Sports Briefs 1/21/12

Written by Derek Harryman | 26 January 2012

BASEBALL CAMP
Coffee County High School is hosting a six week baseball
camp starting March 18. Coffee County head coach
Chase Jones will direct the program in conjunction with
U.S. Baseball Academy. Classes are available for players in
grades 1-12 and are limited to six players per coach.
Sessions are offered in advanced hitting, pitching, catching,
fielding and baserunning at a cost as low as $99 for six
weeks. Space is limited. Registration is now under way. For
more information, visit www.USBaseballAcademy.com, or
call toll-free 866-622-4487. Vols Fall In OT, 57-53,At Georgia
In a game that saw defense rule the day for the first 37
minutes, Georgia's late offense enabled the Bulldogs to
pull off a 57-53 overtime victory over Tennessee on
Wednesday night. It was the Bulldogs' first SEC win of the
year as they moved to 10-8 overall, 1-3 in the league. The
Vols fell to 8-10 overall and are also 1-3 in the SEC.
Georgia native Trae Golden led the Vols with 16 points
while freshman Jarnell Stokes scored 11 points and
grabbed eight rebounds in his second college game.
Jeronne Maymon also scored in double-figures with 12.
Blue Raiders match program's best start
The Blue Raider bench proved to be the differencemaker
in a 59-46 win for the Middle Tennessee men’s basketball
team over the Arkansas State Red Wolves on
Thursday night at Murphy Center. MT’s bench out-scored
its ASU counterpart, 28-0, led by Kerry Hammonds’ 13
points, as the Blue Raiders improved to 18-2 to match the
best start in program history.
MT also remains the only undefeated team in the Sun
Belt at 7-0 after winning their 10th-straight on Thursday
night. The streak matches the fourth-longest in program
history and the 7-0 league start is the third-best in the
school annals, both dating back to the 1985-86 season. The
Blue Raiders start this season matches the 18-2 record of
the 1974-75 season.
Ron Crawford leaves Brentwoon
Former Coffee County head football coach Ron
Crawford has left Brentwood High School and taken the
head coaching job at Cleveland High School in the
Chatanooga area.
Crawford was an assistant for two stints at Riverdale,
and was head coach Coffee County in 1993-94 where he
was 7-13. As defensive coordinator, he helped Riverdale to
a pair of state titles in 1997 and 2001 along with two runner-
up finishes in 1995 and 2000.
Brentwood finished 14-1 in his first season, defeating
Riverdale to win its first state championship, and won 10
or more games each of the following three years. Last season,
the Bruins finished 8-5 and advanced to the Class 6A
quarterfinals.
Excitement building for Sun Belt Championships in
Hot Springs
With both men’s and women’s basketball teams as two
of the three remaining unbeaten programs in Sun Belt
action through the first six games, the Middle Tennessee
athletic department would like to remind Blue Raider fans
of important items related to the upcoming Sun Belt
Championships, March 3-6, in Hot Springs, Ark.
Fans are encouraged to purchase their tournament ticket
booklets through the Middle Tennessee ticket office to
assure a seat with fellow Blue Raider fans. Ticket booklets
are on-sale now for $83, an over 30 percent savings from
the $15 individual walk-up price that would make it a total
cost of $120 for the eight sessions.
Currently, the men’s basketball team has won ninestraight
games to improve to 6-0 in the league and 17-2
overall. The Blue Raiders are coming off a 67-54 win at
Florida Atlantic Saturday. Middle Tennessee will return to
action when it plays host to Arkansas State at 7 p.m.
Thursday.
“We have always been so well represented in Hot
Springs and want that to continue again this year,” head
men’s coach Kermit Davis said. “We have a great nucleus of
fans. Hopefully, Middle Tennessee will have the most fans
of any school there. It’s a great destination spot with terrific
basketball.
“With the way our women’s team and our men’s team
are both playing right now, I think it will be a great three or
four days for everyone who makes the trip.”
The Blue Raider women also have put together a long
winning streak, collecting eight consecutive victories, to
improve to 14-5 overall and 6-0 in conference action
through Saturday’s 55-37 triumph at Florida Atlantic.
Middle Tennessee also welcomes Arkansas State to town
this week, playing host to the Red Wolves at 7 p.m.
Wednesday.
“We (Middle Tennessee) have set the bar as far as attendance
at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament,” head
women’s coach Rick Insell said. “Year-in and year-out, we
have more fans there than anybody. Our fans enjoy going
to Hot Springs and the camaraderie of being around fellow
Blue Raiders and also how both of our programs allow our
teams to get involved.
All tickets to the Sun Belt Championships, and any
other Blue Raider athletic events, can be purchased by calling
1-888-YES-MTSU or online at GoBlueRaiders.com.
Predators beat Columbus
In defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 Thursday
night, the Predators got back to their winning ways. It was
the final game of Nashville’s three-game in four-night road
trip that started off with back-to-back games Monday on
Long Island and Tuesday in New York.
After a well-deserved game off, Pekka Rinne was spectacular
between the pipes in Nationwide Arena Thursday.
He faced 20 shots over the course of the first two periods,
but the Blue Jackets really turned up the offensive pressure
in the third. In the course of making 18 saves in the game’s
final frame, Rinne made a couple of jaw-dropping stops.
Just 38 seconds into the third, Rinne denied Columbus
captain Rick Nash’s shot from the left circle with a blocker
save. At the 6:20 mark, Rinne’s famous glove made an
appearance as it calmly snared Fedor Tyutin’s wrist shot
from in close on the left side.
Tuesday’s loss to the Rangers halted the Predators fivegame
winning streak, but Thursday’s victory was an
important one, as it represented the first of four-straight
Central Division games the team has before next week’s
All-Star break.