The 2017 Red Raider football season opens on Friday night in Winchester as Coffee County travels to take on Franklin County.  Franklin County, under new head coach Mac McCurry, enters the season after a tie against Gallatin last week in a jamboree.  Emotions and optimism are sky high in Winchester and a big crowd is expected at the game.

When asked what his team needed to do to get the win on Friday night, Coach Ryan Sulkowski had this to say during Wednesday night’s Ryan Sulkowski Show heard here on Thunder:

The Ryan Sulkowski Show is broadcast each Wednesday night from 6 to 7 PM.  The show is broadcast LIVE from West Main Brick Oven and the public is welcomed to come out and join Coach Sulkowski.  The Ryan Sulkowski Show is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio.  If you missed the interview, you can download a copy of the full interview at: www.wmsrradio.com/downloads

As always, Thunder Radio is your exclusive home for Coffee County football and Lucky Knott will bring you all the action on Friday night beginning at 6:45 PM.  Thunder Radio’s coverage begins at 6:00 PM with the Friday Night Thunder pregame show.  Following the game, the Friday Night Thunder scoreboard show continues until 11:00 PM.

The Westwood Middle School baseball team will be holding tryouts this Saturday at Fred Deadman Park’s Babe Ruth Field.  Interested student athletes who will be in grades 6 through 8 at Westwood this school year will need to try out.  Tryouts will begin at 10 AM and prospective players need to bring their own equipment.  If you need more information contact Coach Dustin Hereford at: dhereford@k12mcs.net

The Rockies’ bats woke up with a vengeance Wednesday night against the Braves.

After scoring three or fewer runs in eight straight games, the Rockies beat the Braves, 17-2, jumping on opposing starter Mike Foltynewicz, who allowed a career-high eight runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Every Rockies’ starting position player scored, Trevor Story homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs, DJ LeMahieu tallied four hits and four runs, and Gerardo Parra and Mark Reynolds each had four RBIs. It was the second time in franchise history that three Rockies drove in at least four runs. The only other time was Aug. 11, 1998, when Vinny Castilla, Todd Helton and Mike Lansing did it.
With the win, the Rockies took a one-game lead for the top National League Wild Card spot over the D-backs, who fell to the Astros 9-5 on Wednesday.
“We’d hit some homers, but they’d been solos,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “So today we saw the opposite of what we’ve seen the last week, where we really bunched hits together. Lot of baserunners, lot of traffic, some big hits, and really putting pressure on all their pitchers.”
“Hopefully tonight will snap us out of the little funk we’ve been in and we string some good at-bats together down the stretch here,” Reynolds said. “We’re gonna need every win we can get going into September and hopefully into October.”
Three runs were all the support Rockies starter Jon Gray needed though, as the righty tossed six innings and gave up two runs. Nick Markakis drove in the only Braves runs off Gray — a two-run single up the middle in the sixth.
“I don’t think there’s any excuses there, I just didn’t make the pitches,” Gray said of Markakis’ at-bat. “But I maybe slowed down a little bit too much, should’ve gotten right back on the mound and continued to power pitch.”
Foltynewicz issued three walks during the three-run second inning and seven of the nine hits he surrendered were recorded on two-strike pitches.
The Rockies scored six runs off Foltynewicz in the first three innings, but the Braves sent him out to start the fourth. He couldn’t seem to find anything, as two of the first three batters that inning reached base. The knockout punch came from Parra when he singled on Foltynewicz’s 97th and final pitch of the night. To make matters worse, Reynolds followed with a home run off the first pitch from reliever Luke Jackson.
“I was trying my hardest out there, things just weren’t working out for me,” Foltynewicz said. “I was just leaving balls out over the middle of the plate. I gave up some bloop hits and gappers and walking people doesn’t help either. Things were just running a little fast through the mind today.”
LeMahieu reached four hits for the fifth time this season, which leads the National League. More impressively, his hits all came in the first five innings. He knocked three singles and a double, scoring each time. LeMahieu grounded out in his fifth at-bat and was taken out of the game for Ryan McMahon in the seventh, leaving a potential career-high fifth hit on the table.
The Braves allowed at least 13 runs in three of six games played at Coors Field in 1996. Before Wednesday, they hadn’t allowed more than 13 runs in the offense-friendly stadium since then.
Lucas Sims will get his introduction to Coors Field when the finale of this four-game series begins Thursday at 2:10 p.m. CT. Sims has pitched into the sixth inning in each of his first three career starts..

The Nashville Sounds put together a late rally but it was not enough as they fell to the Memphis Redbirds 3-2 Wednesday night at AutoZone Park. The one-run game was the sixth of its kind in the season series between the two ball clubs.
Memphis starter Jack Flaherty put together a dominant performance on the mound while the Sounds had to piece together a ball game with its bullpen. Felix Doubront made a spot start for Zach Neal and lasted three innings before being replaced by fellow southpaw, Patrick Schuster. Corey Walter finished out the ball game, tossing the final 2 2/3 innings.
For the second straight night the Redbirds jumped out to an early advantage via the long ball. Rangel Ravelo scorched a double off the left field fence to lead off the frame. Then Patrick Wisdom crushed his 26th home run of the season to left center field to take a 2-0 lead.
The score remained 2-0 until the bottom of the sixth inning when once again the Redbirds used the home run to light up the scoreboard. Stephen Piscotty continued to terrorize Sounds pitching with his third home run in five games against Nashville. His solo home run to lead off the frame extended the Redbirds lead to 3-0.
Memphis starter, Jack Flaherty was outstanding on the night as he cruised through the first seven innings unscathed. The Sounds finally broke through on the young Redbirds hurler as Jaycob Brugman looped a run-scoring single into shallow right field. The single scored Yairo Muñoz who was aboard after yanking a one-out double into the left field corner. Renato Nuñez brought the Sounds within a run with an RBI single but that would be all the Sounds could muster against the division champions.
The two teams continue a four-game series tomorrow at AutoZone Park. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (3-4, 3.71) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Luke Weaver (10-2, 2.55) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.