Four Nashville Sounds’ pitchers shut down the Iowa Cubs in a 4-1 win in front of 8,879 fans at First Tennessee Park Friday night.

Raul Alcantara started for the Sounds and one-hit the Cubs over three scoreless innings before giving way for Oakland Athletics right-hander Daniel Mengden. Pitching on a Major League rehab assignment, Mengden went 3 2/3 innings and limited Iowa to one unearned run.

The Sounds built an early lead behind Alcantara with a pair of runs in the first inning. Ramon Laureano started the bottom of the first with a triple to the gap in right-center. Steve Lombardozzi followed with a run-scoring single to plate the first run of the night. Lombardozzi later scored on a wild pitch to give Nashville a 2-0 lead.

With a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Jake Smolinski started a rally with a sharp single to left field, his second hit of the game. Anthony Garcia followed with his team-leading 14^th home run of the season to give the Sounds a 4-0 lead.

Mengden followed Alcantara in his first rehab assignment since landing on Oakland’s disabled list on June 23 with a sprained right foot. Iowa scored a run in the seventh with the help of a throwing error.

Dean Kiekhefer relieved Mengden with two outs in the seventh and stranded a runner. The southpaw started the eighth before Bobby Wahl entered with one out and a runner at first. He retired Chesny Young and Taylor Davis to hold the 4-1 lead.

Wahl came back out for the ninth and issued a lead-off walk before retiring the next three hitters to earn his 10^th save of the season.

Game four of the five-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Trevor Cahill (0-1, 3.72) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Jen-Ho Tseng (2-9, 7.25) for the Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 4-1 win, the Sounds improved to 40-45 on the season.
• Daniel Mengden made a Major League rehab appearance for the Sounds and picked up his 11^th career win with Nashville. His pitching line: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. He threw 66 pitches, 38 for strikes.
• Anthony Garcia hit his team-leading 14^th home run of the season – a two-run shot in the fifth inning. He also leads the Sounds with 44 RBI.
• Bobby Wahl recorded his 10^th save of the season. The 10 saves are tied for fourth-most in the Pacific Coast League.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Coffee County Central High School Red Raider basketball coach Micah Williams announces the 2018 Kid’s Skills Camp.  The camp will be held on July 16^th through the 19^th at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The camp will run from 9 AM to noon each day and cost for the camp is $50 per camper.  The camp is open to boys and girls who will be in the 2^nd through the 8^th grade in the upcoming school year.

If you need more information, contact Coach Williams at : williamsm@k12coffee.net

The Nashville Sounds dropped game two of their five-game series with the Iowa Cubs 7-1 Thursday night after a six-run sixth inning from Iowa.

Nashville starter James Naile brought his A-game through 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit and fanning six batters. The wheels fell off after that as the next six I-Cubs hitters collected a hit off Naile before he was pulled. He yielded three singles and three doubles. Ryan Dull then entered the game for Nashville and allowed his inherited runner to score on an RBI-double from Bijan Rademacher.

For the second night in a row the Sounds jumped out to an early lead. In his first at-bat back with the Sounds after a stint with Oakland, Franklin Barreto worked a one-out walk in the second inning. Catcher Bruce Maxwell then scorched a double into the right field corner to bring Barreto around to score. The lead would last three innings until Iowa erupted for six runs in the sixth. Iowa added another run in the seventh off Jake Sanchez.

Casey Coleman made his I-Cubs debut on the mound and turned in a solid outing. The right-hander limited the Sounds to just one run on three hits while striking out nine batters.

Nashville had an opportunity to chip away at the deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning as the first two batters reached base but Coleman struck out the next three batters to end the threat.

Game three of the five-game series is scheduled for Friday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Daniel Mengden (0-0, –) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. (3-8, 4.42) for the Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 7-1 loss, the Sounds dropped to 39-45 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 65 games when he walked in the sixth inning. Martini’s streak is the longest by a Nashville player in the Pacific Coast League era and is the longest active streak in professional baseball. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in with the Sounds. The 65-game on-base streak is the second-longest in professional baseball since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• Martini’s 10-game hitting streak was snapped.
• Ramón Laureano tallied a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to a modest five games. He has scored a run in each of his last three games.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

The pinnacle of the Summer of Soccer is here.

This Saturday, Nashville SC takes on first-place FC Cincinnati at Nissan Stadium at 7:30 PM. It’s expected to be a barn-burner in front of some of the loudest fans in the USL.

If you haven’t been out to a Nashville SC game yet this year, or are looking for a reason to hop on the bandwagon, here are 10 reasons why you should join the biggest sports party of the summer in the Music City.

1. Marquee Matchup

In terms of the quality of soccer, the intensity on the field should match the intensity in the stands on Saturday. This will be a matchup of the first-place team in the USL Eastern Conference against the third-place team in Nashville SC. Those kinds of matchups don’t come around very often.

It will also be Nashville’s first-ever matchup as a top-three team against a fellow top-three team. Depending on the result and the result for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Nashville could move up into second place in the USL Eastern Conference as a first-year professional club.

2. Late Goals

Whatever you do, don’t leave a Nashville SC match early.

Nashville is particularly good at scoring late goals. In fact, the team has scored eight goals after the 75’ minute. The most notable of these was Ropapa Mensah’s goal at the death to beat North Carolina FC 1-0 on June 16.

3. Our Players Can Bust a Move

Nashville knows how to put on a show, and Nashville SC is no different.

When Nashville’s scorers put the ball in the back of the net, they know how to celebrate properly. Lebo Moloto has cut a rug quite a few times after scoring big goals.

4. It’s Loud. Very Loud.

Like cheering? Like drums? Like getting loud for your favorite team?

You’ve come to the right place.

5. Matt Pickens Is Your New Favorite Goalie

Nashville is no stranger to good goalies. The Nashville Predators have had a long lineage of good goalies, from Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun to Pekka Rinne.

On the soccer pitch, there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Matt Pickens.

There’s only one Matt Pickens, and he’s been an integral part of why Nashville SC has had so much early season success.

6. It’s Fun for the Kids

Need something to do with the kids on a Saturday night? There’s no better place to be than a Nashville SC match. It’s loud, it’s raucous, but it’s also fun for the whole family. Just look at how much fun these future Nashville SC stars had.

7. There are Fireworks

Can’t get enough of the fireworks on the week of the Fourth of July? We’ve got you covered.

Stick around after the game for a firework display so grand it could only be done here in Nashville. Sources say that it’s going to be lit.

8. We’ve Got Famous Fans

All the biggest names in Nashville are on board with Nashville SC. Singers, Predators and Titans players and other stars have all come out to games and donned the blue and gold.

9. It’s a Future MLS Rivalry

Both Nashville and Cincinnati will be entering the MLS in the coming years, so you can be there to witness the first meeting of what should become a longstanding rivalry between two passionate soccer cities.

10. It’s a Saturday Night in Nashville

It’s the weekend after Independence Day. What better way to enjoy your Saturday night in Nashville than a soccer game with thousands of friends cheering on Nashville’s soccer club, followed by a firework display and a night out on the town?

Tickets are still available at NashvilleSC.com/tickets.