Joe Pat Cope and his daughter Reagan[Photo courtesy of Joe Pat Cope]
The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast LIVE each Saturday morning from 10 to 11 from the showroom of Al White/Ford Lincoln. Al White has been the host of the Coaches Show since November of 2014 and is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio
The Nashville Predators roared back once more, but it was the Anaheim Ducks who got the final shot.
After the Predators tied the score with less than a minute to play, Corey Perry got credit for the winner in overtime as the Ducks defeated the Predators, 3-2, to even the Western Conference Final at two games apiece. The loss snaps Nashville’s 10-game home postseason win streak and sees them faced with a 2-2 series for the first time in these playoffs.
Nashville looked like themselves during the second and third period, as well as points in the extra session, but a slow start gave Anaheim the chance to take a lead, forcing the Preds to chase from behind in a game where they never had the advantage on the scoreboard.
“The guys know what we’re capable of, and there’s a standard to which we measure ourselves and how we need to play, and we weren’t close to it [in the first period],” Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We got going in the second period and at least competed better. We lost the period, but I thought we competed better and started to press more. And then in the third period we really got going. But, you know, it’s about consistency. And we could have been better in the first.”
The Predators were outshot by a 15-2 count in the first period, and Anaheim also led where it mattered, thanks to a goal from Rickard Rakell for a 1-0 lead after one. Nashville had plenty more chances at the Ducks in the second stanza, but it was Nick Ritchie who got the only goal, doubling Anaheim’s lead after 40 minutes.
But if the Predators have shown anything in these playoffs, they’re never quite out of it.
First, it was P.K. Subban who blasted home his second of the postseason to give the Preds – and the crowd – a burst of life. Then, Nashville got a 5-on-3 power play, seemingly inevitable that they would tie the game. However, the Ducks managed to kill it off, forcing the Preds to pull goaltender Pekka Rinne for an extra attacker.
And then, with 35 seconds to play, Filip Forsberg poked home a loose puck past John Gibson to send Bridgestone Arena into a frenzy.
Forsberg’s late game-tying tally
“Tonight, they threw one at the net and somebody deflected it in,” Rinne said. “It happened fast. That’s how it is usually in OT. It’s too bad it went this way.”
“They’re a good team, so we know every game’s going to be a battle,” Subban said. “I think if there’s a positive that we showed tonight, it’s that when we want to play our game we can’t be stopped. I thought we did a good job in the third period of battling back and giving ourselves an opportunity to win the game. We had chances in overtime that didn’t go our way.”
The Predators will now head back to Anaheim for Game Five to continue what has turned into a best-of-three series to determine who will represent the Western Conference for a chance at the ultimate prize.
And as far as the Preds are concerned, Game Four needs to be forgotten quickly.
“It kind of has to be behind us already, and we have to focus on the next one,” Rinne said. “That’s a missed opportunity, but we battled back, and obviously didn’t have a good start. Not a good first period. But we battled back and showed a lot of character.”
“It’s the playoffs – you have to move on,” Forsberg said. “It’s a big game coming up on Saturday and that’s what we’re going to focus on right now.”
Notes:
Attendance inside Bridgestone Arena for Game Four was 17,423, a hockey record for the building.
Filip Forsberg has scored in four consecutive playoff games, a Nashville franchise record. Forsberg is now tied with Joel Ward for most goals in a single Nashville postseason with seven.
Game Five between the Preds and the Ducks will take place on Saturday evening from Anaheim, a 6:15 p.m. CT start. The series will then come back to Nashville for Game Six on Monday night at 7 p.m. CT.
Pete Weber’s Postgame Report
Along with accounting for one of the three home runs Julio Teheran surrendered to players who hadn’t previously homered this season, Marcus Stroman easily handled a Freddie Freeman-less Braves lineup while helping the Blue Jays cruise to Thursday night’s 9-0 win over the Braves at SunTrust Park.
After losing each of the first three games of this home-and-home Interleague series, the Blue Jays left no doubt in this finale as they tallied three runs in three of the first four innings. Stroman completed 5 2/3 scoreless innings and contributed to the early offensive onslaught as he drilled his first career home run in the fourth inning. The opposite-field shot traveled a projected 370 feet with a 99-mph exit velocity, per Statcast™.
“I think it was a good win for us,” Stroman said. “I think it was a good momentum win for us, especially heading into Baltimore over the weekend. Baltimore is always going to swing it and be competitive and it’s the AL East. I think this is a great game to get everybody hot and feeling the right way and take this momentum into Baltimore.”
Recently promoted Darrell Ceciliani highlighted his three-RBI night with a two-run home run in the third inning that traveled a projected 424 feet into the right-field seats. Ceciliani injured his left shoulder on the swing and exited the game after homering off Teheran, who surrendered a career-high nine earned runs and eight hits over three-plus innings.
Darrell Ceciliani drives a liner over the right-center-field wall for a two-run home run, but appears to injure himself on the swing
Playing their first game without Freeman, who fractured his left wrist on Wednesday and will be out for 10 weeks, the Braves never recovered from the early onslaught endured by Teheran, who exited shortly after allowing backup catcher Luke Maile and Stroman to open the fourth inning with back-to-back home runs. The home runs surrendered to Maile and Ceciliani came against changeups.
Teheran has allowed opponents to hit .337 and compile a .425 on-base percentage as he’s produced a 10.50 ERA in five home starts (24 innings). Opponents have hit .195 and compiled a .273 OBP as the Braves’ hurler has posted a 0.71 ERA in four road starts (25 1/3 innings).
“I don’t feel something [different] when I’m pitching, but we’re seeing the results and it’s not what I want, especially compared to what I’ve done on the road,” Teheran said. “We’re still looking at what’s going on and hopefully it gets better, because it’s our stadium and that’s where I want to feel more comfortable.”
After Jose Bautista’s bat flip on a home run in a five-run game led the benches to clear on Wednesday night, Teheran attempted to send a message when he hit Bautista in the left thigh with a 95.6-mph heater in the first inning. The Blue Jays’ outfielder simply took first base and then watched his teammates record three straight hits. Ceciliani and Chris Coghlan highlighted the three-run first inning with consecutive doubles.
“The one thing about Jose — I’ve seen it and I’ve never seen anybody like it — when he gets drilled or they throw behind him or something, he always comes back to burn somebody,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Tyler Flowers opened the bottom of the second with an opposite-field double that skipped over the first-base bag. But instead of cutting into their three-run deficit, the Braves left Flowers stranded at third base. Jace Peterson and Rio Ruiz sandwiched groundouts around a Dansby Swanson strikeout.
“It was going to be tough to get [Stroman] tonight after we got down,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It didn’t look like he was going anywhere anytime soon. It was just rough.”
R.A. Dickey will take the mound when Atlanta welcomes first-place Washington to SunTrust Park on Friday for the opener of a three-game series at 6:35 p.m. CT. Dickey has allowed seven home runs in 25 innings at home and two homers in 17 2/3 innings on the road.
The Nashville Sounds red-hot offense flipped it into high gear Thursday night with a 13-3 win over the Fresno Grizzlies at Chukchansi Park.
The runs came in waves for the top home run hitting team in Minor League Baseball. Matt Chapman hit a solo homer, and Franklin Barreto clubbed a three-run blast as part of a four-run top of the third inning.
It continued in the fourth when Joey Wendle started the inning with a triple down the right field line. Wendle’s knock would be one of four extra-base hits in the frame. Matt McBride doubled, Barreto drove in two more runs with another double, and Matt Olson finished the scoring with the third double of the inning to give Nashville (18-19) a 9-1 lead.
The outburst was more than enough for starter Daniel Mengden who was making his third MLB rehab start. The right-hander allowed a solo homer to Max Stassi in the third, but that was it. He worked six innings and allowed one run on four hits. Mengden did not issue any walks and recorded seven strikeouts in the win.
While Mengden was shutting down the Grizzlies, the Sounds’ offense kept churning. Ryan LaMarre started the sixth with an infield single. After the next two batters were retired, the Sounds collected three consecutive hits to drive up the score to 12-1. Olson singled, Renato Nuñez drove in a pair with a double, and Wendle knocked in Nuñez with a double of his own.
Nashville finished the game with nine extra-base hits, including three home runs to give the team 51 on the season. 33 of the home runs have come in the month of May – the most in all of baseball.
Nuñez put an exclamation point on the victory with a booming home run out of Chukchansi Park to start the eighth inning. It was his team-leading 10th homer of the season and he was one of eight Sounds hitters to record a multi-hit game.
Barreto went 3-for-6 and matched a career-high with 5 RBI. Chapman went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, and LaMarre scored three times.
John Axford threw a scoreless seventh inning for Nashville as his MLB rehab assignment continued. It took the veteran right-hander five pitches to record three outs.
The Sounds begin a four-game series with the Sacramento River Cats Friday night. Right-hander Paul Blackburn (1-4, 4.00) starts for Nashville against left-hander Michael Roth (2-3, 4.54) for Sacramento. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. CST.
Kaylee Skipper of CHS Softball(file photo)
Coffee County faced off against Lawrence County in the Region 4AAA finals in Lawrenceburg on Wednesday night in the 5th meeting of the year between these 2 teams and the 4th meeting in 16 days. In the first meeting of the year on March 16th, it was a solo home run that lifted Coffee County to a 1 to 0 win. On Wednesday night, it was a solo home run by Lawrence County’s Georgia Land that lifted the Lady Cats to a 1 to 0 win over Coffee County.
Lawrence County got the solo home run with 2 out in the bottom of the first inning and made it stick. Each team was held to 4 hits in the pitcher’s duel. Coffee County got runners in scoring position in the 3rd, 4th and 7th innings but could not get the hit that mattered.
The Lady Raiders got a double from Tori Bell and singles from Katie Rutledge, Haley Richardson and Kaylee Skipper. Skipper took the loss in the circle striking out 4. Skipper was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.
The loss drops the Lady Raiders to 23-16-1. Coffee County will now travel to Soddy Daisy on Friday for a sectional game at Clifford Kirk Field. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action. Start time will be announced on Thursday.
Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/
Aerial Williams signs her National Letter of Intent with Martin Methodist on Wednesday surrounded by family and coaches. Front Row(left to right) – Patrick Williams, father; Erica Miller, mother; Aerial Williams; Alliyah Williams, sister. Back Row(left to right) Andrew Taylor, CHS head volleyball coach; Alison Williams, Martin Methodist head volleyball coach; Jon Spears, CHS assistant volleyball coach; Ryan Sulkowski, CHS athletic director [Photo by Demarco Moore, Manchester Times]
Williams, a middle hitter in high school, is expected to play in the middle at the college level. When asked why she chose Martin, Williams said she liked the campus and the coach. Williams expects to major in biology. Williams graduates as the all-time career leader in kills and blocks for Lady Raider volleyball. Williams was honored as an All-District selection in volleyball and basketball this year.
Aerial’s high school coach was Andrew Taylor who had nothing but praise for Aerial as a player and as a person. Taylor had this to say about Williams: “Aerial is a classic example of lead by example player. She has always let her play speak for itself. Aerial is a high character young lady and a great leader. We knew every time we took the court she was going to be a force in the middle both offensively and defensively. With her athleticism and length, she has the potential to have a great college career.”
Martin Methodist is located in Pulaski, Tennessee and competes in the Southern States Athletic Conference as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics(NAIA). Martin Methodist is coached by Alison Williams.
Kurt Suzuki capped a six-run first inning with a three-run home run and added a double during a two-run sixth that provided the Braves some comfort as they backed Mike Foltynewicz’s effective start during Wednesday night’s 8-4 win over the Blue Jays at SunTrust Park.
On their way to winning their third straight game against the previously streaking Blue Jays, the Braves tallied six runs before Toronto’s starter Joe Biagini recorded his first out. Nick Markakis aided the early barrage with a two-run single that was immediately followed by Suzuki’s second homer of the season. Per Statcast™, the shot into the left-center-field seats traveled a projected 414 feet and had an exit velocity of 103.4 mph.
After spotting the Braves a six-run lead, Biagini retired each of the final 12 batters he faced. But the early barrage was more than enough for Foltynewicz, who allowed three runs and six hits over six innings. Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning on a 99.2 mph fastball — matching the highest velocity registered on a pitch hit for a home run this year.
Smoak’s two-run homerJustin Smoak pulls a pair of runs back for the Blue Jays in the 4th inning with a towering two-run home run, his ninth of the year
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman exited in the fifth inning after getting hit near the bottom of his left hand with a pitch. Tempers flared near the end of the game as the benches and bullpens cleared in both the seventh and eighth innings. The second instance occurred after the Braves objected to Jose Bautista’s reaction to a solo homer off Eric O’Flaherty.
Fresno designated hitter A.J. Reed hit a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Grizzlies a stunning come-from-behind win over the Nashville Sounds at Chukchansi Park Wednesday afternoon.
Reed’s game-winning blast came just moments after Nashville’s Chris Parmelee looked like he was the game’s hero. With the game even at 4-4 in the top of the ninth, Parmelee launched a two-out solo homer to give the Sounds a 5-4 lead.
Sounds reliever Simon Castro – who allowed a game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth – went back to the mound for the ninth and issued a lead off walk to Preston Tucker. The free pass came back to haunt Castro as Reed launched a 2-1 pitch from the right-hander out to deep right field to give Fresno its first win of the four-game set.
The two teams combined for five home runs in the afternoon affair. Ryan Lavarnway’s two-run homer in the top of the second started the scoring and gave Nashville a 2-0 lead.
Starter Daniel Gossett worked through four innings with little problems before finding trouble in the fifth. A walk and two-out double by Derek Fisher plated the first Fresno run to trim the lead to 2-1.
Matt Chapman gave the Sounds a little breathing room in the top of the sixth when he drilled another home run – a solo blast to left field to extend the lead to 3-1.
The first four batters reached against Gossett in the bottom half of the inning. Colin Moran’s RBI double trimmed Fresno’s deficit to 3-2 before Raul Alcantara relieved Gossett.
Alcantara limited the damage to just two runs but the harm was done. The Sounds went up 4-3 in the eighth, and 5-4 in the ninth, only to see the bullpen falter both times.
Nashville hit three more home runs on the day to move their month of May total to a professional baseball-best 30.
The series finale is scheduled for Thursday night at Chukchansi Park. Right-hander Daniel Mengden (0-1, 4.91) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Trent Thornton (1-1, 2.60) for the Grizzlies. First pitch is slated for 9:05 CST.
Tryouts for the Coffee County CHS Baseball Team have been announced. Rising sophmores thru seniors will tryout on May 26 from 11AM to 1 PM at Powers Field. Incoming freshmen, will tryout on May 26th from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM. All players trying out will need to bring with them a CURRENT TSSAA Physical form. For more information, contact David Martin at: martindavid@k12coffee.net
Coach Martin will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.
The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider soccer team annouces tryouts for the 2017 season. The tryouts will be held on May 30th thru June 1st on the CCMS soccer field from 4:30 to 6:00.
Girls who are interested in trying out, who will be enrolled at CCMS in the fall, are encouraged to come out. All girls trying out will need to bring with them a CURRENT TSSAA Physical form. That form can be found and printed out at the CCMS Girls’ Soccer website at: http://ccms.coffeecountyschools.com/?PageName=%27SportPage%27&SportID=%2711085%27
If you need more information, contact Coach Travis O’Kelly at: okelleyt@k12coffee.net