The much anticipated public/private split in Tennessee for high school athletics never materialized on Wednesday in a special called Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) Board of Control meeting. Members of the board of control met at the Hermitage offices of the TSSAA to consider classification for all sports. The Board of Control voted for several new guidelines for the classification period that will begin with the 2017-2018 school year and run through 2020-2

Division I schools (public schools and no financial aid allowed private schools) and Division II schools (schools that offer financial aid) will remain unchanged for classification purposes. Private schools that do not offer financial aid will be classified in Division I using a 1.8 multiplier on enrollment for classification purposes. The Board voted for the state office staff to set District/Regional Alignments and publish them when they are finalized. This will be done prior to the November Board of Control meeting, giving schools an opportunity to appeal if they feel they have a legitimate reason.

In Division I, the classification for each sport will be determined as such:
> Board voted to have six classes in Division I football, split evenly.
> Board voted to have three classes in basketball, baseball, and softball in Division I which is unchanged from the previous system.
> Board voted to have three classes in volleyball, split by participating schools in Division I.
> Board voted to have three classes in soccer, split by participating schools in Division I.
> Board voted to have two classes, split by participating schools (small/large) in cross country, track and field, golf, and tennis in Division I.
> Board voted to have two classes in wrestling, which is unchanged from the previous system.
> Board voted to have one class in bowling in Division I.

Additionally, the TSSAA Board voted to rotate which football championship games are played on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – three games each day – each year. Currently, Division II games are held on Thursday with Classes 1A,3A and 5A held on Friday and classes 2A, 4A and 6A on Saturday. Under the Board’s ruling, Division II will be on Thursday in 2016, Friday in 2017, etc.

Division II football will be divided into three classes. Schools with enrollments up to 265 will be in Class A. Schools with enrollments 266-530 will be in Class AA. Schools with enrollments 531 and above will be in AAA. The sports of wrestling and bowling in Division II will be one class. Classification in Division II for all sports other than football, wrestling, and bowling will be divided into two classes. Schools with enrollments of 450 and below will be in Class A. Schools with enrollments above 450 will be in Class AA.

Thunder Radio spoke to CHS head football coach and athletic director Ryan Sulkowski following the TSSAA meeting. “We will see where our numbers fall (after the fall enrollment) and deal with it at that point” said Sulkowski. “We anticipate that we will remain in the top classification for each sport” added Sulkowski “but it is a strong possibility that some sports will have changes in their district alignments(in the new system).”

The Board voted that the state office to continue to reevaluate every member school’s enrollment figures after two years during the four year classification cycle. Schools that have a 20% decrease/increase in enrollment which causes them to move to another class are moved at that time. The Board also voted to allow school to request to move up in classification on a sport-by-sport basis.

The Twins wanted to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of their dramatic victory over Atlanta in the 1991 World Series, but Freddie Freeman and the Braves decided to crash the party with a 9-7 victory.

Freeman tied career highs with four hits and five RBI as the Braves chased Twins starter Tyler Duffey in the second inning. Atlanta took an early 7-0 lead before holding off a furious Minnesota comeback for a 9-7 victory at Target Field on Wednesday night, winning both games in a short Interleague series.
“That’s why I like scoring all of those runs later in the game, because it doesn’t give them as much time to catch up,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s great to jump out, and [Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz] did a great job early of having the shutdown innings and then was getting two strikes and was having a hard time putting guys away. But we got the win.”
Duffey (5-8) allowed seven of the first eight Braves hitters to reach base in a four-run first inning, punctuated by a two-run homer from Jeff Francoeur, and was pulled after yielding another run in 1 1/3 innings. Freeman added a two-run homer in the fourth, and the Braves tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and the eighth.
“We put up enough runs to win the game, which is really frustrating for me because my job is just to try to get to the fifth, at worst,” Duffey said. “I didn’t do it. We put up plenty of runs, and I ended up hurting us a lot more than me just pitching bad.”
The nine runs were the most scored by Atlanta since an 11-8 victory over the White Sox on July 8.
As it turned out, the Braves needed the offense’s outburst after a forgettable outing for Foltynewicz, who allowed a season-high seven runs (six earned) in 5 1/3 innings. A two-run homer by Kurt Suzuki capped a three-run fourth, and the Twins added a two-run single by Miguel Sano in the fifth and two more in the sixth to keep the game close.
“We pecked away at them and got back into the game,” said Twins manager Paul Molitor. “They added on a couple, which proved to be a difference at the end of the game. We had chances right down to the end, but there’s no question coming back from seven down is a tough task.”
The Twins threatened to tie the game in the eighth, but reliever Chris Withrow struck out Sano with the tying run on second to preserve Atlanta’s lead. Jim Johnson closed it out with a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
When Freeman chased Duffey with his second RBI single of the night, the Braves had recorded eight hits through 11 at-bats. Though Michael Tonkin momentarily silenced Atlanta’s offense, he also was damaged by Freeman, whose two-run home run in the fourth was projected by Statcast™ at 443 feet, a season best for the Braves first baseman. He notched five RBIs for the fifth time (first since Sept. 23 at Citi Field) with his decisive double in the sixth inning.
“It was a nice way to end a road trip,” Freeman said of a 3-6 trip that also included stops in Denver and Cincinnati. “As an offense, we’ve been struggling all year, so it’s nice to put up some runs like we did. Hopefully, we can carry that into the homestand and finish the season strong.”
It’s been two rough starts for Duffey. After allowing six runs on nine hits in 2 1/3 innings against the Red Sox on Thursday, he turned in the shortest outing of his career, recording only four outs. Duffey allowed seven of the first eight hitters to reach base as part of a four-run first and was pulled after yielding two more hits and another run.
“I’m sure he was anxious to pitch after his last outing, maybe to the point where it was detrimental,” Molitor said. “He seemed like he was, from my perspective, overthrowing. He tried to come out and the velocity was up a little early, but that’s not always a good sign.”
After chipping away at the Braves’ lead for most of the game, the Twins had a shot to tie it in the eighth when a fielding error and a walk put runners on first and second with nobody out. Minnesota, down 9-7, elected to have Eduardo Nunez bunt, but Freeman was able to get the forceout at third base. A stellar diving play by Gordon Beckham denied the Twins a run on a sharp grounder by Joe Mauer. Sano then struck out for the third time, stranding the tying run at second base, and showed his displeasure by snapping his bat over his leg.
“The eighth inning turned out to be an inning where I had some options on different things to do, and I elected to play for the tie there,” Molitor said. “We had a tough bunt to read, and we couldn’t get to third. It fizzled from there.”
Foltynewicz scattered three hits over three scoreless innings and then surrendered six hits (including four extra-base hits) within a span of nine at-bats. The right-hander matched a career-high 12 hits allowed when he surrendered three singles during a two-run sixth that concluded with Mauricio Cabrera striking out Sano with a runner at third base. The Braves’ bullpen retired 11 of 14 batters and surrendered just one hit while notching six strikeouts over 3 2/3 scoreless innings.
“I didn’t go six or seven innings tonight, so they had to pick up a good piece for me,” Foltynewicz said. “I tip my hat to them guys. They did a heck of a job and saved me tonight.”
Th e Twins have lost seven straight games to the Braves, their longest active losing streak against any team.
Matt Wisler will take the mound Thursday when Atlanta welcomes Philadelphia to Turner Field to begin a four-game series at 6:10 p.m. ET. Wisler has struggled in each of his past three starts, but he showed encouraging signs during the first five innings of Saturday’s game at Coors Field.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as we join the Atlanta Braves Radio Network at 6 PM.

Raul Alcantara tossed seven shutout innings to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 2-0 win over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox Wednesday afternoon at First Tennessee Park.

Recently promoted from Double-A Midland, Alcantara has started two games with the Sounds and has dazzled in both. He went seven innings against Omaha on July 21 and allowed one unearned run in a no decision. In his seven shutout frames today, he scattered seven hits, didn’t walk anybody, and struck out five.

Alcantara settled in early by retiring the side in order in the first. His counterpart, Aaron Wilkerson, was just as good in the early going as the two exchanged scoreless frames through the first three innings.

Jaycob Brugman helped out his pitcher when he threw out Brandon Macias at the plate to end the top of the third. On a base hit to right by Orlando Arcia, Macias tried to score from second but was gunned down by Brugman on a perfect throw home.

Nashville broke through in the fourth when Billy Burns started the inning with a sharp single to center. The speedster swiped second base and moved to third on a groundout. Renato Nunez hit a fly ball to center field deep enough to score Burns from third to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead.

Pitching with a 1-0 lead in the seventh, the first two Sky Sox batters reached with infield singles off Alcantara. A sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out. Alcantara bounced back with a soft line out and then retired Parker Berberet on a groundout to preserve the shutout.

The Sounds picked up an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning when Brugman started a rally with a single to right field. Renato Nunez added a base hit and Matt McBride knocked in the run with another single to left field.

Relievers Ryan Brasier worked a scoreless eighth and Patrick Schuster tossed a perfect ninth to close out the win.

The win for Alcantara is his first at the Triple-A level. Wilkerson allowed just two runs over six innings but was tagged with the loss.

Game three of the four-game set is scheduled for Thursday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Chris Smith (5-8, 4.25) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Brent Suter (4-4, 3.63). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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.