The Coffee County Middle School softball closed out the regular season on Wednesday when they played host to Tullahoma. The Lady Raiders, coming off a rain shortened 7 to 2 win over Tullahoma on April 17th, were looking for the season sweep over their west Coffee neighbors. Coffee County plated 9 runs in the first inning to set the stage for the 11 to 5 win.
After Coffee County pitcher Macie Campbell set down Tullahoma in order to start the game, The Lady Raiders sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning. In the frame, Coffee County had 6 hits and were helped by a Tullahoma error and 3 walks. Kerri Munn had a single and a double and 3 RBI in the first inning alone. Alyssa McClanahan had a 2 RBI single while Justus Turner had a double, a walk and scored twice……all in the first inning. Amber Ingelburger finished the game with 3 hits and 2 runs scored. Katie Crosslin added 2 hits and 2 runs scored.
The Lady Raiders will open up play in the CTC tournament on Friday night at 8 PM against South Franklin. That game will be played at Warren County High School.
The Coffee County Central High School track team welcomed nearly 240 runners to the track on Tuesday for a home meet. Teams from Cookeville, Notre Dame, Cascade, Upperman and Warren County were in attendance at Carden-Jarrell Field for the mid-week event. Missing several athletes due to injury and other commitments, the Lady Raiders and Red Raiders were each able to score 2nd place finishes behind Cookeville.
In the relay races, the Red Raiders finished 3rd in the 4×100 and 3rd in the 4×800. Individual point winners for the Red Raiders were:
James Lynn – 1st – 3200M; 5th – 800M;
Dillon Helms – 2nd – 110M Hurdles; 2nd – 300M Hurdles; 3rd – High Jump; 5th – Triple Jump;
Andrew Godwin – 2nd – 3200M; 3rd – 800M;
Bradley Kishpaugh – 2nd – 1600M;
Isaiah Rader – 3rd – 300M Hurdles; 3rd – – 110M Hurdles;
Jacob Melton 4th – 300M Hurdles;
Neil Slone – 4th – 3200M;
Johnny Dulin – 3rd – Triple Jump; 3rd – 400M; 4th – Long Jump;
Darius Rozier – 3rd – Long Jump;
Gage DeMarree – 4th – 400M;
Rueben Chatput – 6th – 400M;
Keishaun Creel – 7th – 100M;
Jasiyah Knox – 8th – 100M;
Pryce Hutchings – 8th – Discus;
Makenzie Anderson of CHS Track
In the relay races, the Lady Raiders finished 1st in the 4x800M, 3rd in the 4×200 and 4th in the 4×100. Individual point winners for the Lady Raiders were:
Makenzie Anderson – 1st – Long Jump; 1st – 100M Hurdles; 2nd 300M Hurdles;
Makenzie Webb – 1st – 3200M; 2nd – 1600M; 6th – High Jump;
Chloe Haggard – 1st – 300M Hurdles; 4th – High Jump;
Keisheal Norton – 1st – Shot Put;
Sarah Pearson – 2nd – Shot Put; 3rd – Discus;
Faith Floyd – 2nd – Discus; 6th – Shot Put;
Ellie Graham – 2nd – 200M; 3rd – Triple Jump;
Carina Majia – 4th – 3200M; 7th – 1600M;
Karle Wooten – 5th – 400M;
Keyleigh Alford – 5th – Long Jump; 6th – 100M;
Emily St. John – 5th – 400M;
Trava Brown – 6th – 1600M;
Laura Bogard – 6th – High Jump;
Coffee County will be back at Carden-Jarrell Field for a home meet on May 2. The meet will be an important one as it will honor former head coaches and pay tribute to Phil Bonham’s contributions to the program. Tickets will be $3 at the gate, and the special events will begin around 8:00 pm after the conclusion of the meet against Shelbyville. Nathan Wanuch will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the meet.
The Coffee County Middle School baseball team welcomed Tullahoma to the CCMS campus on Wednesday for the second game in their season series. After fighting to a 4 to 0 win in extra innings on Tuesday, Coffee County saw Tullahoma rally for 4 runs in the last 2 innings to spoil 8th Grade Night with a 4 to 3 win.
Coffee Middle got off to a fast start using a trio of walks and a pair of singles to score 3 runs in the 1st inning. Tullahoma clawed their way back into the game with single runs in the 3rd and 5th innings to make it a 1 run game entering the 6th inning. In the 6th, Tullahoma used a walk and 3 singles to take the 4 to 3 lead. After the big 1st inning, the Raider bats could not muster the timely hit stranding 6 runners the rest of the game, including a pair of runners in the 7th inning.
Braxton White had a single and 2 RBI and Braden Brown had a single and 1 RBI to lead the Raiders in hitting. The Raiders finished the game with 3 hits on the night, with a single from Lane Spry in the 6th inning being the lone base knock after the 1st inning.
The Red Raiders now await the final conference games to be played to determine the seeding in next week’s CTC tournament. Coffee County will begin tournament play on either Wednesday or Thursday in McMinnville. Thunder Radio will keep you updated on game times and pairings.
The Coffee County Middle School soccer team fell in the semifinals of the CTC conference tournament on Wednesday afternoon in Shelbyville. The Red Raiders drew the tough task of trying to knock off perennial power Harris on their home pitch. Building on their continued improvements over the last few weeks was not enough as the Raiders fell 8 to 0.
A much quicker Harris team was able to score in the 16th, 24th and 27th minutes to take a 3 to 0 lead into the halftime intermission. A pair of goals early in the second half put the game out of reach as Coach Kenny Lockhart made several substitutions. Harris tacked on 3 goals against the reserves to advance to Saturday’s finals against Warren County.
P.K. Subban recorded three points and Fiddler tallied the game-winner with just over five minutes left in regulation, and the Nashville Predators defeated the St. Louis Blues in Game One by a 4-3 final on Wednesday night at Scottrade Center. The win gives the Predators a 1-0 series lead in Round Two and a perfect 5-0 record in these playoffs.
The first postseason meeting between the Predators and the Blues had a little bit of everything, and after St. Louis mounted a third-period comeback, it was a 36-year-old veteran who put Nashville on top.
“They had a little push there, and we got to 3-2 and then 3-3, the building is rocking and you have to give our guys credit,” Fiddler said. “We just regrouped and went back at them and found a way to get the win.”
Nashville got the all-important first goal, and it came from none other than Colin Wilson, making his postseason debut after missing Round One due to injury. It was Subban’s shot from the left circle that Wilson got a piece of for a power-play marker to give the Preds a 1-0 lead after one.
The second period began with a tough loss, however, as Predators forward Kevin Fiala went hard into the endboards trying to drive to the net. Nashville trainers and doctors attended to Fiala, who was eventually stretchered off the ice and taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. Fiala was alert and in stable condition upon leaving the ice, and Head Coach Peter Laviolette had no further update to provide following the game.
“You couldn’t have thought or planned for an incident like that with Kevin, and yet our guys, you could hear them on the bench when it happened, making sure that their next shift was going to be a good one for Kevin,” Laviolette said. “It was just one of those unfortunate incidents that happened in the game, and I liked the response from our guys, not only there, but once they tied it up. I thought it was just a gutsy effort from that point to get back to work in the offensive zone, and a huge goal by Vern to get us back on top.”
Once play resumed after Fiala’s injury, Subban got a goal of his own when he hammered a shot home past Jake Allen for a 2-0 lead. After Colton Parayko beat Pekka Rinne a few minutes later, it was another Nashville power play that converted again. Once more, a shot from Subban found its way through to the net, and after rebounding off of Allen, deflected in off the skate of Filip Forsberg to give the Preds a two-goal lead after 40 minutes.
As the third period began, the Blues kept pushing, and it led to goals from Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko to eventually tie the game at 3-3. But with 5:05 remaining in regulation, and with one hand on his stick, Fiddler chipped a loose puck under Allen and into the cage to give the Predators a 4-3 lead and a 1-0 series lead in the Second Round for the first time in club history.
“He’s a veteran guy, so he’s been in these situations before,” Subban said of Fiddler. “He stepped up and got us a big goal. But for us, that was the toughest game of the season for us. They fought so hard and they had so many chances, but we found a way to get it done.”
“It’s the playoffs and you have to take it game by game,” Fiddler said. “There’s lots of series left… We won the first game, and that means they’re going to come at us even harder next game.”
P.K. Subban just kept teeing them up.
The defenseman recorded three points on the night, including his first postseason goal as a member of the Preds, leading Nashville to a 1-0 series lead to start off against the Blues.
All three of Nashville’s goals came courtesy of shots from Subban, with Colin Wilson and Filip Forsberg finishing things off via deflections. Subban’s three points in Game One tied a career high for points in a single playoff contest, and his bomb of a shot proved lethal all night long.
“I try to live up to what I’m paid to do,” Subban said. “I just try to step up and lead by example on the ice and just try to do my job. Today, I got lucky a couple of times. The puck went in for me, but it’s only Game One.”
What Subban did in Game One is exactly what the Preds knew he was capable of, especially at this time of the year. And for a player who relishes the spotlight like Subban, he took hold of it at the perfect time.
“He was strong tonight,” Laviolette said of Subban. “Defensively, he was a horse, but offensively… he was able to punch his number a couple of times and made some terrific plays… just a real steady game”
“Huge game by him,” Rinne said. “He can be a game changer, and tonight, we all saw that. He’s been really good in the playoffs in general, and he was a difference maker tonight.”
Colin Wilson finished with a goal, four shots and 15:06 in his first game of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Vernon Fiddler’s goal was his fifth career postseason tally, and his first game-winner. It was Fiddler’s second playoff goal with Nashville, the first coming on April 20, 2007, against San Jose.
Game Two between the Predators and Blues will take place on Friday night (at 7 p.m. CT) at Scottrade Center before the series shifts to Nashville for Games Three and Four, beginning with an afternoon tilt on Sunday (2 p.m. CT).
The Braves carried a six-game losing streak into Citi Field on Wednesday, while the Mets came into the night having lost four straight. Both streaks could not remain intact.
In the end, Julio Teheran’s years-long mastery of the Mets trumped any more recent trends. The Braves starter held New York to two runs in 6 1/3 innings of an 8-2 victory, snapping Atlanta’s funk while sending the Mets to their fifth straight defeat.
All the offense Teheran needed came in the first inning, when the Braves jumped on Mets starter Robert Gsellman for five of the six runs against him, pouncing on a sinker that dipped to a season-low 89 mph. By the fifth, Gsellman was out of the game, still winless after four starts.
“We’ve kind of been waiting for that [offense],” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It was just nice to score some runs. It’s in us. We just haven’t quite hit our stride yet.”
April was far kinder to Teheran, who moved to 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA against the Mets since the start of 2013. Over that same stretch, the right-hander is 41-40 with a 3.51 mark versus all other teams. At Citi Field, Teheran has submitted his best recent work, allowing two runs over his last 29 innings. He improved to 4-0 with a 0.72 ERA in his last seven starts overall against New York.
“Whenever you have a lineup you do well against and you see them coming up on the schedule, you’re happy,” Teheran said. “Now I face them again next week at home.”
The Braves finished with 16 hits, while catcher Tyler Flowers matched his career high with four RBIs.
That Teheran stepped to the plate for an at-bat before throwing a pitch speaks to how the game went for both teams. Taking advantage of some early Gsellman wildness, the Braves walked twice, rapped out four hits and scored five times in the first inning. Flowers struck the biggest blow with his three-run double, moments after Gsellman committed a throwing error to load the bases with one out.
“It seems like a lot of times we haven’t been able to come up with that big hit,” Flowers said.
Teheran’s spell over the Mets seemed to weaken in the fourth inning, when a leadoff walk and two singles loaded the bases with no outs. But Neil Walker’s sacrifice fly was all the Mets could muster from that rally; Curtis Granderson popped out and Travis d’Arnaud flied out to end the Mets’ best threat.
“We’ve seen when we’ve gotten him on the ropes, he’s been able to wiggle out of jams, and then nights like tonight when he’s got a big lead early in the game, he knows how to get outs in situations,” Walker said of Teheran. “We have plenty more opportunities against him this year and hopefully we’ll do a better job next time.”
Braves second baseman Brandon Phillips exited in the second inning with a left groin strain, suffered on an unsuccessful stolen base attempt in the first. The team listed him as day to day, and Snitker said he may be available to pinch-hit in Thursday’s series finale.
Right-hander R.A. Dickey (1-2, 3.86 ERA) starts Thursday’s series finale for the Braves, making his first start at Citi Field since the December 2012 trade that sent him from the Mets to the Blue Jays. Noah Syndergaard (1-1, 1.73 ERA), acquired in that trade, will be on the mound for the Mets, with first pitch set for 12:10 p.m. CT.
2017 CHS Seniors(left to right) Noah Anderson, Jacob Duncan, Garrett Eldridge, Davis Green, Grant Sadler and Cade Giles. [Photo by Demarco Moore – Manchester Times]
Trailing by 3 runs entering the bottom of the 7th inning, the Coffee County Red Raiders found a way to tie the game, scoring 2 runs with 2 outs. In the 9th inning, Coffee County loaded the bases and Noah Anderson lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Jacob Duncan with the winning run as Coffee County defeated Tullahoma on Tuesday night 4 to 3.
The Raiders welcomed Tullahoma to Powers Field on Tuesday night for Senior Night. Red Raider seniors Noah Anderson, Jacob Duncan, Garrett Eldridge, Cade Giles, Davis Green and Grant Sadler were honored before the game. But after 3 innings, it appeared that Tullahoma was gonna do all the celebrating.
The Wildcats started strong as they jumped on Coffee County starter Davis Green in the second inning for 2 unearned runs. After allowing another unearned run in the 3rd, the Raider defense got behind Green as they held Tullahoma to 1 hit in the next 4 innings. Entering the 7th inning, Coffee County had been held to a pair of singles by Garrett Eldridge. Eldridge drew a walk with 1 out and moved to third on Hayden Skipper’s double. After an RBI groundout from Duncan, Davis Green beat out an RBI infield single before his courtesy runner A.J Rollman was driven in by an RBI double from Jacob Langham.
Skipper came on to pitch in the 8th and retired Tullahoma in order in the 8th and 9th inning setting the stage for a dramatic win for Coffee County. Duncan and Rollman led off the 9th with singles before Duncan stole 3rd on a heads up base running play. Tullahoma chose to walk Langham to bring Anderson to the plate with the winning run 90 feet away. Anderson lifted a fly ball to right field on the 2nd pitch of the at bat to score Duncan and send the Raider faithful into a frenzy. For their contributions throughout the game and the season, the 6 seniors were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.
The Raiders travel to Tullahoma on Wednesday night for game #2 in this rivalry series. First pitch is set for 6 PM at Grider Stadium. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action beginning with the pregame show at 5:50. Listeners will need to tune in to the broadcast on their Thunder Radio app for their smart phone.
The CHS soccer team welcomed Ooltewah to the Raider Soccer Field for a non-district friendly on Tuesday night. The Raiders, looking for their 6th straight win, got off to a fast start with 3 first half goals to capture a 3 to 0 win.
The Raiders got on the board first when Chase Harper corralled a rebound and popped it in the goal in the 8th minute. Breyer Taylor’s shot had hit the crossbar and deflected back at the feet of Harper. Harper fired another shot which hit the post and deflected out to Miquel Mendoza in the 12th minute. Mendoza put away the rebound to put Coffee County on on top 2 nil. Briggs Haitcock followed that up with an unassisted goal in the 19th minute as he bounced a shot over the keeper to give the Raiders a 3 to nothing lead at the intermission. In the 2nd half, keeper Mason Boals turned away any Ooltewah advance that got past the tenacious Raider defense to preserve the shutout.
After the game, Coffee County learned that with Shelbyville’s win over Tullahoma on Tuesday, the Red Raiders clinched the regular season district title. Coffee County will host all their district tournament games by virtue of earning the top seed. The Raiders return home on Thursday to tangle with Tullahoma for the Coffee Cup Trophy. That rivalry match gets underway at 7:30 PM at Raider Soccer Field.
Tori Bell of CHS softball (Photo by John St. Clair, stclair-sports.com)
Trying to shake off the disappointment of a loss to Cascade on Thursday, and a pair of rainouts since then, the Coffee County CHS softball team traveled to Columbia on Tuesday for a district doubleheader. The Lady Raiders had little trouble quieting the Lady Lions as they swept the doubleheader. Coffee County won the first game 9 to 0 before completing the sweep with a 12 to 1 decision in the nightcap.
In game #1, Kaylee Skipper tossed a complete game no-hitter as Coffee County hammered out 15 hits in the 9 to 0 win. Katie Rutledge had 4 hits including a triple and 2 doubles while driving in 4 runs. Tori Bell had a double and a home run as she finished with 2 RBI and Raven Rogers was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
In the 2nd game, the Lady Raiders roared out to a 10 to 0 lead before Columbia got their first hit in the 4th inning. Bell again swung the hot bat as she had a double, a single and 2 RBI. Rogers was 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI and Ashlynn Morton had 2 singles and an RBI.
Coffee County is back at home on Thursday as they open up play in the Coffee County Classic against Cascade. Thursday night will also be Senior Night. First pitch is set for 6 PM, Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast beginning at 5:50.
The Coffee County Middle School baseball opened up the final regular season series of the year on Tuesday in Tullahoma. The Red Raiders squared off against their rivals from Tullahoma at Waggoner Park. In a game that saw no runs scored in the first 7 innings, Coffee Middle exploded for 4 runs in the 8th inning to grab a 4 to 0 rivalry win.
Coffee County had been held to 3 hits in the game entering the top of the 8th inning with the top of the order coming to bat. Kyle Farless led off with a hit and came around to score the first of 4 Raider runs as Tullahoma committed 3 errors and walked a pair of Coffee County batters. Braden Brown retired Tullahoma on 5 pitches in the bottom of the 8th to get the 8 inning, complete game shutout. Farless, Griffin Meeker, Lane Spry and Todd Watkins had the hits for Coffee Middle.
The Red Raiders will conclude their season series, and the regular season, on Wednesday night at home. Coffee County will play host to Tullahoma on 8th Grade Night. First pitch is set for 5 PM.
