Davis Green

Good situational hitting and a command performance from junior pitcher Davis Green lifted the Coffee County baseball team to a 5 to 3 win over Shelbyville on Saturday in an elimination game at the District 8AAA tournament in Columbia.
Coffee County, who was held to just 3 hits on the game, showed patience at the plate in getting runners in scoring position in 5 of the 7 innings. “We have made an improvement in shortening up our swings and putting the ball in play” said coach David Martin. “That allowed us to cut down on our strikeouts and put pressure on their defense and it paid off for us(on Saturday)” added Martin.
The Raiders drew first blood in the 2nd inning when Gavin Husted got a 1 out walk and stole 2nd base. Jacob Langham drove an outside pitch to the right side of the infield that allowed Husted to advance to 3rd and, when the 2nd baseman misplayed the ball, score on the play. A walk and a stolen base in the 3rd put Zack Wise at 2nd base as Wyatt Day hit behind the runner to advance him to 3rd and Noah Anderson brought Wise home on a sacrifice fly.
In the 4th inning, a pair of singles and 3 Shelbyville errors added the final 3 runs to the scoreboard for Coffee County as again, the Raiders used a pair of sacrifices to put pressure on the Eagles defense.
Shelbyville was able to get base runners on board in every inning against Green, but the junior right-hander pitched out of every jam. “Davis is such a tough competitor. I did not intend for him to pitch (a complete game), but he would not have wanted to come out of there” said Martin. “He attacks the strike zone and stays ahead in the count, which allows him to be successful every time he takes the mound” added Martin. For his complete game win, Green was named the Ascend Federal Credit Union player of the game.
The Raiders will take on Columbia on Monday in a 6:30 PM elimination game at Columbia with a “next man up” mentality. The Red Raiders’ pitching staff has been stretched thin and several players are playing through injuries. “We have a lot of guys that are banged up right now but do not want to come out(of the lineup). I am proud of them to have that grit about them” said Martin. A win on Monday advances the Raiders to Tuesday’s semifinals.

You can download a copy of the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/ 

David Fernandez

After struggling with the Lawrence County defensive game plan in the 1st half, the Coffee County soccer team notched four 2nd half goals to open the District 8AAA soccer tournament with a 4 to 0 win. After implementing their halftime adjustments, the Raiders were able to counter the stingy Wildcat defense to advance to Wednesday’s semifinal which will be held at home at 7 PM against either Tullahoma or Columbia at the Raider Soccer Field.
“(Lawrence County) had an obvious game plan to just keep the ball out of the net, with their back line never coming off the 18 yard line in the first half and their four midfielders about ten yards in front” said Raider head coach Robert Harper following the game. “We did a good job the first half of being patient and possessing the ball, but at halftime we made an adjustment and started taking more shots from distance and playing crosses earlier in the possession” added Harper.
In the second half, David Fernandez opened the scoring in the 47th minute when he collected a rebound of his own missed shot and found the back of the net. Paco Barrera added a goal in the 57th minute off a pass from Breyer Taylor before Taylor added a goal 2 minutes later on an assist from Victor Ramirez. Ben Reid closed out the scoring for Coffee County in the 75th minute when he nailed a free kick from 40 yards out.
The Raiders now advance to Wednesday’s semifinal where they will face a stern task against either Tullahoma or Columbia. Coach Harper was very pleased with his team’s continuing improvement in ball possession and stressed that it will be important in the next round. “We need to continue to posses the ball and make sharp passes to be successful” said Harper.
The final quarterfinal game takes place on Monday at Tullahoma as Columbia takes on the Wildcats. That winner will visit the Raider Soccer Field at 7 PM on Wednesday. The Raider Soccer Field is located behind the Raider Academy on the McMinnville Highway in Manchester.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

The San Jose Sharks are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Final after a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators in Game Five on Saturday night at SAP Center. The Sharks now lead the Round Two series 3-2, with an elimination Game Six coming Monday night in Nashville.

The home team struck first, and although the Preds tied the game, San Jose continued to push, something Nashville wasn’t able to overcome.

“We weren’t ready to go,” forward James Neal said. “They came out strong, good push, scored, but I thought we settled down a bit and got one back and started playing a little better. But not good enough out of our group.”

San Jose made it 1-0 when Patrick Marleau fired a shot past Pekka Rinne at the 10:47 mark of the opening period to give the Sharks a lead. Nashville responded, and Mike Fisher tallied his team-leading fifth of the postseason – and third in two games – when he beat Martin Jones at the side of the net to even things at 1-1. Neal and Colin Wilson assisted on the Fisher marker, the fifth consecutive goal scored by the line. Joe Pavelski finished off the first-period scoring to give the Sharks the lead at the end of one.

Logan Couture made it 3-1 less than a minute into the second stanza, while Pavelski got his second of the night on a power play in the period’s final minutes for a three-goal San Jose lead after two. Melker Karlsson recorded the fifth Sharks’ goal as time wound down in regulation.

The Preds are now on the brink of elimination, something they faced in Round One against Anaheim. Down 3-2 heading into Game Six, the Predators won in Nashville before taking a deciding Game Seven against the Ducks. Now, they have to do the same again.

“I think anytime you’re in playoff hockey, experiences that you gain, good and bad, you learn from them,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “Just because we did something last round, we have to put the work in and make sure that we’re playing the game with the attitude that we need to be successful. We can take things from that, but we have to change our mindset here.”

“We’ve been in this position before; backs against the wall, and it usually brings out the best in people,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “It did last series, hopefully it does for us this time.”

With an assist on Mike Fisher’s goal, Colin Wilson has a point in six-straight games, setting a Preds franchise record for points in consecutive playoff games. Joel Ward held the previous record at five games.

Center Mike Ribeiro returned to the lineup in Game Five after being scratched for the previous two contests. Pontus Aberg, who made his NHL debut in Game Three, did not play on Saturday.

Game Six is set for Monday night in Nashville, an 8 p.m. (CT) start. If necessary, Game Seven will be back in San Jose on Thursday.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the Fifth Third Bank.Nashville Predators Radio Network

Sounds left fielder Andrew Lambo hit a two-out single to right field to score Jake Smolinski with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Sounds a 3-2 walk-off win before 6,031 fans Sunday afternoon at First Tennessee Park.

Smolinski sparked the two-out rally when Miguel Socolovich hit him with a pitch. With Lambo batting, he swiped second base for his third stolen base of the game. Lambo swatted a 3-2 offering from Socolovich into shallow right field and Smolinski scored just in front of the throw to the plate.

The rally came just moments after Redbirds right fielder David Washington tied the game with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the ninth off Sounds reliever Tucker Healy. The blast cost starter Daniel Mengden his second win in as many outings after a brilliant performance.

Mengden matched a career-high seven innings and kept Memphis off the scoreboard while limiting them to just four hits. He didn’t walk a batter and racked up eight strikeouts in the process. The eight punchouts fell just one shy of tying his career-high. Over his first two Triple-A starts, Mengden has combined to throw 13 shutout innings.

The scoring began with a Jake Smolinski two-out RBI single to right that scored Tyler Ladendorf to give Nashville an early 1-0 lead.

The Sounds doubled their lead in the bottom of the fourth when Joey Wendle sent a sacrifice fly to left field to score Renato Nunez to give Nashville a 2-0 lead.

Mengden was terrific after he allowed a leadoff triple to Charlie Tilson. He buckled in and got the next three hitters while keeping Tilson at third.

One game after Zach Neal retired the final 16 batters he faced, Mengden retired the final 11 he saw.

He gave way to the bullpen as Angel Castro kept the 2-0 lead with a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

The Sounds turned to Healy in the ninth who allowed the game-tying homer to Washington on a 1-1 pitch before the heroics in the home half of the ninth.

The series will conclude Monday night at First Tennessee Park. The Sounds send right-hander Chris Smith (1-4, 5.51) to the mound and the Redbirds will counter with right-hander Arturo Reyes (1-2, 5.73). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 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.

Chris Herrmann capped the first two-homer game of his career in timely fashion and allowed the D-backs to complete a three-game sweep with Sunday afternoon’s 5-3, 11-inning win over the Braves at Turner Field.

Herrmann’s two-run homer off Jim Johnson sunk the Braves, who had tied the game with a three-run eighth inning. Atlanta has lost 15 of its first 16 home games. The D-backs entered this series having lost six straight games and eight of their past nine.
D-backs starter Patrick Corbin scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings and exited with a 3-0 lead. But Jeff Francoeur produced a game-tying, two-run double off Jake Barrett, who entered after Tyler Flowers’ RBI single accounted for one of the three hits left-hander Andrew Chafin surrendered in the eighth.
Coming off a start in which he allowed the Mets three first-inning homers, Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz matched a career high with eight strikeouts and surrendered just two runs over seven innings. Corbin delivered an RBI triple after Erick Aybar’s defensive miscue extended the fifth inning, and Herrmann further marred Foltynewicz’s impressive outing when he drilled an 0-2 fastball off the right-field foul pole with two outs in the seventh.
Nick Markakis highlighted his three-hit game by beginning Atlanta’s three-run eighth with one of the three hits surrendered by Chafin within a span of four batters. Flowers chased Chafin with a RBI single and Francoeur followed by greeting Barrett with a two-run double that traveled down the left-field line far enough to allow pinch-runner Mallex Smith to easily score from first and tie the game at 3.
Power surge: After starting the season with just one hit in his first 20 at-bats, Herrmann’s bat has come alive. He has homered in three of his last five starts and is 9-for-19 over that span.
Foltynewicz recorded three strikeouts during a perfect fourth inning and had retired 11 straight batters before Brandon Drury opened the fifth with a single. Corbin would not have been given a chance to score Drury with his triple had Aybar not fumbled Chris Owings’ potential inning-ending double-play grounder. Aybar’s defensive woes continue to haunt the Braves, but he has continued to play shortstop, even when Daniel Castro is in the lineup.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was unsuccessful when he challenged whether Paul Goldschmidt violated the slide rule when he was forced out at second base in the 11th inning. Goldschmidt seemed to get his feet tangled as he slid awkwardly, but he never lost touch of the second-base bag.
Matt Wisler will take the mound when Atlanta opens a three-game series against Philadelphia on Tuesday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Wisler will be making a second straight start with two extra days of rest. He limited the Mets to one hit over eight scoreless innings during his most recent outing.