It appears that the Coffee County Central Red Raider baseball team is playing its best baseball when it matters the most.
Coffee County’s baseball team began its quest for the program’s first district championship in 10 years with a 3-0 shutout win over Columbia Thursday afternoon in Manchester – a game you heard live on Thunder Radio. It was the Raiders’ sixth win in their past seven games.
Coffee County rode the right arm of senior Griffin Meeker to the win. Meeker was brilliant, going the distance and picking up the shutout. He scattered six hits, walked one and struck out 8 Lion batters. The biggest trouble came in the first when Columbia picked up three of its six hits and loaded the bases, but Meeker picked up a strikeout to kill the threat.
Coffee County pushed all of its runs across in the third. Meeker started the rally with a single and scored on a double by Lane Spry. Jacob Holder later doubled home Mays Snipes (running for Spry) to push the lead to 2-0. Holder scored when Columbia catcher Gage Bolton had to throw a dropped third strike to first base.
The win improves the Raiders to 19-9 overall and now they will play Lawrence County in Lawrenceburg at 6 p.m. Friday. With a win the Raiders would advance to the winner’s bracket finals on Monday in Shelbyville.
Coffee County last won a district championship in 2011 – the third in the span of three years at the time. If Coffee County can at least advance to the district championship game, they will be guaranteed a spot in the Region 4-AAA semi-finals.
