A darkened Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym for Friday’s Red Raider basketball game.

The Coffee County Red Raider basketball team closed out the summer scrimmage season on Friday with a scrimmage doubleheader at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  Coffee County opened up with a 57 to 48 win over Moore County.  After the passing of a thunderstorm that knocked out the power to CHS, Coffee County beat Cannon County 65 to 45 in a gym lit by emergency lights and ambient light through the glass exit doors.

Against Moore County, the Raiders got 20 points from Darius Rozier and 9 from Andrew Mahaffey.  Nine different Red Raiders scored in the win. Coffee County was 3 for 8 at the free throw line which hampered them pulling away from the Blue Raiders of Lynchburg.

In a second game that was delayed due to the passing of the severe storm, Coffee County got off to a red hot start.  The Raiders jumped out to a 17 to 3 lead over Cannon County as they controlled the first quarter.  The Lions cut the lead to 6 points in the 2^nd quarter before the Raiders pushed the lead back to 12 at the half.  The Raiders never allowed the lead to fall below 12 points in the second half.  Rozier led the Raiders in scoring with 17 points.  Mahaffey added 12 points and Chase Simpkins scored 9 points while Harley Hinshaw chipped in 7 points.

Red Raider basketball coach Micah Williams was a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the summer season and his team’s progress.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast each and every Saturday morning LIVE from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio beginning at 10 AM.  That interview can be downloaded at: https://www.podcastgarden.com/login/audio-28/28184/CCS062318Podcast.mp3

High scores were the theme of the day on Saturday at the Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program(SCTP) state championship in Nashville.  The Coffee County Claybusters joined in the success as they earned a 3^rd place team finish in the Senior/Varsity Division.  Additionally, a pair of Raider shooters finished in the Top 5 as individuals.

The team of Austin Schaller(who hit 100 out of 100 targets), Hayden Jacobs(99), Colter Smith(97), Neil Slone(96) and Lindsey Dickson(95) shot a team score of 487 to finish 2 clays behind 1^st place Middle Tennessee Christian.

For the men, Austin Schaller tied for 1^st place in the preliminary round with a perfect score of 100.  Schaller had to settle for a 3^rd place finish in the shoot-off.  Hayden Jacobs captured an 8^th place finish with his 99.   Other Coffee County individual scores were: Colter Smith(97) in 33^rd place; Neil Slone(96) 48^th place; Tucker Carlton(95) in 102^nd place; Blaine Schreck(94) in 104^th place and Brason Fletcher(92) in 163^rd place.  There were 408 shooters in the men’s Senior/Varsity Division.

For the ladies, Lindsey Dickson captured a 5^th place overall finish with her score of 95.  Victoria Majors came home in 8^th place as she also powdered 95 clays.    Other Coffee County finishers were Alexus Stacey who shot an 89 for 33^rd place; Cheyenne Martin(83) in 62^nd place and Emily DeFord(74) in 85^th place.  There were 104 female shooters in the Senior/Varsity Division.

The Nashville Honky Tonks wrapped up the 2018 Battle for the Boot series with a 5-2 defeat Sunday night at the hands of the Round Rock Dance Halls.

Round Rock’s Drew Robinson picked up right where he left off from Saturday’s game. Robinson slugged a game-tying two-out home run Saturday night and then crushed an 0-2 pitch beyond The Band Box to lead off Sunday’s ballgame. The Honky Tonks responded in the home half of the frame. Jorge Mateo singled and swiped second base. Four batters later he came around to score on a play that saw two errors committed by Round Rock shortstop Cliff Pennington.

Sheldon Neuse continued his hot-hitting with an RBI single in the fourth. With the infield in, Neuse lifted a base hit into shallow right center field to put the Honky Tonks in front 2-1. Neuse tried to start a rally in the ninth with another base knock but was left stranded on first base. Neuse is now batting .355 with 6 RBI in his last 11 games.

Round Rock went ahead for good in the sixth inning with a four-run frame on a pair of two-run doubles. Ryan Rua laced a double to right field off Nashville’s Kyle Finnegan while Nick Noonanripped his into the right center field gap off Jake Sanchez. It was Finnegan’s first appearance since May 9 after suffering an oblique injury. Danny Coulombe, Ryan Dull, and J.B. Wendelkeneach turned in a shutout inning out of the Honky Tonks bullpen.

After leading 2-1 after four innings, the Honky Tonks went quietly the rest of the way. Nashville recorded just one hit in the final five innings and struck out seven times, all by Dance Halls reliever Jeff Springs.

The Honky Tonks turn back into the Sounds as they hit the road for a four-game series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Game one of the four-game series is scheduled for Monday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Right-hander Norge Ruiz (0-0, –) starts for Nashville in what will be his Triple-A debut against right-hander Brock Stewart (1-0, 2.55) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

-With tonight’s 5-2 loss, Nashville dropped to 33-40 on the season.

-Drew Robinson’s leadoff home run was the first belted against the Sounds since May 15, 2015 when John Andreoli went deep for the Iowa Cubs.

-Nashville is now seven games below .500. It is the low water mark of the season.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41st 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 Nashville Honky Tonks were stunned by the Round Rock Dance Halls 2-1 in 10 innings Saturday night in front of 11,038 fans in Music City. Round Rock’s victory secured the Dance Halls the coveted Boot Trophy in the Battle for the Boot Series.

The Honky Tonks pitching staff was cruising through 26 outs but Bobby Wahl yielded a solo home run to Round Rock’s Drew Robinson, which knotted the game at one run apiece and sent the game to extra innings. Wahl blew his first save of the season as he allowed a game-tying two-out home run to Drew Robinson in the top of the ninth inning. The right-hander was a perfect seven for seven in save opportunities entering Saturday’s game.

Round Rock plated the winning run in the top of the tenth off Jeremy Bleich thanks to an RBI-single from Hanser Alberto.

Brett Anderson started for the Honky Tonks in his first rehab start and tossed four shutout innings including pitching out of a bases loaded jam in the third. He walked a pair and struck out one while yielding four hits. The bullpen then entered the equation for the Honky Tonks and continued the strong performance until the ninth inning.

Dean Kiekhefer entered the game in the fifth inning and was effective for the Honky Tonks. The southpaw tossed a pair of shutout innings while fanning three. Carlos Ramirez continued the dominance on the mound with a pair of shutout innings of his own. The right-hander did not allow a hit in his outing.

Sheldon Neuse provided all the offense the Honky Tonks would muster on the night as he broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the fourth inning. The third baseman yanked an RBI-double down the third base line and into the Honky Tonks bullpen to score Jake Smolinski from first base.

Nashville missed a golden opportunity to extend its lead in the eighth inning as the Honky Tonks loaded the bases. Melvin Mercedes was hit by a pitch while Brett Vertigan and Smolinski each drew walks but all three were left stranded, which proved costly for Nashville.

The Honky Tonks put runners on second and third with just one out in the bottom of the 10^th inning but again were unable to capitalize. Steve Lombardozzi was caught in a pickle between third base and home for the first out of the inning and would be as close as Nashville would come to tying the game.

The final game of the four-game series is scheduled for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Raul Alcantara (3-1, 5.40) starts for Nashville against right-hander Richelson Pena (0-1, 10.80) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 2-1 loss, Nashville dropped to 33-39 on the season.
• Nashville is now 5-3 in extra inning games this season.
• Nashville has now blown five saves in nine opportunities in the month of June.
• With an attendance of 11,038 First Tennessee Park saw its 10^th sellout of the season and 65^th all-time.

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 Round Rock Dance Halls took advantage of an eighth inning error and topped the Nashville Honky Tonks, 3-2, in front of a sellout crowd of 11,071 at First Tennessee Park Friday night.

With two outs and the game even at 2-2 in the top of the eighth, Dance Halls first baseman Tommy Joseph hit a bouncer to Nashville shortstop Jorge Mateo who let go of an errant throw to allow Joseph second base. The miscue came back to hurt when Andy Ibanez followed with a go-ahead, run-scoring single to give Round Rock a 3-2 lead.

The win for Round Rock gave them four in the best-of-nine Battle for the Boot series. Nashville must win the final two games of the series to claim the Boot Trophy.

Nashville starter James Naile turned in his team-high seventh quality start of the season to keep the game close. The right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits in seven strong innings.

The offense never got going against four Round Rock pitchers. The Honky Tonks only managed three hits – a Sheldon Neuse single, a Jorge Mateo triple and a Brett Vertigan bunt single.

Mateo’s RBI triple gave the Honky Tonks a 1-0 lead in the third. Round Rock evened the game at 1-1 in the fourth and took a 2-1 lead in the sixth. Vertigan electrified the crowd when his bunt single tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth. His perfectly placed bunt was fielded by Ibanez at third and thrown away down the right field line. As Vertigan raced to third, Joseph’s throw from the right field line got away to allow Vertigan to score the tying run at 2-2.

The offense stumbled the rest of the way against Round Rock relievers Chris Jensen, Ricky Rodriguez and R.J. Alvarez. Rodriguez tossed 1 1/3 innings and picked up the win while Alvarez earned his 12^th save with a perfect ninth.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Left-hander Brett Anderson (1-1, 2.89) starts for Nashville against left-hander David Hurlbut (2-5, 5.18) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 3-2 loss, Nashville dropped to 33-38 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 54 games when he walked in the third 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. The 54-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• James Naile recorded his team-high seventh quality start of the season (7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)
• Jorge Mateo’s seven triples is tied for second-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.

Emma Mathews with her 2nd place medal from Thursday[Photo courtesy of Claybusters Facebook page]

Emma Mathews was the top finisher for Coffee County as an individual as she shot her way to a first place tie in the Intermediate/Advanced division for ladies.  Mathews shot 96 clays and ended up with a 2^nd place finish after a scorecard playoff.  Mathews score was good enough to place her 14^th overall out of 423 shooters. Dylan Hickerson finished in 10^th place as an individual for the men in the intermediate/entry level division.  Hickerson tagged 90 out of a possible 100 clays.

The Intermediate/Advanced team came home with a 7^th place team finish. Team members Emma Mathews(96), Landon Meadows(91), Logan Meadows(91), Jonah Wyatt(83) and Aubrey Payne(81) shot a 442 which was 6 targets out of the Top 5.  Henry County won the division with a score of 465.

The short-handed Intermediate/Entry level team finished in 13^th place with only 4 shooters.  Team members Dylan Hickerson(90), Garrett Taylor(83), Xavier Bartley(79) and Riley Bellomy(68) shot a score of 320.  South Gibson won the division with a score of 438.

The high school Claybusters return to Nashville on Saturday for their state championship competition.  The Tennessee SCTP state shoot is held at the Nashville Gun Club.

The Coffee County 15U Post 78 baseball team opened play on Thursday in the Dr. Pepper American Legion Baseball Tournament in McMinnville.  Coffee County dropped both games of the doubleheader.  The Raiders lost to Tullahoma in a 6 to 5 walk-off loss before falling to host Warren County 9 to 2.

Against Tullahoma, Coffee County saw the Wildcats roar out to a 5 to 1 lead after 2 innings.  The Raiders rallied back to tie the game at 5 in the 5^th.  Tullahoma was able to push across the winning run in the bottom of the 7^th.

In the second game, Coffee County outhit McMinnville 10 to 7 but still came up on the short end of the scoreboard.  The home standing Pioneers were able to get the timely hits to grab the 9 to 2 win.  John McKelvey swung the hot bat for Coffee County as he finished with 4 hits on the day.  Wyatt Nugent added a pair of hits as well for Post 78.

The 15U Raiders will travel back to McMinnville to finish up the 2 day tournament..  On Friday, Manchester Post 78 will take on Columbia Post 19 at 2 PM and Tuscaloosa Post 34 at 7 PM.  All games will be played at Warren County High School.