Ashley Gilliam on Monday at Sweetens Cove(photo provided)

The one-two sister duo of Savannah Quick and Ashley Gilliam led the Coffee County Lady Raider golf team to the lead after 1 day of the Baylor Preview on Monday. Quick shot an opening round 73 which gave her the low round of the tournament. Gilliam was 1 stroke off the pace at 74 to give the Lady Raiders the team lead at 147. Sophie Vinson carded an 86 for Coffee County on the Sweetens Cove Golf Club course in South Pittsburg. Clarksville is in second place at 151.
“I am very proud of how the girls played today” said Raider golf coach Mike Ray. “This is an awesome course but very difficult to play, especially the greens” added Ray. The tournament concludes on Tuesday as the Lady Raiders will tee off at 8:30 AM for the final 18 holes.

The Board of Control for the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association(TSSAA) met on Monday at the Hermitage offices and passed a series of measures that will lead to sweeping reform as to how high school and middle school baseball pitchers will be used. Acting on guidance from the National Federation of High Schools(NFHS), the TSSAA was tasked to develop its own pitching restriction policy based on the number of pitches thrown during a game to afford pitchers a required rest period between pitching appearances. The new guidelines and rules take effect this spring.
The Board voted to approve the following Pitch Count regulations for the sport of baseball:
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
1. Make sure properly warmed up prior to any throwing activity. Use proper equipment to aid in the warm up. (Surgical tubing, etc…)
2. Make sure a proper dynamic and static stretching plan is followed prior to throwing.
3. Educate pitchers on proper mechanics and techniques of throwing.
4. Monitor for signs of mechanical breakdown and fatigue.
5. Take immediate action if a pitcher complains of pain.
6. Consult a trainer/doctor/ trained coach upon completion of game pitching activity.
7. Put in place and follow a prescribed post pitching rehabilitation program.
8. Make every effort to avoid pitching a player in multiple games on the same day.
GUIDELINES:
1. Cannot use the same pitcher three (3) days in a row regardless of number of pitches thrown.
2. If pitchers hit their END number, they are allowed to finish the batter in the box regardless of END number.
3. Highly recommended that a coach check with a coach on the opposing team between each half inning to make sure pitch counts are in congruent. (the same )
4. Home team would be final correct count.
5. Both teams would sign documentation pitch form at the end of each game.
6. The pitch count will apply to a player who pitches. JV pitch count and high school varsity pitch count would be linked together. Example – Pitcher A pitches Varsity on Monday 45 pitches, not allowed to pitch JV on Tuesday.
7. The pitch count applies to regular season and postseason.

TSSAA Pitch Count Rules (click to enlarge)

Violations of the pitch count rule will result in forfeiture. A form tracking pitches for the pitchers for each school shall be kept and signed by opposing coach at conclusion of each game.

The Reno Aces used a strong start by Shelby Miller to score a 3-2 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 5,058 fans Monday night at First Tennessee Park.

The two teams split the four-game series after the Sounds (70-53) won the first two games and the Aces (65-58) returned the favor in the final two.

Miller scattered 10 hits and limited the Sounds to two runs in 7 1/3 innings. He didn’t walk anybody and racked up nine strikeouts in his fourth win with Reno.

Sounds starter Jharel Cotton and Miller were in a pitcher’s duel early on. Cotton, who was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week earlier in the day, retired the first 13 batters he faced.

With one out in the top of the fifth, Reno’s Peter O’Brien snapped the streak when he crushed a solo homer to left field to give the Aces a 1-0 lead.

Cotton got through the fifth but found more trouble in the sixth. With Todd Glaesmann at third and Ronnie Freeman at second, Cotton struck out Ed Lucas for the second out of the inning. Nashville elected to intentionally walk Zach Borenstein but the moved backfired when Kyle Jensen sent a single into left to extend Reno’s lead to 3-0.

It looked as though the Sounds were going to get on the board in the home half of the sixth. With two outs and Colin Walsh at second, Jaycob Brugman lined a pitch from Miller into the left-center gap. Brugman was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double and was tagged out just before Walsh stepped on home plate.

Nashville did get on the board in the eighth. Rangel Ravelo doubled and scored easily when Arismendy Alcantara tripled into the right field corner. Brugman followed with an RBI groundout to trim the deficit to 3-2.

From there, Reno used a slew of relievers to finish off the Sounds. Joey Wendle kept the game alive with a two-out single in the ninth, but Silvino Bracho retired Matt McBride on a pop up to end the game.

Cotton allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings and was tagged with the loss. Alcantara, Brugman, Wendle and Ravelo had multi-hit games for the Sounds while Renato Nunez extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Next up for the Sounds is a four-game series with the Tacoma Rainiers at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Jesse Hahn (1-6, 3.66) makes a Major League rehab assignment start for the Sounds against right-hander Cody Martin (9-7, 3.93) for the Rainiers Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Tickets for the 2016 Pacific Coast League playoff dates at First Tennessee Park are now available for purchase at the Nashville Sounds box office and online at www.nashvillesounds.com.

The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.