams in Tennessee.  The 5 spring sports squads at Coffee County Central High School battled the cold and wet conditions to get the 2018 season underway.  As has been the case for 25 years, the Lady Raider softball team was the first squad to get in a practice as they opened with Midnight Madness at Terry Floyd Field.

Coach Brandon McWhorter begins his first year at the helm of the Lady Raider program.  McWhorter, the 5^th coach in program history, continued the tradition begun in the mid 90’s by Jeff Breeden.  McWhorter was pleased with the roughly 1 hour workout held on the field as both infielders and outfielders were able to get in some drills.  The Lady Raiders came back on Monday and moved the hitting portion of the practice indoors.  Coach McWhorter was pleased with the effort and hustle shown by his team and feels like the Lady Raiders got off to a good start in spite of the weather conditions.

Coach David Martin opened up practice on Monday afternoon as his team got some time on Powers Field.  Martin said that he could see positive results from the team’s off season workouts.  Calling his squad “baseball savvy”, Martin complimented the Red Raider infielders for a good days work outside.   Martin will look to get more team defense implemented and get some batting practice in this week.

The Red Raider soccer team kicked off their preseason workouts on Monday evening at the Raider Soccer Field.  Coach Robert Harper saw more than 30 players show up for the first practice of the year and was pleased with the effort.  Battling the cold weather outside, Harper was impressed with some of the work from a few freshmen who had good first days.  The Red Raiders will have their first scrimmages of the year a week from Saturday when they host their annual scrimmage tournament.

Coach Mike Ray and the Raider tennis teams did not venture outside due to the cold and wet conditions.  Adding to the miserable conditions was a small flu outbreak amongst members of his team and himself.  The healthy Raider and Lady Raider netters worked on their conditioning and will hit the courts later in the week.

Coach Nathan Wanuch welcomed “about 45 kids” to the first day of practice today for the CHS track teams.  With a few athletes still in basketball, this could be the largest Raider track team in years.  Coach Wanuch was complimentary of his kids who braved the elements to get in some work on Monday afternoon.

After dropping two consecutive conference games, the No. 13 Motlow Bucks took out their frustration on visiting Walters State Saturday afternoon, handing the Senators an 86-48 thumping in front of a large, loud homecoming crowd at Copperweld Arena.

The Bucks (16-4, 10-2) were upset at home Friday night 84-73 by Roane State. Motlow will travel to Dyersburg State on Wednesday, then to Memphis Saturday where they will face Southwest Tennessee (17-3, 10-2). The Saluqis and Bucks are tied atop the TCCAA standings, with Motlow winning the first matchup 83-67 at Copperweld Arena.

Motlow could never seem to get untracked Friday night as the Roane State Raiders’ defense kept the Bucks out of rhythm for 40 minutes. Roane led the entire first half, which ended with the Raiders on top 38-28. The Bucks pulled even multiple times in the second half, including tying the game at 61-61 with 6:28 remaining, but the visitors went on a 14-6 run over the next four minutes to put the game away.

Kevonte Corley led the Bucks with 20 points and 12 rebounds and added two blocked shots and two steals. Isaiah Hart scored 19 with seven assists and four steals, and Dillon Smith added 13 points. The Bucks shot 44 percent from the field and hit 8-24 three pointers, but turned the ball over 14 times and only had eight assists.

Saturday the Bucks looked much more familiar. After a competitive first half that ended with Motlow leading 34-20, the Motlow offense exploded for 52 points in the second half and ran away from the visiting Senators. The Bucks shot 45.6 percent from the floor, including hitting 11-29 three pointers, and made 13-17 free throws. Motlow dished out 20 assists on its 31 made field goals, and only turned the ball over nine times.

Hart led four double-digit scorers with 21 points, eight assists and six steals. Rashawn Fredericks got back into the double-double column with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Smith added 12 points and Anthony Yarbrough came off the bench to score 11 with three rebounds. Corley scored eight points and led the team with 15 rebounds, while David Fraser scored six points with five rebounds and three assists.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics on social media at MotlowSports.