As 2019 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on. Today we look back at some of the highlights of year for the baseball teams at Coffee County CHS and Coffee County Middle and Westwood Middle schools.
The Westwood Middle School struggled on the season, but got off to a good start with a win over Riverside Christian in the season opener. Thunder Radio reported on the championship win with the following story we brought to you on February 27th.
The Westwood baseball team opened their 2019 campaign at home on Tuesday welcoming Riverside Christian to Looney Riddle Field. The Rocket pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts and held Riverside to 1 hit over 5 innings to lead Westwood to the 11 to 1 win.
Jonathan Nelson got the win on the mound for Westwood and also added a pair of singles, a pair of walks and scored 3 runs. Jayden Carter added an RBI double and scored once. Raiden Sain singled, reached on an error and scored twice.
The Rockets return to the diamond on Monday when they host Fayetteville at Fred Deadman Park for a doubleheader. The first of the 5 innings games is set for 5 PM at Looney Riddle Field.
The Coffee County CHS baseball team closed out the regular season winning 7 of their last 9 games. In the string, the Red Raiders got a Senior Night win over Central Magnet. Thunder Radio reported on the win with the following story we brought to you on April 29th.
Hosting Central Magnet of Murfreesboro on Saturday, the Coffee County baseball team celebrated Senior Night. Honoring the 4 seniors in the best way possible, the Red Raiders finished out their career at Powers Field with a win. Despite getting outhit, the Red Raiders won 4 to 1.
In the 4th inning, Bryson Hullett got aboard with an error in the 4th inning and was singled home by Harley Hinshaw. In the 5th inning, a walk and a pair of singles helped produce 3 insurance runs. Hullett added a single and an RBI in the 5th. Kael McCall also finished with a single and an RBI.
The Red Raiders will open up District tournament play on Wednesday when they travel to Tullahoma to take on the Wildcats. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast. First pitch will be at 6 PM, Thunder Radio will begin live coverage with the pregame show at 5:50.
The Coffee County Middle School baseball team fought their way to a regular season conference title and a runner-up finish in the CTC tournament. Thunder Radio reported on the tournament semifinals and finals with a story we brought to you on April 30th.
The quest for a CTC title came up one game short for the Coffee County Middle School baseball team on Monday. Needing a pair of wins to force a winner-take-all final on Tuesday, the Red Raiders could only manage a split. The Red Raiders raced past North Franklin in the semifinals 10 to 0 before falling to Tullahoma in the finals by a score of 6 to 2.
In the semifinal matchup, the Red Raiders got the benefit of 10 walks including 4 in the first inning as the Raiders built a 3 to 0 lead. Nolan Jernigan had a 2 RBI double in the pivotal first inning as Coffee Middle staked themselves to a lead they would not surrender. Dayne Crosslin, Cole Pippenger, Jacob Holder also had doubles for the Red Raiders. England Bryan pitched 5 2/3 innings to get the win striking out 7 and surrendering only 2 hits.
Tullahoma pushed across 2 runs in the top of the 1st inning and pushed that margin to 4 to 0 before the Raiders could push across a run. After leaving the bases loaded in the 2nd and 3rd inning, Coffee Middle finally pushed across a pair of runs in the 5th inning to cut the deficit to 2. Tullahoma added a pair of unearned runs in the 7th inning to seal the championship.
Coffee County was led in hitting by Cole Pippenger who had a single and a double and drove in a runs. Nolan Jernigan added a 2 singles while Hayden Garr had a double and walked twice. The Red Raiders finished the season with a record of 17 and 3. Coffee County also finished as the regular season Central Tennessee Conference champions.
