June means certain things in Manchester, Tennessee…vacations, hot weather, Bonnaroo, and dominant performances for the Coffee County Claybusters.  Since its inception in 2005, the Coffee County Claybusters have consistently had state and national championship individuals and teams represent Coffee County Central High School and Coffee County Middle School.  2020 will be a little different as the Claybusters competed on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Tennessee AIM State Championships in Nashville. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling most of the spring season, the American Trapshooting Association made the decision to not award team titles due to the lack of team competition opportunities leading up to the championship.  The Claybusters fielded 3 teams in the singles competition which requires shooters to shoot 100 targets in consecutive days.  Squadded in 5 person teams, each team has 1,000 possible targets to shatter for the 2 day event.   Individually, members of the Claybusters competed in the Handicap and Doubles competitions.     

“I was pleased with everyone’s effort and attitude” said Claybusters coach Scott Dickson.  “The kids worked hard and put up with all the changes without complaint” added Dickson.  Unofficially, Dickson feels like that Claybusters Team #1 and Team #2 posted scores good enough to win team titles had they been awarded.  Final scores plus individual championships will be announced in the coming days and Thunder Radio will keep you apprised of award winners.

The Claybusters are set to return to competition in August at the AIM Grand American Championship.  The Grand American has for years been held in Sparta, Illinois.  Due to COVID-19 limitations, the 2020 Grand American will be held in Linn Creek, Missouri near the Lake of the Ozarks. 

The material and information contained in this story may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, for commercial gain, without the express written consent of Coffee County Broadcasting.

Thursday MYBA Schedule
6U at Tee Ball Field
7:30 PM – Lovelady Auto Parts vs. Cooper Sports
8U at Fast Pitch Field
5:00 PM – KK’s vs. Dr. J
7:30 PM –Interstate Auto vs. Lions Club
10U at National League Field
5:00 PM – First National Bank vs. Chico’s Bail Bonds
12U at Aaron Miller Field
5:00 PM- Bush Insurance vs. Peoples Bank
7:30 PM- First Vision Bank vs. Shelter Insurance

The material and information contained in this story may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, for commercial gain, without the express written consent of Coffee County Broadcasting.

By Mark Bowman – MLB.com

After making four selections in last week’s shortened MLB Draft, the Braves are now evaluating some of the undrafted free agents who can immediately provide some organizational depth.

Because these players cannot receive a signing bonus that exceeds $20,000 this year, very few of the players being targeted are projected to become top prospects. The players willing to sign are primarily college seniors or juniors who are worried about how this year’s coronavirus shutdown could affect their future at their current school.

According to Baseball America, here are three undrafted free agents who have agreed to terms with the Braves. The club has not confirmed these agreements:

1B Bryson Horne, Columbus State (Ga.) University

Horne hit .425 (34-for-80) with six homers over 21 games for Columbus State this year. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior had spent the two previous years playing at Georgia Highlands College. Horne told Panama City’s CBS affiliate he declined a similar offer from the Yankees because he grew up a Braves fan.

UTIL Landon Stephens, Miami (Ohio) University

Stephens was a four-year starter who earned all Mid-American Conference honors after he hit .310 with nine homers and 12 stolen bases over 56 games in 2019. The versatile senior can play each of the infield positions and spent some time as an outfielder during his freshman season. He participated in the 2010 Little League World Series with Hamilton, Ohio.

Carter Linton, Tusculum (Tenn.) University

Linton pitched at Colombia State (Tenn.) and East Tennessee State before playing the past two seasons for Tusculum. The right-handed reliever recorded 20 strikeouts and issued seven walks over 13 1/3 innings before the season abruptly ended in March. His is the son of Doug Linton, who pitched for the Blue Jays, Mets, Angels, Royals and Orioles over seven big league seasons.

Mark Bowman has covered the Braves for MLB.com since 2001.

The Manchester Youth Baseball Association was in action on Tuesday night with games in 4 of the 5 age divisions. 

In the 6U Division, Star Physical Therapy dumped Lovelady Auto Parts 21 to 17 and Manchester Tire and Brake stopped Cooper Sports 21 to 4.  In the opener, Star Physical Therapy jumped out to an early lead and held off a late rally from Lovelady to claim the win.  Zach, Dowell and Curtis all had 3 hits for Star.  For Lovelady, Isaac and Jax each had 3 hits and scored 3 times.  In the nightcap, Manchester Tire and Brake scored in every inning in the convincing win.  Kayvon Perry and Knox Chason each had 3 hits and scored 3 runs for Manchester Tire and Brake.  Levi Fisher had a pair of hits and scored a run for Cooper Sports. 

In the 8U Division, Freedom Automotive tamed Lions Club 24 to 1 and Dr. J defeated Interstate Auto 18 to 11.   In the 1^st game, Freedom scored the maximum 8 runs in each of the 3 innings to get the win.  Davion Davis had a home run, a double and a single while scoring 3 runs for Freedom.  Lions Club got a pair of singles from Fallon and Harrison.   In the 2^nd game, Dr. J’s defense held Interstate to single runs in the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th innings to collect the win.  For Dr. J, Rylan had 3 home runs and a single while Kolton added 2 home runs.  For Interstate, Eli Baker had 2 home runs and a single while scoring 3 times. 

In the 10U Division, State Farm spilled Coffee County Bank 13 to 0 and Viam topped First National Bank 13 to 8.  In game #1, pitcher Xander Meeks tossed a 1 hitter as State Farm moved to 4 and 0 on the season.  Hyatt Moss had a home run and a single with 4 RBI to lead State Farm.  Will Carden had a double for Coffee County Bank’s lone hit.  In the 2^nd game, Viam scored 7 runs in the top of the 1^st inning to take the starch out of First National and grab the win.  Ty Stevens had a home run and a walk with 2 RBI to lead Viam.  Steve Lombardo had a pair of singles and scored twice for First National Bank. 

In the 12U Division, Shelter Insurance doubled up Bush Insurance 14 to 7.  Shelter built a 10 to 0 lead to capture the insurance battle.  Matt Moore had 2 doubles and a triple to lead Shelter at the plate and also got the win on the mound.  Jaden Dickens, Kasen Morrison, Kasen Shores and Ethan Stephens all had doubles for Bush Insurance.    

In the 18U Division, the Expos bested the Christiana Braves 5 to 4 in the only game of the night. The Expos of Murfreesboro rallied from an early deficit and held off a late rally from their Rutherford County neighbors to claim the win.  For the Expos, Brock had a single and reached on 2 errors while scoring 3 times in the win.  Ty Reynolds had a triple, a double and a walk to lead Christiana. 

The league returns to action on Thursday with a full slate of games at Fred Deadman Park.

The Coffee County Claybusters opened up competition on Tuesday in the AIM State Championships in Nashville.  The Claybusters look to continue their string of state championships while adding individual titles along the way.  A trio of Claybusters shot 99 out of 100 clays on Tuesday.  Prior to the shoot, 3 Claybusters were named to the American Trapshooters All-American Team.  Honored were Hayden Jacobs, Landon Meadows and Logan Meadows. 

After a strong start to the championship on Tuesday, the Claybusters will conclude the 2 day AIM singles competition on Wednesday.  The AIM State Championships is celebrating their 107^th State Shoot through Sunday.  The state shoot is being held at the Nashville Gun Club. 

Jadeveon Clowney remains a free agent, so his landing spot remains up in the air.  Could he land in Tennessee?  Well, the Titans remain interested in the former Texans and Seahawks defensive end, but right now there’s nothing new as far as the team is concerned.  “No conversations of recent,” Titans General Manager Jon Robinson said during a Zoom conference call on Thursday. “I think we’re going to continue to monitor it and see.”

Clowney spent his first five NFL seasons with the Texans, where he played under Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, before being traded to Seattle prior to the 2019 season.  Clowney has 32 sacks in six NFL seasons, but he had just three sacks in 13 games last season. He added 1.5 sacks in Seattle’s two playoff games.

During an interview with Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston last month, Clowney said he’s been working out and “waiting on the right opportunity.”  Clowney also said he has multiple offers.  “I know he wants to play,” Robinson said. “I think we would be a pretty good fit for him. There was some mutual interest there when we started the discussions, but I would say that really hasn’t grown legs since we spoke last.”