Tori Bell

Tori Bell’s high school softball career has been one of testing injuries and triumphant moments. Bookended by a pair of trips to the state tournament in her freshmen and senior years, Bell enjoyed a 4 year career that saw her play every game she was physically able to play. Bell also managed to wow teammates, opponents and fans with outstanding defensive plays and a thunderous bat.

That career came to a close on Wednesday and true to form, Tori went out on a high note in the Tennessee Softball Coaches Association’s Kentucky/ Tennessee All-Star softball game. Bell qualified for the interstate rivalry battle by winning the Tennessee All-Star game home run derby and a 4 for 6 plate performance in the June 13th all-star showcase at Trevecca. On Wednesday, Bell repeated the Home Run Derby sweep as she clobbered 21 home runs to easily out distance the 2nd place player who finished with 8.

In spite of a 2 for 6 day at the plate by Tori, the Tennessee All-Stars lost the best of 3 rivalry series 2 games to 1. Bell finished with a solo home run and 2 RBI in the 3 game series. Team Tennessee fell in the first game 5 to 3 before tying the series in Game #2 with a 2 to 1 win. Kentucky won the 3rd game 3 to 2 to capture their 2nd straight series win. Kentucky now leads the overall series 7 to 5. Bell now will move to the college ranks as she has signed to play with national power Chattanooga State in the fall.

(Thanks to Demarco Moore of the Manchester Times for his help in this story)

How filthy was Dinelson Lamet during the Padres’ 6-0 victory on Thursday night? Well, the Braves couldn’t quite believe it for themselves. So, with his club struggling to muster any offense in the top of the sixth, Atlanta skipper Brian Snitker asked that Lamet be checked for a foreign substance.

The verdict: Lamet’s stuff was real — and it was spectacular.
Lamet used his nasty three-pitch mix to shut down the Braves over seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and striking out eight. The rookie right-hander also brushed aside potential controversy with the poise of a veteran. Umpires inspected a dirt mark on the side of Lamet’s pants, quickly ruling that he had done no wrong.
“Some guys put the sunscreen and all of that,” said Snitker. “I didn’t know if he had something on there because he kept going to it all of the time. So, I just wanted them to check it.”
Said Lamet: “I just kind of smiled, because I knew they weren’t going to find anything. You’re going to see that mud on my pants before the game, you’re going to see that mud after the game. It’s just something I always do. I always touch my mouth, I always [touch] the mound.”
Lamet got right back to work and completed the longest outing of his young career. In fact, he might have been at his best in the immediate aftermath, punctuating the sixth inning with a nasty slider to get Matt Kemp looking.
“That’s their job to make me lose concentration. For me, it was just about staying focused out there, keep making pitches and getting outs.”
Wil Myers and Hunter Renfroe, continuing their duel for the Padres’ home run lead, made sure Lamet had more than enough offense to work with. Myers took sole possession in the third with a two-run shot off Braves starter Jaime Garcia. But Renfroe, who went 3-for-4, added a two-run blast of his own in the fifth, tying Myers with 16 dingers apiece. Fellow rookie Manuel Margot also had three knocks, his second consecutive multi-hit effort.
Garcia allowed six runs over six-plus innings, while striking out six. The Braves lefty has allowed six earned runs in each of his past three starts. He hadn’t allowed more than four earned runs in any of the previous 12 starts made this season.
“I’m very disappointed in myself,” Garcia said. “It’s a tough one. Those guys are good hitters at the top of the strike zone. I was trying to execute a changeup at the bottom of the strike zone [against Myers in the third inning] and it stayed up. It’s a tough one.”
On Tuesday, a misinterpretation of the Petco Park ground rules cost Myers a homer. He left no doubt Thursday. Myers crushed 1-0 changeup off the Western Metal Building, putting the Padres on top, 3-0, in the third. Upon his return to the dugout, a couple of teammates playfully informed Myers they thought the play should be reviewed. But — this time, at least — there was no need for it.
“I’m glad I cleared the wall,” Myers quipped. “There was no question about that one. I was happy there was no review.”
Even by Renfroe’s absurdly lofty standards, Thursday’s homer was a moonshot. Garcia tried to dot the outside corner with a changeup, and Renfroe crushed it 444 feet to straightaway center field. It was the longest homer of Renfroe’s young career and the longest at Petco Park this season.
Mike Foltynewicz will be on the mound when a three-game series in Oakland begins Friday at 9:05 p.m. CT. Foltynewicz has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his past five starts.

The Round Rock Dance Halls claimed the Battle for the Boot trophy with a 10-0 win over the Nashville Honky Tonks in front of a sellout crowd of 10,210 at First Tennessee Park Thursday night.

The inaugural two-game home-and-home series went to Round Rock with wins on May 5th at Dell Diamond and Thursday night’s drubbing.

The series finale belonged to Round Rock from start to finish as the Dance Halls started the scoring in the second and never looked back.

Brett Nicholas sent a pitch from Nashville starter Zach Neal deep into The Band Box for a solo home run and 1-0 lead. The barrage continued in the third when Jared Hoying plated a run with a double, and Ryan Rua made it a 3-0 game with a run-scoring base hit to left field.

The Dance Halls out-hit the Honky Tonks, 17-3, and got multi-hit games from five different players. Jurickson Profar led the way with a perfect 4-for-4 night at the plate.

Round Rock added two runs in the fifth, two in the sixth, two in the seventh, and a single tally in the ninth. Neal allowed four runs on 10 hits in four innings and was tagged with the loss.

The offense never materialized for Nashville in the loss. Hits came from Jaff Decker, Ryan Lavarnway, and Beau Taylor. Decker’s single in the first extended his hitting streak to a season-best nine games.

Nashville managed only two at bats with runners in scoring position and came up empty both times.

Clayton Blackburn stymied Nashville’s lineup for six innings. The right-hander earned his second win of the season by limiting Nashville to the three hits while racking up nine strikeouts.

The Sounds welcome the Oklahoma City Dodgers for the first of a four-game series set to begin Friday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Corey Walter (2-3, 3.38) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Justin Masterson (6-4, 3.98) for the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.