Category: Sports

Raider baseball swept in Tuesday district double header at Lincoln County

Whatever chances Coffee County’s baseball team had of finishing in a top two spot in District 8-AAA took a gut punch Tuesday as the Raiders dropped two District 8-AAA games at Lincoln County, falling 9-2 and 5-2 to the Falcons in Fayetteville.

Coffee County 2, Lincoln County 9

The Raiders could not stop Nathan McAdams of Lincoln County in game 1. McAdams blasted a pair of 3-run home runs over the left field fence and added an RBI double, which was plenty to power the Falcon offense in game one – a game you heard live on Thunder Radio.

Lincoln County took a 3-0 lead in the first – all 3 runs unearned and aided by by a pair of Raider errors in the field. But CHS battled back to cut the deficit to 1 at 3-2 in the top of the 3rd.

Lane Spry picked up an RBI on a single – one of his two hits on the day. Nolan Jernigan hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field to send Brady Nugent across the plate.

But that was all the Raider offense could muster.

Griffin Meeker was tagged with the loss. The senior allowed six runs (3 earned) over four innings. He walked two, hit four and struck out 2.

Charlie Pierce allowed 3 runs in 2 innings of relief while striking out 2.

Lincoln County 5, Coffee County 2

The Raiders held a 2-1 lead but the Falcons scored 4 in the top of the sixth on just one hit to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Falcons tied the game at 2-2 after a walk and a triple. Coffee County then walked home a run and committed a two-run error.

Coffee County got a hit and an RBI out of Jacob Holder and two hits from Wyatt Nugent in the loss. Both scored runs. Holder and Braden Brown each had a double.

Holder was tagged with the loss. The sophomore allowed only one hit and struck out 9 through five and one third, but he did issue 9 walks. Braden Brown struck out 4 over one and two-thirds innings in relief.

Coffee County falls to 5-5 in District play with one series remaining – next week against Shelbyville.

Lady Raiders rip six extra base hits in blowout of Rebelettes

Lady Raider second baseman Justus Turner (pictured here against Tullahoma earlier this season) hit her fourth home run of the season Tuesday night, April 20, 2021, against Franklin County. — Thunder Radio photo by Josh Peterson

Coffee County had six extra base hits, including a home run from senior Justus Turner in a 15-0 throttling of visiting Franklin County Tuesday night – a game you heard live on Thunder Radio.

Coffee County’s Lady Raiders used a 12-run third inning to put the game away.

Madison Pruitt had two doubles and 3 RBIs, Emily Schuster and Keri Munn each doubled, Haidyn Campbell tripled and Turner had a home run for Coffee County. Turner finished with 3 RBIs and 3 hits. She also scored three runs.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO REPLAY HERE

Munn was nearly perfect in the circle. The senior hurler did not allow a hit through three innings and walked one. She struck out 8 of 9 possible outs in the three-inning game.

The win improves the Lady Raiders to 22-3-1 on the season.

Lady Raider tennis drops Tullahoma, boys lose

The CHS tennis teams split with Tullahoma Monday – the boys losing 3-4 and the girls with a clean 7-0 sweep.

For the Lady Raiders, Lauren Perry won 8-2, Rylea McNamara 8-0, Wren Lawson 8-0, Emma Fulks 8-2 and Macie Lawrence 8-2. In doubles, the pairings of Perry/McNamara and Lawson/Lawrence both won 8-0.

Meanwhile, the Raider boys couldn’t keep pace despite singles wins from Landen Booth (8-3) and Xander Blomquist (9-8). Jaden Talley and Jonathan Nelson won in doubles 8-3, but each lost singles matches, as did Johnathan Welch and Krish Patel.

Lady Raiders rip six extra base hits in blowout of Rebelettes

Westwood’s softball team dropped a tough conference tournament opener on Tuesday, falling to Huntland 8-7 in an 8-inning affair.

Westwood scored a pair of runs in the seventh to force extra innings when Paisley Campbell hit a home run to score Liza Freeze.

But Huntland pushed ahead in the 8th and held on.

Lily Norman had a big day at the plate for the Lady Rockets – reaching base three times and scoring all three times – including a single and a triple.

Westwood will play Fayetteville City at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Micah Williams resigning as CHS Red Raider basketball coach

Micah Williams celebrates as the final whistle sounds on a Red Raider victory over Riverdale in the 2021 Region 4-AAA quarter-finals. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

Coffee County Central High School head boys basketball coach Micah Williams is resigning his position, Thunder Radio learned Friday morning.

Williams just completed his sixth season at the helm of the Red Raider basketball program. He is expected to be named the head coach at Webb School in Bell Buckle, although that has yet to be officially confirmed by Webb officials. Williams has communicated his resignation with his Raider players.

Williams, a graduate of Coffee County Central High School and former standout player for the Raiders and ETSU Bucs, took over the Red Raider basketball program in 2015 in an opportunity he described as “a dream come true.”

Under Williams’ leadership, the Raiders instantly saw success that had not been experienced in any recent history. CHS won the District 8-AAA regular season title in back-to-back seasons. This year the Raiders finished second in the district, but went on to beat Riverdale in the quarter-finals of the Region 4-AAA tournament – an accomplishment not realized by the boys basketball program in over 30 years.

Williams’ final win as Red Raider head coach also happened to be his 100th career win as a head coach.

CHS athletic department issued a statement Monday morning.

“We appreciate (Coach Williams’) dedication to our athletes. His energy and efforts have contributed greatly to the success of our program. Coach Williams has been an integral part of CHS basketball for a long time and we wish him continued success in the next chapter of his coaching career.”

This story will be updated with information as it is available.

BASEBALL: Rockets put 32 on the board in tournament win over Eagleville

Blake Hillis rounds third during a game for the Rockets earlier this season. Hillis blasted a home run Monday, April 19, 2021. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

Westwood Middle School and Eagleville combined to send 50 runs across the plate in a four-hour marathon of a baseball game Monday.

In the end, the Rockets were able to keep the better pace and go the distance in a 32-18 win over the Eagles in a conference tournament win.

Every player in the Rocket lineup scored at least two runs and the Rockets were able to get on base in every way possible. The Rockets combined to earn 23 walks at the plate, including six walks for Trevor Jesse. Meanwhile, when the Rockets got pitches to hit they pounded out 18 hits, led by 5 from Cayden Trail, who had 5 RBIs and three runs scored. Blake Hillis also had 5 RBIs on a pair of hits, including a home run.

Four different Rockets pitched to piece together the winning effort. Cayden Trail was solid, allowing just one earned run in two innings of work. He allowed three hits.

SOFTBALL: Coffee County blasts Tullahoma to complete season sweep

Alivia Reel gets ready on defense during a game in March, 2021. Reel hit her first home run of the season on Monday, April 19, 2021 against Tullahoma. — Thunder Radio photo by Josh Peterson

Coffee County pounded out 18 hits at the plate and made easy work of Tullahoma, dropping the Lady Wildcats 12-2 on the road Monday afternoon – a game you heard live on Thunder Radio.

Two of those 18-hits were dingers – as Alivia Reel blasted her first home run of the season, a solo blast to left field in the 5th inning, and Kaitlyn Davis hit her team-leading ninth home run of the year.

Chesnie Cox (2), Haidyn Campbell (2), Davis (2), Reel (2), Emily Schuster (3), Eliza Carden (2) and Madison Pruitt (2) all had multi-hit games for the Lady Raiders. Schuster came around to score 3 times. Cox, Davis and Reel each had a pair of RBIs.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE REPLAY.

Davis picked up the win in the circle after working five solid innings for the Lady Raiders. She allowed just two hits and struck out five. She gave up two runs, but both were unearned.

The win improves the Lady Raiders to 21-3-1 on the year and keeps them perfect in District 8-AAA play.

The Lady Raiders will host Franklin County at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. You can listen to that game live on Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, on the Manchester Go app and at Thunder1320.com.

SOFTBALL: Lady Raiders blast South in opening round of CTC tournament

Coffee County made easy work of South Middle School in the first round of the Central Tennessee Conference Tournament Monday afternoon in McMinnville.

The CMS Lady Raiders piled up 16 runs in 3 innings to end the game early via a 16-0 mercy rule.

Eighth grader Channah Gannon finished with a pair of triples, a walk and a run scored. Meanwhile, Kaitlin Anderson singled, doubled and reached on an error – scoring all three times. Ava McIntosh also touched the plate three times, working three walks and moving around the bases each time.

The Lady Raiders advance to play the winner of Harris and Warren County at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 21. All tournament games are in Warren County.

Micah Williams resigning as CHS Red Raider basketball coach

Micah Williams celebrates as the final whistle sounds on a Red Raider victory over Riverdale in the 2021 Region 4-AAA quarter-finals. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

Coffee County Central High School head boys basketball coach Micah Williams is resigning his position, Thunder Radio learned Friday morning.

Williams just completed his sixth season at the helm of the Red Raider basketball program. He is expected to be named the head coach at Webb School in Bell Buckle, although that has yet to be officially confirmed by Webb officials. Williams has communicated his resignation with his Raider players.

Williams, a graduate of Coffee County Central High School and former standout player for the Raiders and ETSU Bucs, took over the Red Raider basketball program in 2015 in an opportunity he described as “a dream come true.”

Under Williams’ leadership, the Raiders instantly saw success that had not been experienced in any recent history. CHS won the District 8-AAA regular season title in back-to-back seasons. This year the Raiders finished second in the district, but went on to beat Riverdale in the quarter-finals of the Region 4-AAA tournament – an accomplishment not realized by the boys basketball program in over 30 years.

Williams’ final win as Red Raider head coach also happened to be his 100th career win as a head coach.

CHS athletic department issued a statement Monday morning.

“We appreciate (Coach Williams’) dedication to our athletes. His energy and efforts have contributed greatly to the success of our program. Coach Williams has been an integral part of CHS basketball for a long time and we wish him continued success in the next chapter of his coaching career.”

This story will be updated with information as it is available.

BASEBALL: Raiders cruise past LaVergne Saturday afternoon

Lane Spry had a double in Saturday’s win over LaVergne. – Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

Central High School’s Red Raider baseball team easily dispatched of LaVergne on Saturday afternoon – piling up at least 1 run in every inning to end the game at 12-0 via mercy rule in the fifth inning.

Three Red Raider pitchers combined to limit LaVergne to just three hits on the afternoon. Seniors Griffin Meeker and Wyatt Nugent worked 2 innings apiece and combined for 5 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Carter McKenzie pitched one innings and struck out the side on just 11 pitches.

The Raiders got contributions at the plate from everywhere. Nolan Jernigan finished with a triple. Meanwhile, Lane Spry, Brady Nugent and McKenzie all doubled. Meeker had 3 hits and an RBI. Also picking up RBIs were Spry, Wyatt Nugent, Hayden Hullett, Brady Nugent, Jacob Holder (2) and Jernigan.

Coffee County improves to 11-5 on the season with the non-district win. The Raides will play a two-game district series with Lincoln County this week – at Fayetteville on Tuesday and at home Wednesday. Both games start at 6 p.m.