A trio of Coffee County CHS tennis players competed this past weekend in the Tennessee Junior Team Tennis State Championships in Murfreesboro.  Ben Davis, Jaden Talley and Lauren Perry each competed in the 18U Intermediate Division.  On the weekend, each finished with a winning record.

Davis, a rising senior, and Perry, a rising sophomore, competed for Team True Blue based out of Murfreesboro.  Perry was 3 and 1 on the weekend and Davis was 2 and 1.  Their team finished tied for 2^nd in their pool and missed advancing to the championship round via the tiebreaker.  Davis lost in men’s doubles but picked up straight set wins in singles and mixed doubles.  Perry was 1 and 1 in mixed doubles and got straight set wins in singles and ladies’ doubles.

Talley, a rising junior, competed for Murfreesboro Quality Service.  Jaden finished the weekend with a 3 and 1 record helping his team finish 3^rd in their pool.  Talley got a straight set win and a 3 set loss in men’s doubles action.  Talley won in straight sets in singles play and gutted out a 3 set victory in mixed doubles.

The Coffee County CHS volleyball team will host their annual scrimmage play day on Thursday at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  Twelve teams in all will be in action beginning at 8:30 AM.  Action will take place on all 3 courts so spectators are encouraged to bring a lawn chair.

Coffee County will take on Oakland at 8:30 AM.  They will follow that up with a 11:30 AM match against Riverside Christian.  The Lady Raiders will close out play with a 1 PM match against former district rival Lawrence County.

The complete schedule is as follows:

The Nashville Sounds were “ruffed up” by the Oklahoma City Dodgers in a 16-1 loss in front of 7,113 fans at First Tennessee Park Tuesday night.

Oklahoma City hitters launched five home runs off Nashville pitching, including four off starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx. Trouble started in the first inning when Bibens-Dirkx walked the first three batters of the game. DJ Peters knocked in two runs with a base hit up the middle and Kyle Garlick hit the first home run of the night – a two-run shot to right-center to make it 4-0.

The Dodgers powered up again in the second with back-to-back home runs. Gavin Lux drilled a two-run blast to right-center and Will Smith followed with a solo homer to extend the lead to 7-0.

Bibens-Dirkx went five innings and allowed a season-high eight runs on nine hits. He was charged with his third loss of the season.

Nashville’s offense never got going against Oklahoma City starter Dustin May. The right-hander shut out the Sounds over six innings and limited them to only three hits.

Patrick Wisdom got the Sounds on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning when he crushed a solo home run to deep left field. It was Wisdom’s 18th home run of the season.

By the time Wisdom hit his home run, the Dodgers had built a 14-0 lead. Edwin Rios hit a solo home run in the fifth and Zach Reks clobbered a grand slam as part of a six-run sixth inning for the Dodgers.

Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Left-hander Wes Benjamin (4-5, 6.37) starts for Nashville against right-hander Brock Stewart (4-7, 7.91) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

– With tonight’s 16-1 loss, the Sounds dropped to 42-59 in 2019.

– Willie Calhoun extended his on-base streak to 23 games with a single in the first inning.

– Austin Bibens-Dirkx allowed a career-high four home runs.

– The five home runs allowed by Nashville pitchers matched a season-high (June 4 at Reno, June 30 vs. Oklahoma City).

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.

For the 2nd time in 2 weekends, a Manchester baseball team has captured a Tennessee Youth Baseball Association(TYBA) state title.  On Sunday, the 12U Manchester Trouble Makers capped off a perfect run through the 7 team, 12U TYBA State Recreation Division and earned a state title.  The Manchester 9 dropped DeKalb County in the championship game 14 to 5 to clinch the title.

In pool play action on Friday and Saturday, the Trouble Makers rolled to a 3 and 0 record to earn the top seed in Sunday’s elimination bracket.  On Sunday, the team rolled through Huntland in the semifinals to set up the battle with DeKalb County in the finals.  Timothy Henderson pitched a 6 inning complete game to get the win. Grayson McNeese led an impressive Trouble Makers offensive attack which had 5 home runs.  McNeese had 2 home runs in the championship game while Jayden Carter, Lucas Beaty, and Austin Gipson also clubbed round trippers.

The Trouble Makers finished the weekend with a record of 5 and 0 as they outscored their opponents 64 to 8 in the 5 game blitz.  Members of the Trouble Makers are: Lucas Beaty, Chase Bryce, Jayden Carter, Austin Gipson, Timothy Henderson, Trevor Jesse, Evan Kirby, Layton McCullough, Grayson McNeese, Keaton Rowe and Matthew Sherrill.  The Troublemakers are coached by Johnny Carter, David Kirby, Andre Marcrom and Kevin Rowe.

The Titans are set to open training camp with three players on the team’s Physically Unable to Perform list – defensive lineman Jurrell Casey, tight end Jonnu Smith and kicker Ryan Succop.

All three players were placed on PUP on Monday.

Also, defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons has been placed on the team’s NFI (Non-Football Injury) list.

Casey and Smith are recovering from knee injuries suffered at the end of last season. Succop, meanwhile, hasn’t practiced throughout the offseason as he recovers from an injury as well.

Each of these players will be eligible to practice with the team upon passing a physical.

The Titans begin training camp on Friday. The reporting date for all players is on Thursday, although rookies, quarterbacks and all players who ended the offseason injured reported to Saint Thomas Sports Park on Monday.

The good news is several Titans who were limited during the offseason with injuries – including tackle Jack Conklin, tight end Delanie Walker, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and cornerback Logan Ryan – are not listed with injury designations at the start of camp. There’s a chance some of those players could still be limited, however.

Simmons, the team’s first-round draft pick, suffered a torn ACL during a workout in February and is rehabbing at Saint Thomas Sports Park.

Rules related to the PUP list:

Players who start the preseason on the PUP list may not practice until cleared by team medical personnel. They can attend team meetings and work out, however, and once cleared they can return to the field.

Players who practice during training camp are not eligible for the PUP list.

If a player finishes preseason on the PUP list, they can be placed on the regular season PUP list.

Players on the PUP list do not count against the 53-man roster, but do count against the 90-man roster limit.

The non-football injury list is for players who suffer an injury not related to NFL football or and keeps players from practicing at the start of training camp. The NFI covers injuries sustained during a player’s final college football season.

The rules on when a player on the NFI can get back to the field are the same as for those on the PUP list.

Details on the newest North American continental soccer tournament were announced jointly by Major League Soccer and Liga MX on Thursday afternoon. Following the Leagues Cup debut in 2019, the 2020 tournament will expand to 16 teams and will feature eight qualified top-flight teams from each of the top two soccer leagues in North America.

Beginning in 2020, the eight qualified teams from MLS will be determined by the top four finishers in the Eastern Conference regular season standings and top four in the Western Conference. Clubs that qualify for the 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League will be excluded from qualifying for the Leagues Cup.

The eight Liga MX teams will include the 2019 Apertura champion, 2020 Clausura champion, 2019-20 Copa MX champion, and the next five best teams in the combined Apertura 2019-Clausura 2020 standings that have not already qualified for Leagues Cup.

With this new qualification process, Nashville Soccer Club will be eligible for entrance into the 2021 Leagues Cup based on the team’s finish in its inaugural MLS season in 2020.

Leagues Cup will make its debut in 2019 with four selected MLS and four selected Liga MX clubs competing in the U.S. from July 23-September 18 in a single-elimination tournament.