Category: Sports

Recent Coffee County graduates Tyler Cavender and Kyle Douglas have been named to the All-Region 4-AAA baseball team.

Douglas had a 6-2 record and a 0.75 ERA as a senior while striking out 70 in 56.1 innings of work. Cavender was named the District 8-AAA Co-Offensive player of the year in the district. He led the Raiders in batting average, home runs and slugging percent.
The two outstanding players both signed to play college baseball. Cavender will play at Tennessee Temple and Douglas will compete for Freed-Hardeman University.

Motlow College head men’s basketball coach Matt Sligh recently announced that North Charleston, S.C., power forward Seth McKelvey will be part of the Bucks’ program when the team begins preparation for the upcoming season this fall.
McKelvey is a 6’7”, 240-pound inside presence who comes to Lynchburg from Orangeburg-Calhoun Prep School in Orangeburg, S.C., following an outstanding prep career at RB Stall High School in North Charleston.
While at RB Stall, McKelvey garnered a number of honors, including being rated the #11 prospect in the state by Scout.com. He averaged 12.2 points, 12 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots per game as a senior and was named all-state. McKelvey was selected to the All-Region VII team after his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
Following his high school career he headed to Orangeburg-Calhoun Prep, where he played for Head Coach Scott Weaver. Seth was instrumental in leading Orangeburg to a 25-14 record, including games where he pulled down 15 rebounds and a school-record 17 rebounds.
The Bucks finished with a 14-14 record in 2013-14, Sligh’s first season, and advanced to the TCCAA/RegionVII Tournament semifinals before being eliminated by eventual champion Columbia State 122-121 in double overtime.
McKelvey will join an already-impressive roster that should include returning sophomores Kytrel Williams, Jordan Riley, Greg Mason, Reggie Williams, C.J. McEwen and All-American Dequon Miller. Redshirt freshmen Dezon Dozier and Jahaad Lyons will also step into varsity roles.

The Nashville Predators will open the 2014-15 season October 9 with a home game against the Ottawa Senators.
This represents only the second time in the past seven years that the Predators will open the season at Bridgestone Arena. They’re hosting an Eastern Conference team in the opener for the first time since facing the Florida Panthers in the franchise’s inaugural game on Oct. 10, 1998.
After hosting Ottawa in their season opener, the Predators have two more home games Oct. 11 and Oct. 14 before their first road trip.

The post season championship game of Minor League division of the Manchester Youth Baseball League is set as Coffee Financial will take on Mark Lemons Construction on Monday night at 6. Coffee Financial and Mark Lemons each won their semifinal games on Thursday night at Fred Deadman Park. In the early game, Coffee Financial plated 3 runs in their last at-bat to drop First National Bank by a 7 to 4 score.  In the nightcap, the bats and defense of Mark Lemons Construction stunned regular season league champion John Roberts Toyota 10 to 1.
The Coach Pitch Division played their final 2 quarterfinal matches setting up Friday night’s semifinals.  In the first game, Coffee County Mini Storage turned an unassisted triple play in the bottom of the last inning to quell a KK’s Music rally and seal a 16 to 10 win. In the nightcap, Central Funeral Home outlasted the Hillsboro Masonic Lodge by a final score of 15 to 8.

The post season championship game of Major League division of the Manchester Youth Baseball League is set as Jiffy Burger will take on Coffee County Bank on Monday night at 6. In Friday’s first semifinal, Jiffy Burger broke open a testy contest with Shelter Insurance to claim an 11 to 1 win. In the nightcap, Coffee County Bank banged out 2 home runs on the way to a 12 to 2 slugfest win.
In the Coach Pitch Division, a pair of close semifinal contests on Friday night set up an exciting final for Monday. In the early game, Central Funeral Home survived a late Coffee County Mini Storage rally to advance to Monday night’s final by a score of 13 to 9. In the nightcap, regular season champion Interstate Auto had to come from behind to overcome Hullett’s 10 to 8.
The Manchester Youth Baseball League will hold their finals on Monday night as all 3 divisions take the field at 6:00 PM. The Coach Pitch championship will be held on the T-Ball Field and will feature Central Funeral Home taking on Interstate Auto. The Minor League will take place on the National League Field and will feature Mark Lemons Construction taking on Coffee Financial. The American League Field will host the Major League finals as Jiffy Burger will take on Coffee County Bank. Following all 3 games, the league will hold their closing ceremonies on the National League Field where the league’s All Star teams will be announced.

The Red Raider summer baseball team went 2 and 2 on the weekend in their final summer ball tournament of the year in Murfreesboro. The Raiders dropped a 9 to 2 decision to Blackman on Thursday night before bouncing back with a 7 to 0 in over Marshall County on Friday. In that contest, Dylan Sandoval pitched the complete game 1 hit shutout to get the win. Saturday morning, the Raiders opened play against a tough travel team from the Knoxville area, Diamond Simcox. The Knoxville squad got 5 runs in the first inning en route to a 9 to 2 win. The Raiders bounced back with a come from behind 9 to 7 win over Summertown. The Raiders entered the last inning tied at 7 before Trace Friedlein ripped a 2 RBI double to provide the Raiders the winning margin. Bradley King got the win for Coffee County while Daniel Gassman came on in the bottom of the inning to notch the save.

McCallie School in Chattanooga hosted the Tennessee-Georgia 13th annual all-star baseball game Wednesday. Recent Coffee County graduate Peyton Meeker competed for Tennessee. Meeker was 1 for 2 with an RBI as his team defeated Georgia 4-0. Tennessee now leads the series 12-1.
Meeker has signed to play college baseball for Freed-Hardeman University.

Motlow men’s basketball coach Matt Sligh recently held a basketball elite skills camp inside Nisbett Center on the Moore County campus. Sligh, along with volunteer assistant coaches Robert Hayes, Matt Joines, Cass Barnes and Motlow basketball players Dequon Miller and Clint Nwosuh, worked with campers on a variety of individual and team skills including shooting technique, passing and ball-handling, rebounding, defensive concepts and sportsmanship. Thirty-three campers attended two different sessions during the two-day event.

The Major League division of the Manchester Youth Baseball League got underway in the postseason tournament on Tuesday night at Fred Deadman Park. Six of the seven division teams were in action leaving regular season league champion Coffee County Bank to await the semifinal winners. In the lone early game on the American League Field, Al White broke a 3 to 3 tie in their last at-bat to stop Bush Insurance 4 to 3. In the late games, Jiffy Burger got a couple of late runs to power past Powers Storage 9 to 6 in a rain shortened game. Shelter Insurance played nearly flawless baseball in blanking Peoples Bank 9 to 0.
Also on Tuesday night in the Coach Pitch division, Coffee County Mini Storage out slugged Star Physical Therapy 18 to 11 in the early game. The late game saw regular season division champions Interstate Auto have difficulty with Lewis Motor Company early, before winning 14 to 7pm.
After taking off on Wednesday, tournament play resumes on Thursday and Friday. In the Minor League division, 4 teams remain alive for Monday’s championship.  At 5 PM on the National League Field, Coffee Financial will battle 1st National Bank followed by a matchup between John Roberts Toyota and Mark Lemons Construction at 7. The final 2 quarterfinal games in the Coach Pitch division are set to begin at 5 on the T-ball Field as Coffee County Mini Storage takes on KK’s at 5, while Central Funeral Home and the Hillsboro Masonic Lodge do battle at 7pm.

The Manchester Youth Baseball League postseason tournament opened on Monday night for the Coach Pitch and Minor League divisions with 6 games on tap.
In Coach Pitch play, Lewis Motors and the Hillsboro Masonic Lodge each got come from behind victories to advance. Lewis Motors stopped KOA by a score of 11 to 7 while the Masons overcame a last inning deficit to win 17 to 14 over Cooper Sports.
In the Minor League Division, 4 games whittled the field of 8 teams down to semifinalists. In the early games, Coffee Financial never trailed as they dropped All Creatures 10 to 2 on the American League Field while Mark Lemons Construction had to hold off a late rally by Hullett’s on the National League Field. In the late games, First National got a win against American City in a hard fought “Battle of the Banks” coming out on top 16 to 7. While on the National League Field, Rose Hill gave league champion John Roberts Toyota a scare before falling late by a score of 11 to 7.

By ZACH BIRDSONG

Sports Editor Tullahoma News (edited version)

Sunday was a bittersweet day for Tullahoma High School graduate Justus Sheffield as it was his last in his hometown until late August.
Sheffield was selected 31^st overall in this year’s MLB Draft and on Friday, the former Wildcat signed a contract to get his professional career underway. After waiting on the results of a physical, the Indians made things official on Monday, when the team announced it had signed the 18-year-old Tullahoma native.
Sheffield received a $1.6 million bonus from the Cleveland Indians and additionally, the team will also pay for four years at Vanderbilt University after his playing career. Sheffield, a Vanderbilt signee, attempted to reach Commodores Coach Tim Corbin on the phone on Monday night, but was unable to do so. Corbin is coaching Vanderbilt in College World Series that is taking place this week.
Receiving the scholarship for Vanderbilt was one of Sheffield’s priorities when contract negotiations with Cleveland began. Sheffield places a high value on education, so choosing a professional career over college was not an easy decision.
On May 27, Sheffield was named the Tennessee Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year award. Eight days later, Sheffield received the national player of the year honor from the company.