East Hamilton softball coach Norma Nelson picked up win No. 700 Wednesday, and she felt somewhat like it was old home week.
The 3-2 win came over East Ridge, her alma mater.
Nelson, the head coach at Ooltewah for close to two decades, directed the Lady Owls to the 2008 Class AAA state championship. She also helped Georgia Class A power Gordon Lee for several years by serving as an assistant to Dana Mull.
"Honestly, without good players it's hard to accomplish much. You can't win without them," said Nelson, who's in her 21st year as a head coach. "I have been fortunate to have good players that kept our program respected in the softball community."
Nelson played softball at Cleveland State and is in that school's hall of fame, and she graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Although she attended UTC before softball became a sport at the school, she kept her hand in athletics, serving as a manager for then women's basketball coach Sharon Fanning.
Talley has offer
Scottsboro wide receiver Malik Talley, who'll be a senior next fall, has received his first official scholarship offer.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder recently received an offer from Southern Mississippi. He had 27 catches for 423 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Four Mustangs sign
Four Walker Valley players have signed scholarship papers to play football. Linebacker Dallas Kuykendall and end/linebacker Brendan Gilbert have signed with NCAA Division II member Tusculum College, while offensive linemen Marvin Bullington and Ian Stanberry have signed with NAIA member Bethel University.
Baylor-McCallie shifted
The first game of the Baylor-McCallie baseball series scheduled for Thursday was postponed. The teams will play a single game at 6 p.m. at McCallie today and then play a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday at Baylor.
Football showcase April 19
A football showcase for underclassmen has been scheduled for 2-5 p.m. on April 19 at Ridgeland High School, according to Brainerd coach Brian Gwyn. The showcase is under the auspices of Football Recruiting Expos.
Athletes will perform in the 40-yard dash and 5-10-5, position, 1-on-1, 2-on-2 and 7-on-7 drills. In its flyer, the organization said it will send all evaluations, contract information and highlight film to college coaches across the country.
Pre-registration can be accomplished at www.fresports.com.
Coach Cates dies
Jim Cates, a former wrestling coach in Georgia and Tennessee, died Tuesday.
Cates, who began his career in education in Rome, Ga., spent 40 years as a teacher, coach and administrator and retired after a number of years at Farragut in Knoxville. He was twice voted wrestling coach of the year in both Georgia and Tennessee and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame last year.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765.