Coffee County’s Jaden Talley, winner of the Ensworth UTR Invitational [Photo used with permission]

Talley opened play on Friday with a 7 to 5 , 6 to 1 win over Trey Brown of Hendersonville.  Talley came right back and dropped John Yancey of Brentwood 6-0, 6-2 to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.  In the semifinals, Talley dropped Karthik Chitturi of Brentwood 6-3, 6-3 to advance to Sunday’s finals against Pierce McGee.  After splitting the first 2 matches 6-2, 4-6, the two players went to a tiebreaker.  Talley captured the tiebreaker set 10 to 8.

Talley was playing in his first summer tournament of the year.  Talley, who picked up tennis in the spring of 2016, is in his 2^nd season of playing summer tournament tennis.  Talley will be back in action on July 20^th when he takes part in a tournament at the Adams Tennis Complex in Murfreesboro.

The Nashville Sounds took care of the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-1 in Sunday’s matinee to even up the five-game series.

Raul Alcantara took on his biggest workload of the season as he logged a six innings in his third start of the campaign. In those six frames he allowed just one run, which came on a solo home run in the second inning from Omaha’s Frank Schwindel. The 70 pitches thrown by Alcantara were a season-high.

The Sounds were all over the base paths all afternoon as they tallied 14 hits and put a runner on base in each inning.

Beau Taylor got the scoring started in the first inning when he delivered a two-out RBI-single to right field. Jake Smolinski doubled Nashville’s lead when he shot a two-out flare into shallow left field to bring home Nick Martini. The Sounds added three runs in the third on a run-scoring single from Melvin Mercedes, a sacrifice fly from Ramón Laureano, and Sheldon Neuse came in to score on a wild pitch from Omaha’s Luis Vasquez.

Smolinski kept the offense going for Nashville in the latter stages of the ball game. The right fielder extended Nashville’s advantage in the fifth inning with his second RBI-single of the game. He then showed off his power by tagging a solo blast to left field to begin the eighth inning. It was the ninth home run of the season for Smolinski in just his 29^th game.

Carlos Ramirez and Danny Coulombe combined to blank the Storm Chasers in the final three innings to complete the victory for the Sounds.

The Sounds and Storm Chasers continue their five-game series Monday night at Werner Park with a doubleheader. Right-hander Norge Ruiz (0-0, 4.50) starts for the Sounds in game one against left-hander Jake Kalish (2-2, 3.71) for the Storm Chasers. Right-hander Ben Bracewell (1-2, 4.87) will start for the Sounds in game two while Omaha has yet to announce its game two starter. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With today’s 7-1 win, the Sounds improved to 38-41.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 60 games with his second-inning single. 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 60-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• With his two hits Sunday afternoon, Nick Martini has now hit safely in a PCL-leading 21 straight road games.
• The Sounds left 13 runners on base to match a season-high.

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.

Back at home and back in the win column for Nashville SC. The club from the Music City routed Atlanta United 2, 3-0, in front of almost 9,000 fans at First Tennessee Park on Saturday night.

Goals from Brandon Allen, Alan Winn and Lebo Moloto and another shutout from Matt Pickens all contributed to the victory over the Atlanta United’s second team. Nashville SC picked up a much needed three points vaulting back into the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference.

90’ in a Nutshell

Nashville SC got on the scoresheet early in the 19’ minute when a Winn cross found the foot of Allen who tapped it in near the far post for an easy marker. Allen had multiple chances throughout the first half and would have had a second if not for the quick hands of Atlanta keeper Justin Garces.

Just before the halftime whistle, Nashville caught Atlanta on the counter, with Moloto threading a pass to Winn who brought it back to his right foot and found the net. It was Winn’s third of the season and gave him a goal with the assist.

In the second half, Atlanta tried to find its way back into the game, but the Nashville defense and Pickens hung tough, denying United 2. Late in the half, it was Moloto’s turn to add a goal with an assist as he took a Ropapa Mensah ball and curled it home from the top of the box. It was a dagger from Nashville and insured the three points remained with the home team.

Goals

19’ NSH – Brandon Allen (assisted by Alan Winn)

45’ + 3 NSH – Alan Winn (assisted by Lebo Moloto)

84’ NSH – Lebo Moloto (assisted by Ropapa Mensah)

Quotables

Head Coach Gary Smith – “Alan was terrific, he was very positive, involved in an awful lot of creation and of course got an assist and a goal. I’m not sure I could have asked for much more of a performance. He came off because he’s not had bundles of football. He had a terrific hour and it was time to really inject some energy.”

Key Stat

Alan Winn – 1 goal, 1 assist. In his first start since June 9, Alan Winn showed why he is one of Nashville’s most dangerous players, throwing multiple dangerous passes into the box, recording an assist and getting a goal himself.

Standings Update

Nashville jumped over Indy Eleven and into 4th place with the three points tonight. They are just two away from second place which is currently occupied by both Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Louisville City FC.

Stroylines

– Nashville’s win improves its home record to 8-1-1 overall and 5-1-1 in USL play.

– The goals are Allen’s 4^th, Winn’s 3^rd and Moloto’s 5^th with Nashville SC. Moloto is tied with Ropapa Mensah for the team lead in goals.

– The shutout is Matt Pickens 8^th in USL play and 9^th total this season. He leads all of the USL with 8 in league play.

– Winn and Moloto also contributed assists, along with Mensah, on the night.

– The three points moves Nashville into 4^th place in the USL Eastern Conference with 26 points in 15 games, just two points behind 2^nd place in the East.

Up Next

Nashville has its premier summer game as it will take on fellow MLS market FC Cincinnati on July 7 at Nissan Stadium, followed by a firework show. Tickets are available and can be purchased at NashvilleSC.com/tickets or by calling (615) 457-8200.