Claybusters Junior National Championship team

The most successful prep sports team in Southern Middle Tennessee added another national title to their championship pedigree.  The Coffee County Claybusters earned a team title and a pair of Top 3 finishes on Tuesday in the American Trapshooting Association(ATA) AIM Grand American World Trapshooting Championships in Illinois.  All 3 teams and 3 individuals competed in the AIM Singles Championship shooting 100 targets a day on Monday and 100 more on Tuesday.

The Claybusters Team #1 captured the Junior Division national title as they shattered 972 targets out of 1000.  Leading the Juniors was Hayden Jacobs who shot 197 clays.  Colter Smith was right behind him with 196.  Tucker Carlton shot 195, Victoria Majors shattered 193 and Cheyenne Martin finished with 191 as each shooter had at least 2 perfect 25 rounds.

Claybusters Sub-Junior Division Class AA team

Claybusters Team #2 finished in 2^nd place in the Sub-Junior Division Class AA with a final score of 952.  Team #2 was led by twin brothers Landon and Logan Meadows who each dropped 194 clays.  Garrett Taylor was right on their heels after shooting 192 clays.  Riley Bellomy shot 188 and Emma Mathews dropped 184.

Claybusters Sub-Junior Division Class A team

Claybusters Team #3 claimed 3^rd place in the Sub-Junior Division Class A with a final score of 922.  Team #3 was led by Jonah Wyatt who shot 194 targets.  Brayden Davenport dumped 191 and Aubrey Payne shattered 186.  Xavier Bartley scored 176 hits while Dylan Hickerson scored 175.

Individually, Alexus Stacey shot a 179 as a Junior Class B shooter.  Jacob Anderson  had a 171 as a Pre-Sub Junior Class A shooter and Emily Deford shot 163 in the Junior Division Class D.

As the calendar flips over into August, it is officially football season.  All 3 local prep teams have been on the gridiron preparing for the 2019 season.  Part of that preparation are scrimmage games and all 3 prep teams will have scrimmage games this week.

The Coffee County Middle School football team will play host to Whitworth-Buchanan on Thursday behind the Coffee County Middle School on the Raiders practice field.  That scrimmage is set to get underway at 4:15.  The Red Raiders open the season on Tuesday when they travel to Watertown.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Opening kick on Tuesday is set for 6:30 PM, our broadcast will begin at 6:20 with the pregame show.

The Westwood Middle School football team will also get underway on Thursday night with their annual Blue-White Game.  The inter-squad game will kick-off at 7 PM at Dyer-Bouldin Field.   The Rockets will then turn around and travel to Wartrace on Friday for the Cascade Jamboree.  The Rockets will take on Eagleville for a half of action beginning at 6 PM.  The Rockets open the season on Thursday when they travel to Woodbury to take on Cannon County.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Opening kick on Tuesday is set for 6:30 PM, our broadcast will begin at 6:20 with the pregame show.

The Coffee County CHS football team will also hit the field on Friday.  The Red Raiders will host their first scrimmage on Friday, August 2nd when they welcome Stewarts Creek to Carden-Jarrell Field in a varsity/freshman doubleheader.  That scrimmage will get underway at 5:30 PM.  The public is urged to come out and show their support.  The Red Raiders will open the 2019 season on August 23rd when they travel to Winchester to take on Franklin County.  That game will kick-off at 7 PM and as always, Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you every second of every game.

Members of the Coffee County Youth Bass Club at Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show. Standing(left to right) Brent Sain(boat captain), Phil Thurmond(boat captain) and Dawson Wells. Sitting(left to right) Phil Petty(coach), Jacob Garms, Colby Thurmond, Branson Wells, Kaden Freeze and Briley Sain

Three boats from the Coffee County Youth Bass Club will hit the water on Thursday, August 8th in the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Championship on Kentucky Lake.  The teams of Jacob Garms and Colby Thurmond, Dawson and Branson Wells, and the team of Kaden Freeze and Briley Sain will represent Coffee County in the 3 day championship.  The boats will fish on Thursday and Friday weighing in each afternoon.  The top 12 boats will return on Saturday to compete for the national championship.

All 3 teams were guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.  You can hear their interview by downloading the show at: http://www.podcastgarden.com/episode/coffee-coaches-show_147238?fbclid=IwAR38ANAUaft_bgrwqyW70RwxdEmCJN5zlOPODqj6WD6BS9GP6dmTVWpxyHs

Ronald Guzman’s second inning grand slam helped the Nashville Sounds jump out to an early lead and they hung on for a 7-6 win over the El Paso Chihuahuas in front of 6,828 fans at First Tennessee Park Wednesday night.

With a 1-0 lead and the bases loaded in the second, Guzman drilled a 1-2 pitch from Dietrich Enns into the Vanderbilt Health Picnic Place in right-center for a grand slam and 5-0 lead. It was the second grand slam by a Nashville hitter in 2019, and Guzman’s first long ball with the team.

El Paso didn’t go away quietly as they answered with two runs in the next frame. Shortstop Seth Mejias-Brean drilled a two-run homer off Austin Bibens-Dirkx to get the Chihuahuas on the board.

The Sounds were at it again in the fourth with another long ball. With Jett Bandy on second base, Christian Lopes launched a two-run blast into the Hyundai Deck in left field to give the Sounds a 5-2 lead. Lopes went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI and is hitting .352 since joining the team from Double-A Frisco in late June.

El Paso answered again in the fifth when they sent nine batters to the plate in a four-run inning. Mejias-Brean, Michael Gettys, Josh Naylor and Ty France all knocked in a run to trim the Nashville lead to 7-6.

Miguel Del Pozo eventually relieved Bibens-Dirkx and got out of the jam. Del Pozo started a string of four Nashville relievers that combined to toss 4 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Joe Barlow struck out a batter to finish the sixth and faced the minimum in a scoreless seventh. Jake Petricka followed suit with a scoreless eighth and David Carpenter worked a six-pitch, 1-2-3 top of the ninth to notch his 19th save of the season.

The series finale is scheduled for Thursday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Seth Maness (6-3, 5.75) starts for Nashville against right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez (0-1, 14.59) for El Paso. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With tonight’s 7-6 win, the Sounds improved to 45-62 in 2019.

– Ronald Guzman hit a grand slam in the second inning. It was the second grand slam for Nashville in 2019 (Zack Granite – May 23 vs. Memphis).

– Scott Heineman’s double in the eighth inning extended his hitting streak to 11 games. During the streak, Heineman is hitting .378 (17-for-45) with 9 runs scored, 1 double, 2 home runs and 6 RBI.

– The Sounds are now 13-10 in one-run games.

– David Carpenter earned his 19th save in as many chances. The 19 saves is the ninth-most in a single-season in Nashville Sounds history.

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.

The 2019-2020 prep sports season got underway on Tuesday as the 2 time defending district champion Coffee County CHS golf team opened their season. Coach Mike Ray got his biggest rebuilding effort underway in Fayetteville Tuesday morning with an 9 hole match against Lincoln County. The Red Raiders came up short to Lincoln County by 6 strokes. The Lady Raiders came out on top by 14 strokes.
Freshman Maggie Crouch led the Lady Raiders as she shot a 49 to claim the low round honors. Fellow freshman Cadie Prater fired a 60 on the day. The Lady Raiders outdistanced the Lady Falcons by a final score of 109 to 123.
The Red Raiders fell 188 to 182. Chris Robinson had the low round for Coffee County as he fired a 41. Chase Hancock carded a 45 and Logan Hale mastered the course in 46 strokes. Blake Perry finished with a score of 56 and David O’Connor carded a 63.
The Raider linksters will travel to Cookeville next Tuesday, August 6th for an 18 hole match. Coffee County will also play Grundy County at Sewanee on Thursday, August 8th before their first home match. The Raiders first home match will be on Thursday, August 15th at Willowbrook when they welcome Warren County, Tullahoma and Grundy County for a 18 hole match.

The Nashville Sounds blew a late 4-1 lead and eventually lost to the El Paso Chihuahuas, 6-4, in front of 7,086 fans on Tuesday night at First Tennessee Park.

The Chihuahuas got a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Austin Allen and an RBI single by Seth Mejias-Brean in the top of the 10th inning to provide the difference.

Nashville starter Wes Benjamin turned in his best performance of the season but did not factor into the decision after the Sounds coughed up a lead. The southpaw tossed a season-high 6 2/3 innings and limited the Chihuahuas to one run on six hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out six.

The Sounds broke up a scoreless game with a three-spot in the bottom of the fourth inning. Nick Solak started the rally with a one-out single and Patrick Wisdom reached on a fielding error by El Paso.

Jose Trevino plated the first run of the game with a run-scoring double and Christian Lopesfollowed suit with another RBI double to make it a 2-0 game. Zack Granite knocked in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly and the Sounds took a 3-0 lead to the fifth.

The lone run Benjamin allowed was on Travis Jankowski‘s RBI single in the fifth. Nashville got the run right back in the sixth when Nick Solak belted a solo homer off the batter’s eye in center field. It was Solak’s fifth home run in 12 games with the Sounds and his 22nd overall in 2019.

Shane Carle took over on the mound for the Sounds in the eighth and ran into immediate trouble when Jankowski reached on an infield single. After Carle retired Michael Gettys for the first out, El Paso had consecutive run-scoring hits by Josh Naylor, Ty France and Austin Allen to even the game at 4-4.

Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx (0-3, 7.23) starts for Nashville against left-hander Logan Allen(4-3, 5.15) for El Paso. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With tonight’s 6-4 loss, the Sounds dropped to 44-62 in 2019.

– Wes Benjamin threw a season-high 6.2 innings (6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K).

– Scott Heineman‘s single in the second inning extended his hitting streak to 10 games. During the streak, Heineman is hitting .390 (16-for-41) with 9 runs scored, 2 home runs and 6 RBI.

– With tonight’s loss, the Sounds are now 2-4 in extra-inning games.

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.