Category: Sports

The opening day crowd for spring sports at the Coffee County Middle School on Monday. Soccer fans(foreground) take in the soccer match while the baseball field(back left) and softball field(back right) prepare to get their games underway.

Monday was a landmark day for athletics at Coffee County Middle School.  The new school has seen its share of firsts this school year, but at 5:00 PM on Monday, the baseball, softball and soccer teams all played host to Harris Middle School teams in conference play.  The 3 fields, all in close proximity, saw their first action of the season before a packed house.

CCMS catcher Andrew Mahaffey breaks for 2nd base during Monday’s baseball game with Harris

The CCMS soccer team hosted the preseason conference favorite Eagles of Harris Middle School.  The experienced Eagles kept the play in the Raiders defensive zone all night long notching a 12 to 1 win.  Anakin Dilleha scored the lone goal for Coffee Middle. The soccer team will play host to North Franklin on Thursday night.  That match will kickoff at 5:30 PM.

The baseball team scored 2 runs in the 6^th on a single by Colton Kerber to break open a tie game and win 6 to 4.  Kerber finished the night with 2 hits.  Harley Hinshaw got the start for Coffee County going 5 and two-thirds innings and striking out 9.  Scotty Duke came on in the 6^th inning to get the win as he struck out 2 in an inning and a third.  The baseball team travels to Shelbyville for a game with Harris on Tuesday night for a 5:00 PM game.

CCMS pitcher Haley Richardson(foreground) winds up to throw a pitch against Harris on Monday as first baseman Keelie Hillis gets ready on defense(background.

Haley Richardson pitched a no-hitter with 5 strikeouts to gain a 7 to 0 win for the Lady Raider softball team over Harris.  Shannah Frame had a double and a single for the Lady Raiders while Jayden Scheller was 2 for 2 on the night.   The softball team will be back in action on Tuesday night as they travel to Shelbyville for a game with Harris for a 5:00 PM game.

Keaton Mai(in white) works the ball agaisnt the Tullahoma defense during last week’s Westwood soccer game with the Wildcats.

The Westwood soccer team traveled to Tullahoma on Monday for a rematch with the Wildcats.   Leo Botello headed in a corner kick off the foot of Juan Penaloza in the final minute to give the Rockets a 2 to 1 win.  Keaton Mai scored a first half goal off an assist from Leo Botello to give the Rockets a halftime lead.   Tullahoma scratched back to level the match in the second half setting up the dramatic finish.  The JV Rockets blanked Tullahoma 2 to 0 on a pair of goals from Samuel Workman.  The Rockets will host Cascade on Tuesday for their first conference match of the season.  The match will kickoff at 5:00 PM at Dyer-Bouldin Field

The Westwood Lady Rocket softball team took on conference favorite Cascade on Monday in Wartrace.  The Lady Rocket bats were silenced as they fell 15 to 0 managing only 1 hit.  Sarah West had the lone hit for Westwood in the game.  The Lady Rockets will travel to Huntland on Tuesday for a game with the Lady Hornets.  First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

The Westwood Rockets baseball team dropped their home opener on Monday to Moore County 14 to 0.  Westwood was able to bang out a few hits against the visiting Raiders, but could not string together any offensive momentum.  Coach Tyrell Campbell praised the defensive work of catcher Nick Smith and 2^nd baseman Brett Jones.  The Rockets will be at home on Tuesday as they play host to Cascade.  First pitch will be at 5:00 PM at Looney Riddle Field at Fred Deadman Park.

CHS tennis player Maddie Taylor(left) returns a serve against Columbia on Monday as her doubles partner, Carlee Reed(right) looks on.

The Red Raider tennis welcomed Columbia to Fred Deadman Park on Monday afternoon.  The girls continued their hot play with a 7 to 0 win over the Lions.  Carlee Reed got a singles win in a tiebreaker at the #1 position to give the Lady Raiders momentum that they never lost.  Alex Crossland, Maddie Taylor, Savannah Hodge and Kayla Wright all got wins for Coffee County.  The wining doubles teams for Coffee County were Reed/Taylor and Hodge/Crossland.   The boys did not fare so well as they were swept by the Lions.  The tennis team is back in action on Thursday as they travel to Shelbyville.  The first match starts at 3:30 PM.

The scoreboard tells the story of a great game on Monday night… Photo by Barry West

In a matchup that the Coffee County Lady Raiders knew would be a tough battle turned out to be as promised. The Lady Raiders hosted the Lady Tigers from Whitwell in a great pitcher’s duel. Coffee County managed 3 hits and Whitwell got only 1 hit off Brianna Jones.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 6th when the Lady Raiders pushed across the only 2 runs of the night. With one out Rhianna Roberson pinch hitting for Haley Hinshaw singled to right. Later Hinshaw running for Roberson scored on error by the Whitwell 1st baseman. Jones reached first on the error and Brittany Williams who walked moved to 3rd. Claire Spellings running for Jones at first purposely tried to draw a throw from the catcher as she slowly moved toward second. The throw came and Williams broke for home and scored to make it 2-0 Lady Raiders.
In the 7th Jones shut down Whitwell to help Coffee County improve to 3-0 on the season. Jones had 15 strikeouts to give her 50 through only 3 games.
Roberson who got things started for the Lady Raiders with a hit in the 6th was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game.
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Coffee County travels to Shelbyville for 7pm first pitch on Tuesday night.

The Red Raider cheerleading program is looking for cheerleaders for the 2015-16 school year!  Tryouts will be held the week of March 30 through April 2 in the CHS gym.  You do not need to bring your own material and no prior cheer experience is required. We are also looking for good candidates for our school mascot program. This is for students that will be in grades 9-12 next year. If you are interested in trying out, please see Christy Clouse or Megan Klingler at Raider Academy or email at clousec@k12coffee.net or klinglerm@k12coffee.net .

Zach Duncan delivers a pitch in the rain on Saturday

Gavin Husted fields a grounder at first base in action on Saturday

Fighting sloppy field conditions, the CHS JV Baseball team dropped a 5 to 2, four inning contest with Blackman on Saturday at Powers Field. Zachary Duncan got the start on the bump for the Red Raiders and threw 3 innings allowing 2 earned runs. Cade Giles and Jacob Langham had the only 2 hits for Coffee County. The contest was the season opener for the JV Raiders. The JV Raiders travel to Shelbyville on Monday for a 5:00 PM contest. The varsity baseball team will open their season at home on Tuesday night with a 6:00 PM contest. That game will be broadcast on Thunder Radio. The pregame show will begin at 5:50 PM with Lucky Knott on the call.

The early season offensive struggles for the Coffee County CHS soccer team came to a resounding end on Saturday morning as the Red Raiders blanked Soddy Daisy 5 to 0 in the Cleveland Classic being played at Chattanooga Christian.  Ernesto Gomez banged home an unassisted goal in the 15th minute to open up the onslaught.  That goal was followed by a goal from Breyer Taylor in the 17th minute off an assist from Abelene Barrera.  Paco Barrera and Sam Brown added first half goals to give the Red Raiders a 4 – 0 halftime as Gomez and Taylor respectively were credited with assists.  John Parriger added a second half goal on a beautiful header off of a feed from Taylor to close out the scoring for Coffee County. The Raiders will travel to Murfreesboro on Tuesday to take on Blackman in a 7 PM non district contest.

The CHS soccer team opened play in the Cleveland Classic on Friday afternoon as they took on Chattanooga Christian in Chattanooga.  The Raiders saw Ernesto Gomez drill a shot past the Chattanooga Christian keeper in the 2nd minute only to have the line judge wave the goal off on an off side call.  That disallowed goal was the offensive highlight of the night for the Red and Black as Coffee County fell by a final score of 5 to 0.  The Chargers of Chattanooga Christian used a solid defensive game plan to control the time of possession.  The Chargers got goals in the 3rd, 27th, 30th and 36th minutes to take a 4 goal lead into the half.  The Chargers notched their last goal in the 73rd minute to drop Coffee County to 0 and 2 on the season.  The Raiders will attempt to bounce back on Saturday morning as they take on Soddy-Daisy in an 8:30 AM(EDT) contest at Chattanooga Christian.  The Raiders will travel to Murfreesboro on Tuesday to take on Blackman in a 7 PM contest.

The Lady Raiders softball team hosted their second straight District 8-AAA opponent on Thursday night as Lawrence County came to Manchester. Coffee County got another great pitching performance from Brianna Jones as she allowed 3 hits and struck out 16 batters on her way to a 3-2 win. The Lady Raiders jumped to 2-0 lead after the 1st inning and that advantage held up until the 4th when the Lady Cats got 2 runs off 2 errors. In the bottom of the 6th Lady Raider Tori Bell led off the inning with a double and scored after a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Barnes and a fielder’s choice bunt of the bat of Shelby Giles. Lawrence put the pressure on Coffee County by loading the bases in the 7th with no outs but the defense and Jones’ pitching kept the Lady Cats from scoring.

Kaylee Skipper with 2 hits and an RBI was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game. Giles added 2 hits and an RBI.

Lady Raider Shelby Giles slides in safe at 2nd base during Thursday night’s game. Photo by Barry West

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Coffee County will host Whitwell on Monday night at 7pm and you can hear the live on Thunder Radio.

Other area scores

CHS Tennis lost to Warren Co – 8 to 1(Girls) and 9 to 0(Boys)

WMS Softball defeated Riverside Christian – 21 to 11

WMS Baseball lost to Forrest – 12 to 2

CCMS Soccer defeated South Franklin – 6 to 4

CCMS Softball defeated North Franklin 6-3

CHS Soccer lost to LaVergne – 5 to 1

CHS soccer coach Robert Harper

The Red Raider soccer team opened the season on Thursday night in LaVergne as the Raiders dropped a 5 to 1 decision to the Wolverines.  Trailing 4 to 0 at the half, the Raiders played the talented Wolverines even in the second half as John Parigger notched the first goal of the season in the 42^nd minute.  Breyer Taylor had 3 shots careen off the frame in the 2^nd half during the Red Raider rally, but got not find the back of the net.   The Raiders open play in the Cleveland Classic tournament this weekend against Chattanooga Christian at 4 PM Eastern Time on Friday afternoon.  They follow that up with a 10 AM Eastern matchup against Cleveland on Saturday morning.  Both games will be played on the artificial turf at Chattanooga Christian School.

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team ground out a hard fought 6 to 4 win at South Franklin on Thursday night in Cowan.  The Raiders notched 4 first half goals as Anakin Dillehay had his first varsity hat trick.  Chay Chumley added the 4^th goal as South banged home a goal in stoppage time of the first half to make the halftime score 4 to 1.  Peyton McKenzie tallied 2 second half goals for the Red and Black to improve Coffee County to 2 and 0 on the young season.  Coffee Middle will be back in action on Monday night as they open their home schedule playing host to Harris.  The game is set to kick off at 5:00 at the Coffee County Middle School.

The Rocket baseball team of Westwood Middle School dropped a 12 to 2 decision at Forrest on Thursday night to open their 2015 season.   The Rocket bats were stymied by Forrest pitching as Westwood was able to scratch out only one hit by Jacob Garms.  Coach Tyrell Campbell was proud of the grit and effort, but disappointed in 5 Westwood errors that led directly to Forrest runs.  Westwood’s Brad Jones was singled out for his outstanding defensive night at second base.  The Rockets travel to Lynchburg on Saturday for a 2 PM makeup game with Moore County.   The Rockets will open their home season on Tuesday night at 5:00 PM as they play host to Cascade.  First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 PM at Fred Deadman Park.

CHS Tennis player Maddie Taylor in recent tennis action. Photo by John St. Clair
www.JohnStClairPhoto.com

The CHS Lady Raider tennis team ran into a red hot Warren County team on Thursday night in McMinnville. The Lady Raiders came up short by an 8 to 1 score as Maddie Taylor got the lone match win for the Lady Raiders.  The young Red Raiders netters were paired with a senior-laden Warren County team who dropped the Raiders by a 9 to 0 score.  The losses evened the tennis teams records at 1 and 1 on the season.  The tennis teams will be back in action on Monday as they welcome Stewarts Creek to town.  The match is set to begin at 4:30 PM at Fred Deadman Park.

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider softball team evened their record at 1 and 1 on Thursday night as they dropped North Franklin by a score of 6 to 3.  Erin Ferrell got the win in the circle for Coffee County as the Lady Raider bats as they notched 12 hits.  Haley Richardson was 3 for 3 with a double and 2 singles for Coffee County. Grace Pippenger was 2 for 4 on the night while Amanda Mukai and Ashley Evans also added hits for the Lady Raiders.   The Lady Raiders are scheduled to travel to White County on Friday for a makeup game with White County.  Weather permitting; first pitch is scheduled for 5 PM.  The Lady Raiders open their home schedule on Monday at 5:00 PM as they welcome Harris Middle School to their new field behind the Coffee County Middle School.

After waiting nearly 2 weeks to open the 2015 season, the Westwood Lady Rockets softball team finally got on the field Thursday night as they traveled to Fayetteville.  The Lady Rockets hammered out 27 hits on their way to a 21 to 11 win.  Carlee Sullivan got the complete game win as she struck out 8 and scattered 8 hits.  Sullivan was also hot at the plate as she was 5 for 6 with a double and a triple.  Sarah West was 6 for 6 on the night with a home run while Alex Hershman was 5 for 5 and Alexia Barnes was 4 for 4.  The Lady Rockets travel to Wartrace on Monday to take on Cascade.  First pitch is at 5:00 PM.

Andy Escue, CHS assistant soccer coach, talks to his team after a recent practice on the soggy Raider Soccer Field.

The wet weather continues to play havoc on the high school spring sports schedule. Thursday’s full game schedule appears in jeopardy and cancellations and schedule changes have already been announced for the week-end. The Central High School soccer team has added a game for Thursday night as they will travel to take on LaVergne at 6:00 PM. The Raiders, who originally had 3 games schedule this weekend in Cleveland, have had their tournament schedule changed. The Raiders will now play 2 games on the artificial turf at Chattanooga Christian on Friday and Saturday. The Raiders open against Chattanooga Christian at 4 PM Eastern Time on Friday afternoon then they follow that up with a 10 AM Eastern matchup against Cleveland on Saturday morning.
The Lady Raider softball team is scheduled to welcome district foe Lawrence County to Lady Raider Field on Thursday night at 7 PM. Thunder Radio is scheduled to bring you the broadcast(weather permitting). The Lady Raiders have withdrawn from this weekend’s Hendersonville Tournament. With the early withdrawal the Lady Raiders, who were scheduled to play at least 4 games, will have the option to enter another tournament later in the season.
The CHS JV baseball team was scheduled to host games at Powers Field on Thursday through Saturday at Powers Field, but that schedule has been changed as well. The Thursday and Friday games have been cancelled, but the JV Raiders will play host to Blackman on Saturday in a doubleheader if the weather cooperates. That JV doubleheader begins at 11 AM and immediately precedes a varsity doubleheader with Ridgeland High School from Georgia. That doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM and Thunder Radio is scheduled to bring you the broadcast(weather permitting).
The CHS Track team is set to begin their season on Saturday at the Riverdale in the Early Bird Invitational. The boys and girls track teams are set to match up with 20 other teams from all parts of middle Tennessee in the event. The meet is scheduled to get underway at 11 AM with the field events.
Thursday’s Schedule (Weather Permitting)
3:00 PM – CHS Tennis at Warren Co
5:00 PM – WMS Softball at Riverside Christian
5:00 PM – WMS Baseball at Forrest
5:00 PM – CCMS Soccer at South Franklin
5:00 PM – CCMS Softball at North Franklin
6:00 PM – CHS Soccer at LaVergne
7:00 PM – CHS Softball HOSTS Lawrence Co – Thunder Radio Broadcast