Ali Shelton of Motlow soccer

The Lady Bulldogs of Georgia Military Institute launched a full scale ground assault against the Motlow Lady Bucks soccer team on Monday afternoon at the Raider Soccer Field.  GMI used 3 goals in the first 14 minutes on their way to a 7 to 0 win over Motlow.  The soccer match was the final scrimmage of the preseason for Motlow who opens the season this weekend with a pair of matches in Mississippi.

After Motlow got a pair of shots off in the first 5 minutes, Georgia Military got goals in the 9^th, 11^th and 14^th minutes.  The Bulldogs outshot the Bucks 18 to 6 in the first half as they added a goal in the 26^th minute to take a 4 to 0 lead into halftime.  In the second half, GMI added goals in the 58^th, 61^st and 89^th minutes.  Motlow had its best scoring opportunities in the 61^st and 68^th minutes only to see the Bulldog keeper make a pair of saves.

Unofficially, Motlow was outshot 31 to 12 in the match.  The Motlow keepers did record 17 saves.  Former Coffee County Lady Raider Ali Shelton entered the match in the second half and had 5 saves on 7 shots.

Matthew Pittman of CHS football

The Coffee County Central High School Freshmen and JV football teams welcomed Franklin County on Monday night.  In the freshman game, the visiting Rebels scored on the first 4 drives of the first half as they rolled to the 50 to 27 win.

Quarterback Matthew Pittman was the star of the show for Coffee County as he rushed 21 times for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  Thru the air, Pittman was 7 of 17 for 172 yards and another 2 touchdowns.  C.J. Anthony had both touchdown receptions as he caught 5 passes for 122 yards.

The JV Raiders lost by a final score of 12 to 0.  The freshman and JV teams will be back in action on Monday when they travel to Tullahoma for a doubleheader.  The freshman game will kick off at 5 PM.

When the Braves traded Andrew Albers to the Mariners for cash considerations on Aug. 11, he was viewed as a Minor League journeyman who didn’t fit within an Atlanta rotation, which at the time was being anchored by an impressive form of Mike Foltynewicz.

Given a chance to face his former organization at SunTrust Park on Monday night, Albers was not overly dominant, but he proved to be much more efficient than Foltynewicz as he helped the Mariners stay in the thick of the American League Wild Card race with Monday night’s 6-5 win over the Braves.
“I was thankful for the opportunity I got [with Atlanta] and them making the trade to get me here with this opportunity,” Albers said. “It was nice to go out there and give the team a chance to win. Whether it is against them or anyone else, right now with the [Wild Card] race, wins are big.”
Despite committing four errors, the Mariners won for the fifth time in their past six games, and pulled to within a game of the second AL Wild Card spot. The victory was aided by Yonder Alonso’s three hits, two of which were run-producing doubles.
“I thought he threw the ball well and got it going back and forth with the changeup,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We didn’t do a lot defensively to help him out. It created some longer innings and pitch counts, but we tightened up the defense.”
Foltynewicz seemed to be establishing himself as a legitimate frontline starter, but he has allowed at least five earned runs in four of his past five starts. The Braves’ right-hander struggled to control his breaking pitches as he allowed five of his six runs through the first four innings. Ozzie Albies highlighted his two-hit night with a two-run triple during a three-run sixth that brought the Braves to within one run.
“It’s probably more mental than mechanical [for Foltynewicz],” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s free and easy throwing. He’s aware of it and he’s working hard at it. But it’s easier said than done. When you’re standing on that hill and all of the attention is on you, it’s a different place. But it’s not something he can’t work through. It’s a tough stretch right now, but I believe in him.”
Foltynewicz began to unravel in the fourth as he hit Leonys Martin with a pitch and issued a two-out, four-pitch walk to Jean Segura. After an errant pickoff attempt at second base moved both runners up, Alonso followed with a two-run double. The veteran first baseman added another double in the sixth inning that ended the night for Foltynewicz, who has allowed 26 earned runs over his past 22 innings (five starts).
“When you get hit around out there like that multiple times in a row, it definitely does something to your confidence,” Foltynewicz said. “But it’s a game where you have to forget about things. I have in the past, but it’s tough when things like this keep happening.”
Mariners catcher Mike Zunino thwarted a couple of late rallies with his strong arm. Zunino’s strong throw to second base in the seventh inning left Brandon Phillips unsuccessful in each of his past three stolen-base attempts. Ender Inciarte singled to begin the ninth, but with one out and Freddie Freeman at the plate, he too, was thrown out attempting to steal second base.
“We know [Inciarte] is one of their better runners and Edwin Diaz did a good job throwing a couple picks over there to keep him close,” Zunino said. “We just had to be on our toes and ready to make a throw.”
Lucas Sims will take the mound when the three-game series resumes Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. CT. Sims earned his first career win on Thursday as he allowed two runs over five innings at Coors Field.

The Nashville Sounds cracked a pair of home runs and got a bright pitching performance from Ben Bracewell in a 7-0 win over the Iowa Cubs in front of 8,119 fans at First Tennessee Park Monday afternoon.
Joey Wendle started the scoring early when he launched a three-run homer into The Band Box in the bottom of the first inning. It was Wendle’s eighth home run of the season and snapped a Sounds skid of 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Nashville added a run in the second when Melvin Mercedes singled up the middle and Jaff Decker perfectly placed a double down the left field line to bring in Mercedes and make it 4-0.
The early offense was more than enough for Bracewell who notched his fourth win of the season. He scattered four hits and shut out the Cubs over six innings. The right-hander didn’t issue any walks and struck out five.
Iowa threatened in the fourth when Mike Freeman and Bijan Rademacher collected singles, but Bracewell buckled down and struck out Jacob Hannemann to end the inning.
Nashville sent nine to the plate in a three-run sixth inning. Renato Nunez got it going when lined a pitch into left-center and hustled into second with a leadoff double. After a walk and a wild pitch, Nunez raced home on a sacrifice fly by Yairo Munoz.
Matt McBride followed Munoz with a two-run rocket down the left-field line that found the seats in the Hyundai Deck. McBride’s 10th home run of the season gave Nashville a comfortable 7-0 lead.
A trio of Nashville relievers kept the Cubs off the board the rest of the way. Felix Doubront worked around a pair of hits in the seventh, Josh Smith struck out two in a scoreless eighth, and Lou Trivino worked a perfect ninth to secure the win.
Franklin Barreto went 3-for-5 in the win while Decker and Nunez added two hits apiece. The top four hitters in the lineup combined to go 8-for-14 for Nashville.
The series finale between Nashville and Iowa is scheduled for Tuesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (4-4, 3.66) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Rob Zastryzny (1-2, 6.57) for the Cubs. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.