Against the hottest team in the USL, Nashville SC was able to take a point on the road with a 1-1 draw at the Charleston Battery on Saturday night. It extended Nashville’s unbeaten streak to six games in all competitions.

90 in a Nutshell

Center back Liam Doyle, from Isle of Man, opened the scoring off a set piece from just outside the 18-yard box in the 25’ minute. Lebo Moloto took a slight touch to Doyle who rocketed the left-footed shot just inside the near post to put Nashville SC up 1-0. Nashville almost added a second on the final touch of the first half. A cross from Matt LaGrassa found the foot of Ropapa Mensah who almost nimbly put in at the far post, but Charleston keeper Joe Kuzminsky was able to make the save.

Charleston struck back in the 50’ minute on a goal from forward Ataullah Guerra to level the match at 1-1. Both teams had numerous chances to break the deadlock, but neither were able to capitalize. The best Nashville SC chance in the second half came off the head of Taylor Washington. The ball found the back of the net, but a questionable foul was called on Washington to keep the goal from counting.

Goals

25’ NSH – Liam Doyle assisted by Lebo Moloto

50’ CHS – Ataullah Guerra assisted by Jay Bolt

Key Stat

Charleston – 1 out of 7 crosses completed, 1 shot on goal. Nashville’s defense was dominant again, but Charleston buried its only true chance of the game off a cross into the box. Outside of that one opportunity, Nashville stifled the Battery’s attack, keeping the game at a 1-1 draw.

Standings Update

The point will keep Nashville in the top-10 of the USL’s Eastern Conference with 13 points in nine games.

Up Next

Nashville SC will have another quick turnaround as it will play a midweek game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Nashville opened up the USL season at home against Pittsburgh with a 0-0 draw. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Matt Milburn hurled six shutout innings to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 1-0 win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers in front of 9,782 fans at First Tennessee Park Saturday night.

Milburn got the best of a prime pitchers’ duel between a pair of youngsters. His six scoreless frames came in just his second career Triple-A start. Oklahoma City starter Caleb Ferguson was equally tough as he blanked the Sounds for five innings. The 21-year-old lefty walked three and struck out 10 in his Triple-A debut.

Nashville’s Jake Smolinski broke the stalemate when he launched a solo homer off Adam Liberatore into the Hyundai Deck in left field to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

From there, the Sounds’ bullpen did the rest. Southpaw Jeremy Bleich relieved Milburn and put up a pair of zeroes in the seventh and eighth. Bobby Wahl took over in the ninth and worked a perfect frame to record his fifth save of the season.

Milburn’s gem was his first win at the Triple-A level. The shutout was Nashville’s fifth of the season, and their third 1-0 win in 2018.

Game three of the five-game series is scheduled for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Kyle Friedrichs (0-0, 0.00) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Manny Banuelos (4-3, 3.40) for the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 1-0 win, the Sounds improved to 25-23 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 36 games when he singled in the seventh inning. It’s the longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in.
• Nashville starter Matt Milburn became the third Sounds pitcher in 2018 to record a start of 6+ IP and 0 R, joining James Naile (April 15 vs. Omaha, 7 IP) and Daniel Gossett (May 15 at Memphis, 6 IP).

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 Oklahoma City Dodgers used a solid performance by starter Guillermo Moscoso to dispatch the Nashville Sounds, 5-2, in front of 8,882 fans at First Tennessee Park Friday night.

The 34-year-old Moscoso allowed two runs on four hits in six innings to pick up his second win of the season. The right-hander allowed a run in the first and a run in the second but retired the final 13 batters he faced.

Nashville scored first when Nick Martini and Josh Phegley each collected a double in the first inning. Martini’s double extended his on-base streak to 35 games – the second-longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League.

The 1-0 lead didn’t last long as Oklahoma City plated a pair of runs thanks to an error and two hit batters by Nashville starter James Naile. The right-hander was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

A two-out rally helped the Sounds answer in the second as Melvin Mercedes walked, Sheldon Neuse singled, and Martini evened the game at 2-2 with a run-scoring single to right-center.

The Dodgers added single tallies in the third, fourth and seventh innings to build a 5-2 lead. Kyle Farmer’s big game was highlighted by a solo homer in the top of the seventh. The catcher went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.

Nashville’s offense went quiet the rest of the way. 15 straight Sounds hitters were retired at one point before Mercedes singled in the bottom of the seventh.

Game two of the five-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Frankie Montas (1-5, 4.39) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Caleb Ferguson (0-0, 0.00) for the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 5-2 loss, the Sounds dropped to 24-23 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 35 games when he doubled in the first inning. It’s the second-longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in.
• Reliever J.B. Wendelken had his second-consecutive five-strikeout performance. Over his last three games, Wendelken has racked up 13 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.
• Oklahoma City center fielder Tim Locastro was hit by a pitch three times, tying a Pacific Coast League record set by several players. The last player to be hit by three pitches in a PCL game was former Sound Dustin Garneau when he was playing with Albuquerque in 2016.

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.

Sarah Pearson clears a hurdle during the state track meet on Thursday at MTSU

Entering the final race of her high school career on Thursday, senior Lady Raider track athlete Sarah Pearson admitted to being scared.  The stage did not faze her; this was her 4^th straight trip to the TSSAA state track meet.  The race did not scare her; Sarah competed in 2017 in the 300M hurdles.  Here is Sarah Pearson talking about her fear and her finish.

Pearson just missed a season best time as she ran a 50:59 to finish in 15^th place.  The race caps off a career that saw Sarah compete in the state pentathlon in her freshmen, sophomore and junior years while also qualifying in the 300M hurdles last season.  Pearson’s bid to compete in 4 straight pentathlons was cut short by a torn ACL in the fall culminating in surgery on November 17^th.  Through it all, Pearson maintained a healthy attitude about competing and overcoming adversity.

CHS track coach Coach Nathan Wanuch was effusive in his praise for Sarah following Thursday’s performance.

2018 marks the 27th straight appearance in the state track meet for a Coffee County athlete.

As the result of a random draw held at U.S. Soccer headquarters on Thursday morning, Nashville SC was picked to host a 4th round U.S. Open Cup
matchup against Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer (MLS) on June 5 or 6 at Vanderbilt Football Stadium. It kicks off a full #SummerOfSoccer for Nashville SC that will now include at least 10 home games from June to August.

Current Nashville SC head coach Gary Smith has a history with the Rapids including leading Colorado to a MLS Cup championship in 2010 as its head coach. Nashville players keeper Matt Pickens and defender Kosuke Kimura played for Smith in Colorado and were integral pieces of the Cup-winning side.

This will be the first time Nashville SC has played a MLS team with something at stake. The club played three MLS sides in preseason friendlies prior to this season falling to Atlanta United at First Tennessee Park 3-1, before drawing Chicago Fire 0-0 and beating Orlando City SC 3-1 during training camp in Florida.
Tickets to the U.S. Open Cup game will go on sale on Tuesday, May 29 at Noon. More details about tickets will be released when information is available.

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About Nashville SC
Nashville SC is Nashville’s professional soccer club and is competing in its inaugural season. For more information, visit NashvilleSC.com and follow the club at @NashvilleSC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Nashville Sounds squandered another opportunity at a series sweep as they fell to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 4-0 in front of 10,159 fans at First Tennessee Park. It was the third time this season the Sounds entered a series finale with a chance at a sweep but ended up on the losing end.

The Sky Sox scored four runs off Sounds starter, Kendall Graveman but just two were earned. Colorado Springs’ Brett Phillips singled to begin the frame and then Tyrone Taylor brought the noise. The Sky Sox right fielder launched a two-run home run beyond the left field fence to give Colorado Springs a lead it would not relinquish. Graveman finished the night with a third consecutive quality start but suffered his first defeat of the season. He tossed six innings and allowed seven hits while fanning five.

Sky Sox starter, Freddy Peralta carved the Sounds lineup apart, striking out eight batters in five innings. He allowed three base hits and walked three on the night.

Colorado Springs added a run in the third inning on an RBI single from Christian Bethancourt and another in the fifth on a less routine play. With runners on the corners and one out, Bethancourt skied a fly ball to deep foul territory in right field. Nate Orf tagged from third and scored but the inning ended as Keon Broxton, who was running on the pitch never tagged up from first base and had rounded second. He never touched second base on his way back to first and was doubled off.

Carlos Ramirez was solid in his Sounds debut. The right-hander came on in relief of Graveman and twirled two shutout innings and struck out three. His only blemish was a hit batter in the seventh.

The Sounds threatened in the ninth inning as BJ Boyd led off with a double to the gap in right field. Two batters later Sheldon Neuse reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners but Tristan Archer struck out Jorge Mateo and induced a fly out to Nick Martini to complete the shutout.

The Sounds welcome the Oklahoma City Dodgers to First Tennessee Park. Right-hander James Naile (4-4, 2.91) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Guillermo Moscoso (1-2, 3.25). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 4-0 loss, the Sounds dropped to 24-22 on the season.
• The shutout loss was the fourth of the season for the Sounds who are now 5-4 in shutouts. The four shutout losses are tied for second most with Memphis and Iowa behind Omaha’s five.
• The Sounds committed a season-high four errors.
• In every inning from the third through the eighth, the Sounds recorded one hit and left one runner on base. They were retired in order just once, in the second inning.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 34 games when he drew a walk in the first inning. It’s the second-longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in.

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.