Stories from Friday, July 18, 2014

(COLUMBIA, Tenn. -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, in conjunction with Columbia State Community College, hosted a press conference July 8 to announce Columbia State as the recipient of the Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine program grant. The RUS-DLT grant program is designed to meet the educational and healthcare needs of rural communities in southern Middle Tennessee through the use of advanced telecommunications technologies...

Thanks to the Columbia Police Department, Lewisburg Police now have a description of a truck and trailer which may have been used in the theft of five factory-new Exmark Zero Turn Mowers from the Lewisburg Co-op between 5 p.m. Sunday, July 13, and 6:30 a.m. Monday, July 14...

By Karen Hall Editor Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer continued his statewide 2014 TDOT Projects Tour this week with a visit to Marshall County on Tuesday. During a three-day tour, Schroer, elected officials, and transportation stakeholders traveled by bus to view a select number of TDOT projects...

The Marshall County Dusters (25-10) completed the sweep of a doubleheader against Giles County on Tuesday night by defeating the Bobcats 8-1 in four innings at Joe George Field in the second game. Aided by a four-run fourth inning, the Dusters finished with nine hits and four walks against two Giles County pitchers. Dunn Crowder did the most damage at the plate for Marshall County and went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and 3 RBI. Starting pitcher Cameron Isley (1 RBI), Derrick McKnight (1 RBI), and Connor Bush tallied two hits apiece for the Dusters as well, while Lane Whitesell added a hit and a run scored.

On Tuesday night, the Marshall County Dusters (24-10) squared off against a familiar foe when they defeated the Giles County Bobcats 8-2 at home in the first game of a doubleheader. The two teams were locked in a 2-2 tie through the first three and a half innings of play, but the Dusters saw their bats heat up after that point, as they plated a run in the bottom of the fourth to seize a 3-2 lead before erupting for five runs in the sixth en route to claiming their 24th victory of the season.

The Middle Tennessee Mudcats' summer season came to close on a low note Tuesday night, losing 13-3 to Spring Hill in the first round of the Middle Tennessee High School Baseball Summer League Tournament. The Mudcats finished with an 11-10-1 record, playing their last five games minus most of the regular starting lineup due to the commencement of football practice at Forrest. On Tuesday, the Mudcats ran into some stellar pitching by Spring Hill's Michael Mackezyk, who tossed five innings of one-hit ball to pick up the win for the Raiders.

Junior competition helps game Cornersville High School senior Tate Lowery wrapped up a successful season on the Tennessee Golf Association Junior Tour when he finished in fourth place in his final tournament of the summer at Henry Horton State Park on Tuesday morning. Lowery actually held a one stroke lead going into Tuesday after shooting a 77 in the first round on Monday, but had to settle for fourth place in the two-day event when he carded an 83 in the second round to finish with a total score of 160.

New Tiger head baseball coach has long history with program After Steve Reese stepped down as the head coach of Marshall County High School's baseball team, MCHS' administration handed the reins of the program over to a loyal member of the Tiger family when they promoted longtime assistant coach Mike Reese to the top spot earlier this summer. Although he did not begin teaching at Marshall County High School and was not officially named an assistant coach at MCHS until 1988, Mike Reese has been associated with the Tigers' baseball program since 1981.

Manager Mike Bailey and his District 8 Babe Ruth League champions will be back in action on Friday night when they kick off the 15U State Tournament versus Cookeville at 6 p.m. in Lebanon. With a win, Marshall County will play Elizabethton on Saturday at 11 a.m.