The Coffee County Lady Raider volleyball team will be hosting the 3 day Lady Raider Volleyball Kid’s Camp beginning on Monday.  The camp is open to children in elementary and middle school interested in learning more about volleyball and improving their skills.  The camp will run from noon to 3 PM on Monday through Wednesday at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.

Cost is $30 per camper and those wishing to participate are asked to arrive early at CHS to register.  If you need more information, email Andrew Taylor at: taylora@k12coffee.net

The Nashville Sounds pitching staff scrounged together nine innings with a depleted bullpen and fell to the Albuquerque Isotopes 17-12 Sunday night.

The offense gave the Sounds a chance by plating 12 runs, but the pitching staff matched a season-high by yielding 17 runs on the night.

In a spot start Raul Alcantara allowed four runs in two innings, Jake Sanchez gave up one run in his lone inning of work, Danny Coulombe surrendered four runs, one earned, in his 1 2/3 innings, Dean Kiekhefer put together 2 1/3 innings and yielded three runs, and infielder Melvin Mercedes tossed the final frame and was touched for five runs.

Nashville capitalized on a pair of two-out walks from Albuquerque’s Sam Howard in the top of the first inning. Three straight RBI-singles from Beau Taylor, Sheldon Neuse, and BJ Boyd provided Alcantara with a 3-0 advantage before he stepped on the mound. The lead evaporated quickly and turned into a one-run deficit as the Isotopes tallied four runs of their own in the home half of the inning. Garrett Hampson sent a leadoff home run beyond the left field fence followed by a two-run double from Jordan Patterson and RBI-single from Stephen Cardullo.

That trend would continue throughout the evening as each time the Sounds scored in the top half of an inning the Isotopes responded in the bottom half except for the ninth inning. The Sounds mounted a four-run rally in the ninth trailing 17-8 but the deficit was too steep to overcome despite nine Nashville hitters coming to the plate.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Monday night in Albuquerque. Right-hander Ben Bracewell (0-2, 6.60) starts for the Sounds against left-hander David Holmberg (2-5, 5.86) for the Isotopes. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With Sunday’s 17-12 loss, the Sounds dropped to 32-35 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 50 games when he singled in the second inning. Martini’s streak is the longest by a Nashville player in the Pacific Coast League era and is the longest active streak in Minor League Baseball. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in. The single extended his hitting streak to a career-high 19 games. The 50-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2008 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• Nick Martini’s RBI ground out in the top of the eighth inning extended his RBI streak to five games, matching Dustin Garneau’s five-game streak for the team-high this season.
• BJ Boyd’s RBI-single in the first inning extended his road on-base streak to 27 straight games.
• The Sounds scored 12 runs in Sunday’s loss. It is the most runs Nashville has scored in any of their 35 losses in 2018. They have scored at least six runs in each of their last four losses.
• In all five games of their current seven-game road-trip the Sounds have scored at least six runs and collected at least 10 hits.
• The 17 runs allowed by the Sounds matched 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.

Ropapa Mensah of Nashville SC

Nashville SC forward Ropapa Mensah scored the most dramatic goal in club history with a goal in the 94’ minute, on the last kick of the game, to send more than 9,000 fans into a frenzy. The miraculous goal extends Nashville’s unbeaten streak to 11 games and keeps them perfect at home in USL play with a 4-0-0 record.

Ropapa Mensah headed in a free kick in the 95th minute from Michael Reed that earned Nashville SC a final-touch 1-0 victory over North Carolina FC in front of 9,047 at First Tennessee Park.

Mensah came on in the 68th minute as Nashville SC fired crosses and shots into the North Carolina FC box. A foul in the final third produced the free kick chance from Reed.

For 94 minutes, a scoreless game headed into a frustrating result for Nashville SC at home against a team lower in the Eastern Conference. Mensah’s final-touch header in the muck of the final moment of the game will be one to remember in this first professional season in Nashville.

“Relief,” defender Bradley Bourgeois said about the game-winner. “I think my heart was beating out of my chest, to be honest.”

As the final whistle blew after the goal amid the raucous First Tennessee Park crowd, Nashville SC players sprinted and celebrated all across the field. Most of the attention centered around the goal scorer.

“I have scored a lot of goals,” Mensah said. “But this is the best goal of my life.”

Nashville SC controlled play — and the ball — for most of the game and saw several scoring opportunities narrowly miss the net.

Bourgeois had more than one chance to put the ball on target, but his headers drifted wide and chances bounced past his legs. Bolu Akinyode headed wide a chance in the last 20 minutes. Ish Jome sprinted wide and left with the ball but could not create the game-winning chance.

Saturday’s near-draw inspired exasperation as time drew closer to 90 minutes and Nashville peppered North Carolina FC keeper Alex Tambakis with shots and dangerous crosses.

“Though we were creating chances, we couldn’t find that moment,” coach Gary Smith said. “It’s that piece of invention, brilliance, incisiveness, whatever you might call it, until that final moment.”

Earning three points from a near-certain draw is another checkmark of a box for a good professional soccer team.

MAN OF THE MATCH
Ropapa Mensah’s goal will be a watermark moment in Nashville SC’s first USL season. Mensah has a tendency to bring energy and effort in the final moments of the game — Saturday’s goal was Mensah’s third goal in the final 20 minutes of the game this season.

The story of Saturday’s match would have been much different had he not finished in the 95th minute.

“He’s come on and changed a few games this season,” Jome said. “So I think (Mensah’s impact) is huge, especially for Gary to trust him and bring him on in a crucial moment to get a goal.”

STORYLINES

– Nashville’s 11 game unbeaten streak is the longest active run in any of three major North American pro soccer leagues (MLS, ULS, Liga MX)

– Nashville moves up to 4^th in the Eastern Conference standings just one point behind 2^nd place.

– That is the first of a 4-game homestand that will conclude with a massive game on July 7 at Nissan Stadium against first place FC Cincinnati.

– It’s the fifth goal of the season for Ropapa Mensah to lead the team.

– It’s Mensah’s second goal in stoppage time this season.

– Matt Pickens recorded his 7^th shutout of the season to send him into a tie for first in the USL.

– Bradley Bourgeois recorded the assist on the goal, getting his first of the season.

Anthony Garcia smacked a pair of homers, and Jorge Mateo went 3-for-4 with an RBI, but the Nashville Sounds were outslugged 10-6 by the Albuquerque Isotopes on Saturday night at Isotopes Park. The clubs combined for 29 hits, and the Sounds fell to 2-2 so far on their seven-game road trip.

The Sounds never enjoyed a lead but fought back several times. They were down 3-0 after an inning when Garcia crushed his first homer off Brett Oberholtzer in the second. The Isotopes scored twice in the fourth to make it 5-1, but Nick Martini delivered an RBI single in the fifth, and Mateo scored on an error to cut the deficit to 5-3. Martini’s single moved his hitting streak to 18 games, the longest by a Sound since 2010. He’s also reached base safely in 49 games in a row.

Starter James Naile battled to get through six innings and save an overworked bullpen. He gave up two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth, yielding a career-high eight runs on 14 hits over six frames in the loss. Garcia’s second homer came in the sixth inning, Martini doubled home Mateo in the seventh, and Mateo plated BJ Boyd with a single in the eighth to pull the Sounds within 8-6. But J.B. Wendelken allowed a two-run homer in the eighth to Raimel Tapia, and D.J. Johnson notched a four-out save for the Isotopes to end the game. Mateo’s three hits were his highest total in a game since May 3.

The Sounds continue the four-game series Sunday night when right-hander Raul Alcantara (3-1, 4.67) makes a spot start against left-hander Sam Howard (3-4, 4.68). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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.