The Coffee County CHS cheerleaders wrapped up a great week of camp in Cookeville. The Raider cheerleaders won the camp championship at Tennessee Tech with their performance in the “rally routine.”  The squad won superior ribbons each night of the camp and the Red Raider mascot also claimed a superior trophy.

Additionally, 4 Raider cheerleaders were named All-Americans.  Claire Bryant, Kenadi Hall, Ryan Green and Terrance Clayborn were named to the UCA(Universal Cheerleaders Association) All-American team.

The Coffee County basketball teams have a busy week of summer camp action beginning on Monday.  The Red Raider varsity and JV teams will open a 4 day team camp at MTSU at 1 PM.  The Lady Raiders play host to the 9 team Lady Raider team camp beginning at 9 AM on Monday at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.

The Lady Raider varsity, junior varsity and freshmen teams will all be in action in the 2 day tournament.  The Lady Raider varsity team will play 2 games on Monday and 2 games on Tuesday.  The Lady Raiders will take on Huntland at 10 AM and Fayetteville at noon on Monday.  Coffee County will play the first and last game of Tuesday’s session as they open with Moore County at 9 AM and DeKalb County at 4 PM.

The Lady Raider JV team will take on the Shelbyville JV at 10 AM on Monday before closing out on Tuesday with Moore Co at 11 AM and Fayetteville at 1 PM and 3 PM.  The Lady Raider 9^th grade team will take on the Fayetteville JV team at 1 PM on Monday.

The Red Raider varsity team opens the MTSU camp taking on Geraldine, AL at 2 PM at the MTSU Rec Center.  They will move to the Murphy Center for a 4 PM game against Huntland on the main floor.  Coffee County closes out play at 8 PM against White House Heritage on the Murphy Center Auxiliary Gym #2.   The varsity will play at 9 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, Coffee County will be in action at 1 PM, 3 PM and 6 PM.  They close out on Thursday with games at 9 AM, Noon and 2 PM.

The Red Raider JV team will open up play at 1 PM against South Greene at the MTSU Rec Center.  And follow that up with a matchup with Gilmer, Georgia.  They close out play with a 6 PM game vs Blackman in the Murphy Center Auxiliary Gym #1.   The JV has games at 10AM, Noon and 8 PM.  On Wednesday, the JV Raiders play at 2 PM, 5 PM and 8 PM.   The Coffee County junior varsity closes out on Thursday with games at 11 AM and 1 PM.

The Nashville Sounds and Tacoma Rainiers exchanged punches late with Tacoma issuing the final blow to defeat the Sounds 5-3 Sunday night at First Tennessee Park.

With the Sounds on top 1-0 and the pitching staff seemingly cruising, the Rainiers pulled out a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning. Ian Miller singled with one out in the frame off Jeremy Bleich and swiped second base. Raul Alcantara then replaced Bleich to face John Andreoli whom he promptly walked. Two batters later Mejias-Brean served a hit into shallow centerfield. An onrushing BJ Boyd made a sliding attempt at a catch but the ball skipped past him allowing both Andreoli and Miller to score and Mejias-Brean to reach third base.

Bruce Maxwell found a good spot for his first hit of the season for the Sounds. The catcher ripped a double down the left field line to bring home Jorge Mateo from first base to tie the game at 2-2.

Tacoma tallied three runs in the 10^th inning off Nashville’s Bobby Wahl to claim the victory. Gordon Beckham smashed a double down the left field line to plate a pair and a third run came in to score on a sacrifice fly from Seth Mejias-Brean that was dropped by BJ Boyd. Nashville responded with two runs in the home half of the inning but it was not enough.

Nashville’s Eric Jokisch turned in a stellar performance for his best outing of the campaign as he hurled six shutout innings of four-hit baseball. The southpaw fanned a season-high seven batters on the night as he kept the Rainiers lineup off balance. Tacoma’s Casey Lawrence was outstanding as well as he allowed just one run on five hits with seven strikeouts.

The series finale of their four-game series is scheduled for Monday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander James Naile (5-5, 3.57) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Christian Bergman (4-4, 3.82) for the Rainiers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 5-3 loss, the Sounds dropped to 30-31 on the season. They dipped below .500 for the first time since May 10 when they were 16-17.
• For the first time this season the Sounds lost a game in which it held a lead after seven innings. They are now 24-1 in such games.
• Nashville is now 61-43 against the Pacific Conference since 2015.
• The Sounds are 4-2 in extra-inning games in 2018.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 44 games when he walked to lead off the eighth. Martini’s streak is the longest by a Nashville player in the Pacific Coast League era. It’s the longest active streak in Minor League Baseball. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in. His 10^th inning single extended his career-long hitting streak to 13 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 Nashville Sounds came out on the wrong end of a pitcher’s duel with the Tacoma Rainiers in front of 10,117 fans at First Tennessee Park Saturday night. The Sounds were shutout by Tacoma 1-0 as both pitching staffs kept the opposing offenses at bay.

Nashville’s Edwin Jackson shined in his Sounds debut but it was not enough as Tacoma’s Rob Whalen had his best performance of the season. Jackson notched his seventh quality start of the season after six with Triple-A Syracuse as he allowed just one lone run on three hits in his six innings of work. He walked three and fanned seven. Whalen meanwhile yielded just two infield singles in six innings of shutout baseball and recorded an out against the final 12 batters he faced.

The lone tally of the game came in the first inning as the first two Rainiers reached on a base hit and a walk. Following a double steal, Kirk Nieuwenhuis gave Tacoma a lead it would not relinquish as he flied out to center field to bring home Ian Miller.

Sheldon Neuse gave the Sounds life in the eighth inning as he laced a double into the right center field gap but he was left stranded at third base.

Josh Lucas gave the Sounds two scoreless innings out of the bullpen while Bobby Wahl struck out three of the four batters he faced to keep Nashville within striking distance. Anthony Garcia worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth to bring the winning run to the plate but Tacoma’s Ryan Garton fanned Bruce Maxwell and Franklin Barreto to shut the door on the Sounds and secure the victory.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Left-hander Eric Jokisch (1-7, 5.43) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Casey Lawrence (4-2, 2.79) for the Rainiers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 1-0 loss, the Sounds dropped to 30-30 on the season.
• Tonight’s attendance of 10,117 at First Tennessee Park marked the eighth sellout of the season and 63^rd in ballpark history.
• The loss was the first 1-0 defeat for the Sounds since July 17, 2017 at Iowa.
• The Sounds are now 12-8 in one-run games this season.
• Nashville is now 61-42 against the Pacific Conference since 2015.
• The Sounds are now 6-5 in shutout games this season. No Pacific Coast League team has played in more shutout games than Nashville.
• The three hits tallied by the Sounds were the second fewest in a game this season.

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 Tampa Bay Rowdies grabbed a late equalizer through Leon Taylor’s first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw against Nashville SC on Saturday night before a crowd of 6,082 at Al Lang Stadium. Tampa Bay had the first good look on goal only for Michael Nanchoff to send a free kick just outside the penalty area well over the crossbar, but in the 22nd minute Nashville broke the deadlock as Lebo Moloto capitalized on a quick counterattack off a midfield turnover and finished low past Rowdies goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald.

The Rowdies almost hit back immediately as a free kick saw first Hunter Gorskie have a well-struck shot blocked before the rebound was sent high by Tamika Mkandawire, and the hosts continued to press before the halftime break as Junior Flemmings had a shot saved by NSC goalkeeper Matt Pickens before a deflected shot by Gorskie just went wide of the right post. Pickens had to make another good save to keep out an effort by Nanchoff, and the Rowdies’ pressure continued into second half as Leo Fernandes shot just wide of the right post in the 53rd minute.

Nashville almost added a second 11 minutes later, only for Matt LaGrassa to send his header from a corner kick wide of the left post, and shortly after Pickens was called into action again as Fernandes again tried to strike from long range. With six minutes to go, however, the Rowdies’ pressure paid off as second-half substitute Taylor pounced on a deflected shot by Gorskie and put home his finish into the left side of the net. Flemmings almost stole victory for the Rowdies in stoppage time as he made a sharp interception of a pass in the attacking third, only to chip his finish past an approaching Pickens wide of the left post, but that would be the last real chance as honors ended even.

Scoring:
22’ – NSH – Lebo Moloto (Ropapa Mensah)
84’ – TBR – Leon Taylor

QUICK NOTES

– Lebo Moloto scored the goal for Nashville. It’s his 4^th goal this season for Nashville, all in USL play.

– Ropapa Mensah’s assist was his third this season to go along with four goals.

– In his return to Tampa Bay, Matt Pickens was “Man of the Match” making 5 saves, including a few incredible stops to get Nashville the road point. Pickens spent the last 4 years as the Rowdies starting keeper.

– Nashville has now scored in 9 straight games after failing to score in three of its first six.

– Tampa Bay had 25 shots, the most for any opponent against Nashville this season.

– Nashville finally gets a full week off between games as it will play again at First Tennessee Park next Saturday night against North Carolina FC.

– The next 4 USL matches will be at home for Nashville. Nashville SC remains undefeated at home.

 

Anthony Garcia drilled a grand slam and the Nashville Sounds routed the Tacoma Rainiers, 11-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,022 fans at First Tennessee Park Friday night.

Garcia’s blast came as part of a six-run second inning for the Sounds. Entering the bottom of the inning, the Sounds trailed 1-0 but quickly turned it around. With one out, Sheldon Neuse singled and BJ Boyd doubled to even the game at 1-1.

Tacoma starter Ross Detwiler issued three consecutive walks to force in another run to give Nashville a 2-1 lead. Garcia followed the bases loaded walk to Jake Smolinski by launching a 1-2 pitch from Detwiler onto the berm in left field for a grand slam and 6-1 lead. It was the first grand slam by a Nashville hitter in 2018.

J.B. Wendelken made a spot start for Chris Bassitt and pitched three effective innings. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits and racked up seven strikeouts in his three frames.

Wendelken handed the game over to Dean Kiekhefer who followed with three shutout innings. Jake Sanchez worked a pair of scoreless innings before Jeremy Bleich pitched the ninth.

Garcia finished 2-for-5 with 5 RBI and BJ Boyd chipped in with a multi-hit game. Nashville hitters walked a season-high 12 times.

Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Edwin Jackson make his Sounds debut against right-hander Rob Whalen (6-3, 4.91) for the Rainiers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 11-3 win, the Sounds improved to 30-29 on the season.
• Tonight’s attendance of 10,022 at First Tennessee Park marked the seventh sellout of the season and 62^nd in ballpark history.
• Nashville is now 61-41 against the Pacific Conference since 2015.
• Anthony Garcia became the first Sounds player to hit a grand slam this year when he launched one in the second inning.
• Garcia matched a season-high with 5 RBI, the third time he has done so this season. He also had 5 RBI vs. Colorado Springs on May 10 and at Colorado Springs on May 3.
• J.B. Wendelken (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) made a spot start for Nashville tonight – his first start since September 1, 2014 with Winston-Salem.

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.