Coffee County’s Red Raider baseball team waited until the very end to take care of business Tuesday night.
But the Raiders got the job done nonetheless.
CHS pushed two runs across in the top of the seventh inning and snuck away from Franklin County with a 6-5 District 8-AAA win.
Trailing 5-4 entering the seventh inning, Nolan Jernigan started the Raider rally with a line-drive single up the middle, followed by an infield single by Hayden Hullett. Jernigan came across the plate on a wild pitch to tie the game and Hullett advanced to third. Hullett scored on a deep sacrifice fly hit by Wyatt Nugent to give CHS the lead.
Franklin County got the got the tying run to third and the winning run on second in the bottom of the seventh inning with just one out, but Braden Brown struck out McKeon Whitsett and Eric Jones to end the game.
Brown earned the save, pitching the final inning and striking out two. Griffin Meeker is credited with the win on the mound, allowing seven hits over six innings and five runs. He struck out seven.
Coffee County had opportunities to take care of business earlier. CHS had runners on first and second with no outs in each of the third and fourth innings but were unable to push runs across the plate. The Raiders stranded 8 runners on base.
Coffee County led 3-1 early, powered by a 3-run second inning. Wyatt Nugent, Brown and Jacob Holder all scored in the second. Nugent singled, Brown reached on an error and Holder flipped a single into right field for an RBI. Brady Nugent hit a sac fly to send a run across the plate and Griffin Meeker singled home a run.
The series with Franklin County moves to Manchester Wednesday for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Powers Field.
