Maddy Jones of CHS soccer

The Coffee County CHS soccer team held their 18^th annual scrimmage playday on Saturday.  Welcoming 7 varsity and 4 JV teams, the Lady Raider varsity and JV teams each got in three 30 minute games.  At the end of the day, the varsity team finished with a record of 2-0-1 and the JV was 0-1-2.

The Lady Raider varsity opened the day with a 3 to 0 win over Rockvale.  Katie Cotton had a pair of goals and Jayda Wright chipped in the 3^rd goal.  Marley Perry assisted on Cotton’s first tally.  In the 2^nd match, the Lady Raiders got another clean sheet in a 2 to 0 win over Cascade.  Perry had a goal and an assist while Maddie Jones had the other goal and Anna Amado notched the assist.

In the final game of the day, Coffee County raced out to a 2 to 0 lead Jones pushed a nice pass from Cotton into the far left corner of the net to take a 1 nil lead.  Reyna Flores made it 2 to 0 as she struck a bending laser from 30 yards out 8 minutes in.  Franklin County rallied to push the pressure to the Lady Raiders and tied the match with goals in the 12^th and 14^th minute as the Raider defense could not clear the ball after stops from keeper Lucy Riddle.

The JV opened the day with a 2 to 1 loss to Shelbyville before tying Tullahoma at nil and drawing with Franklin County at 2.  Ellie Fann netted all 3 JV goals for the Lady Raiders.

Coffee County will travel to Cascade on Tuesday for a scrimmage with the Lady Champions.  That match will get underway at 5:30 PM.  The Lady Raiders open the season in Fayetteville when they travel to take on Lincoln County in a district match.  That match will get underway at 6:30 PM and Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.

The Manchester Youth Football League kicked off the 2019 season with a jamboree at Pulaski on Saturday.  The Raider teams were dominant in their scrimmage match-ups against Columbia.    All 3 Raider teams captured jamboree wins as each pitched a shutout in their jamboree contest.

The Division 1 Raiders opened the day with a 20 to 0 win over Columbia.  Manchester got touchdowns by Karson Wimley, Davion Dycus and Avery Hodges in the game.

The Division 2 Raiders followed that up with a 19 to 0 win.  Treyvion Mathis scored 2 touchdowns for the Raiders.  Levi Scott added the 3^rd touchdown.

The Division 3 squad made it a 3 peat on the day for the Red & Black.  They got a 13 to 0 win over Columbia.  Landen Abellana and Caiden Martin scored the touchdowns for Manchester.  Defensively, Zander Gomez and Carter Bell had interceptions for the Raiders.

The Raiders will open the regular season Saturday at home.  The Manchester teams will welcome Franklin County to Carden-Jarrell Field for an afternoon tripleheader.  The Division 1 team will play at 2 PM.  The Division 2 team will kick off at 3:30 and the Division 3 team will play in the 5 PM nightcap.

The Nashville Sounds led a late lead slip away on Sunday afternoon in Sacramento, falling 3-2 in a walk-off defeat against the River Cats at Raley Field. The Sounds had been 4-0 on their seven-game California trip and had not trailed at any point before the River Cats scored in the ninth inning to end the game.

The Sounds grabbed a 2-0 lead in the fourth, as Ronald Guzman blasted a two-run homer to right field to break a scoreless tie. The Sounds now have homered in 13 consecutive games and hit 25 in that span. Starter Tim Dillard, in his first outing since a nine-inning complete game, gave the Sounds another good outing. He yielded one run – a Joe McCarthy homer in the fifth inning – on five hits over 5 1/3 frames in the no-decision. Dillard’s appearance was his 238th as a Sound, tying the franchise record held by Joey Vierra.

Locke St. John replaced Dillard in the sixth and got out of a jam, and Joe Barlow tossed a perfect seventh to keep the Sounds ahead, 2-1. But the River Cats tied the game in the eighth with consecutive doubles off Phillips Valdez and ended the contest in the ninth on a game-winning single by Abiatal Avelino. Patrick Wisdom, who tied a Sounds record on Saturday night by homering in his sixth consecutive game, went hitless in three at-bats, and the Sounds totaled only three hits in the game.

The Sounds continue the four-game series Monday night at 9:05 CT. Seth Maness (7-4, 5.97) is set to oppose Dereck Rodriguez (3-0, 3.64).

Post-Game Notes

Nick Solak went 1-for-3 to move his hitting streak 11 games
Scott Heineman (0-for-4) snapped a 13-game hitting streak as a Sound
Ronald Guzman’s homer was his third in 13 games since joining the Sounds
The Sounds are 13-13 this season against the Pacific Conference with two games remaining

Matt Pickens, Nashville SC keeper

Two goal line clearances kept Nashville SC from a fifth-straight victory as the club drew Bethlehem Steel FC 0-0 at First Tennessee Park on Saturday night in front of a season-high FTP crowd. Nashville peppered the Bethlehem net throughout the second half, firing 14 second half shots, eight on target, but was unable to find the back of the net. It was the fifth-consecutive clean sheet for the Nashville SC defense as its shutout streak sits at 466 minutes and counting.

All of the best chances from Nashville came in the second half. In the 68’ minute, NSC midfielder Lebo Moloto put a header on frame past the keeper that was cleared off the underside of the crossbar and back out. Then in the 88’ minute, midfielder Ken Tribbet sent a shot destined for the Bethlehem net but was blocked by a Steel FC defender on the line.

Keeping the clean sheet was Nashville keeper Matt Pickens who has started each of the last five matches. It was the 10th clean sheet of the season for Pickens and the 12th of the year for Nashville.

Here are three takeaways from the draw.

1) Defense Still Shining

The three-headed defensive combo of keeper Matt Pickens and defenders Forrest Lasso and Jimmy Ockford has led to a resurgence for the Nashville SC defense. Since the acquisitions of Ockford and Lasso in mid-July five matches ago, Nashville SC has yet to allow and goal. Head coach Gary Smith has also opted to stick with Pickens after rotating keepers during the course of the season. The five-match clean sheet streak is tied for the longest in the USL Championship this season with Birmingham Legion FC who is also riding a similar run.

2) Waiting on the Table

With the season in the stretch run, Nashville SC will be paying close attention to other teams at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Formerly first place Tampa Bay Rowdies lost just their third match of the season on Saturday at home, 1-0 to Birmingham. New York Red Bulls II jumped to first place with a come from behind 5-1 win over Hartford Athletic. Fourth place Indy Eleven was off this weekend, but fifth place North Carolina FC beat Memphis 901 FC 2-1 to close the gap with Nashville. The table is tightening up late in the season, in what should make for an exciting stretch run.

3) Captain’s Presence Still Felt

While captain Michael Reed didn’t suit up for Nashville SC on Saturday after suffering a season-ending injury in Nashville’s last match, his presence was still felt at First Tennessee Park. NSC defender Forrest Lasso wore the captain’s armband, but written on it was ‘#17 Reed.’ Fans organized card signings and balloons for their fallen captain.

Up Next

Nashville SC will have a full week before its next match as it plays next Saturday night, August 17 at Charlotte Independence. Nashville and Charlotte drew 1-1 earlier this season at First Tennessee Park.

The Nashville Sounds crushed a season-high six home runs on Saturday night, including two more from Patrick Wisdom, and routed the Sacramento River Cats 13-3 in the opener of a four-game set at Raley Field. The Sounds are 4-0 so far on their seven-game California road trip and haven’t trailed at any point.

The game was tied 1-1 in the third when the Sounds began their home run barrage. Andy Ibanez and Nick Solak each hit a two-run homer off Justin Haley to make it 5-1. Then Wisdom homered for the sixth consecutive game, going back-to-back with Solak for a 6-1 advantage. Zack Granite later added an RBI single in the six-run frame.

Leading 7-3 after six innings, the Sounds added three two-run homers over the final three innings to break open the game. Christian Lopes nailed one in the seventh, Scott Heineman smashed one in the eighth, and Wisdom capped off the big night with a two-run blast in the ninth. Wisdom has eight homers over his amazing six-game stretch and 20 homers in his last 41 games. Starter Wes Benjamin was the beneficiary of the run support, notching the win while giving up three runs over seven strong innings in his second consecutive quality start.

The four-game series continues Sunday afternoon at 3:05 CT. Tim Dillard (7-8, 4.86) is scheduled to start for the Sounds against a starter to be announced for Sacramento.

Post-Game Notes

Nick Solak and Patrick Wisdom have been the tandem each of the last two times the Sounds have hit back-to-back homers (also July 19)
Scott Heineman owns a 13-game hitting streak as a Sound
The Sounds are 13-12 against the Pacific Conference this season
Nick Solak went 3-for-5 and has hit safely in 11 games in a row

Patrick Wisdom had three hits, including his 24th home run of the season, to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 5-1 win over the Fresno Grizzlies Friday night at Chukchansi Park. Wisdom’s big night at the plate helped the Sounds to the three-game sweep, their second series sweep of 2019.

Wisdom’s long ball was his sixth in his last five games, and his 18th in his last 40 contests. He has homered in five consecutive games.

The designated hitter had previously knocked in the first run of the game with an RBI double in the second inning. The home run was a solo blast and gave Nashville a 2-1 lead after five frames.

Starter Joe Palumbo did his part with five solid innings on the mound. The southpaw allowed one run on three hits and one walk. He struck out seven and picked up his second Triple-A win of the season.

The bullpens got involved and the game remained tight until the eighth. Wei-Chieh Huang tossed two scoreless innings for Nashville to get the game to the eighth when the Sounds put it away with a three spot.

Matt Davidson sparked a rally with a one-out single and moved to second when Scott Heineman reached on an error. After Christian Lopes was retired for the second out of the inning, Nick Solak provided some breathing room with a three-run homer off the batter’s eye in center field to extend Nashville’s lead to 5-1.

Reed Garrett put up a zero in the bottom of the eighth and Jake Petricka followed suit in the ninth to finish the three-game sweep.

The Sounds travel to Sacramento to begin a four-game series beginning Saturday night. Left-hander Wes Benjamin (5-5, 6.15) starts for Nashville against right-hander Justin Haley for Sacramento (0-0, —). First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With Friday’s 5-1 win, the Sounds improved to 50-65 in 2019.

– Patrick Wisdom hit his 24th home run of the season in the fifth inning. Wisdom has homered in five consecutive games and has 18 in his last 40 games.

– Joe Palumbo tossed five innings in his second start since being reinstated from the injured list (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K).

– Matt Davidson extended his on-base streak to 26 games with a single in the eighth inning. It’s the longest on-base streak by a Sounds player in 2019.

– Nick Solak extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the second inning. It’s the 10th 10+ game hitting streak to a Sounds player in 2019.

The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.