Ty Blach doesn’t blow away hitters with his stuff or observers with his statistics. All he does is remain steady, a trait that the San Francisco Giants appreciated Saturday night in their 6-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Blach took a three-hit shutout into the eighth inning before he finally faltered. He ultimately yielded two runs and six hits in 7 2/3 innings, marking the fifth time in seven starts that he has worked at least seven innings while surrendering three or fewer earned runs. He also struck out a season-high five.

Blach’s 3.83 ERA is deceiving. He allowed 10 runs (eight earned) in three innings on May 6 at Cincinnati. Without that game, his ERA as a starter is 2.33.
Braves manager Brian Snitker appreciated Blach’s finesse.
“He was a little here, there and just a tough guy to get a hold of,” Snitker said. “That’s the first time we’ve seen that this year, that type of left-hander. That’s only the fourth [left-handed] starter we’ve faced all year, I think. Guys like that can give you trouble.”
The Giants also revived their offense while ending a four-game losing streak. Having accumulated six runs in their previous four games, they matched that total by relying on an unusual burst of power against Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz, who allowed five of San Francisco’s runs in four innings. Nick Hundley’s two-run homer in the second inning opened the Giants’ scoring, which continued with three runs in the fourth. Brandon Belt’s 10th homer of the season launched that uprising. The Giants entered Saturday with a Major League-low 40 home runs.

The Braves brought the potential tying run to the plate with two outs, but Giants reliever Derek Law coaxed Matt Adams’ harmless grounder to first base.
“We made a run at it late but it’s one of them days again where we just got too far down too early,” Snitker said.
San Francisco signed Hundley as a free agent last offseason primarily for his offensive abilities. The Giants wanted a backup for Buster Posey who resembled Posey a little more in the batter’s box. They reasoned that Hundley, who reached double figures in homers in three of the previous four seasons, could fill that role. His season-high three-RBI night, which included a run-scoring single in the eighth inning, provided evidence that he can.
Adams seemed to be the right man for the Braves to have at bat in the eighth. The recent acquisition from St. Louis owned a five-game hitting streak, and five of his eight hits with Atlanta had gone for extra bases. With runners on second and third, another gapper would make it a one-run game. But Law won the confrontation by inducing Adams to roll over on a 94 mph fastball.
Blach stroked singles in the fourth and seventh innings, his first hits off a pitcher not named Clayton Kershaw. Blach collected two hits off Kershaw last Oct. 1 and added another earlier this season.
Blach was only the fourth left-handed starter the Braves have faced so far this season. They are 2-2 in those games.
Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (3-3) pitches the series finale at AT&T Park on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. ET. Dickey has a 2.88 career ERA against the Giants but has given up 12 earned runs over his last 24 1/3 innings overall.

Saturday night’s game between the Nashville Sounds and Colorado Springs Sky Sox has been suspended due to rain at First Tennessee Park.

The game will be resumed on Tuesday, May 30th at 5:05 p.m. Following the completed nine-inning game, the Sounds and Sky Sox will play a seven-inning contest.

Sounds pitcher Daniel Gossett worked around a one-out single by Ivan De Jesus to put up a zero in the top of the first. Before the rain came, Nashville’s offense put five runs on the board.

Run-scoring hits came from Renato Nuñez, Jaff Decker, and Matt McBride. Play came to a halt immediately after McBride’s double down the left field line gave Nashville a 5-0 lead.

Tickets for Saturday’s game can be exchanged at the First Tennessee Park Ticket Office for any 2017 regular season game for a ticket of equal or lesser value, subject to availability.

The two teams are scheduled to meet Sunday for a previously scheduled doubleheader. Game one is set to begin at 4:05 p.m. with game two to follow approximately 30 minutes after game one. Both contests will be seven innings.

Atlanta southpaw Jaime Garcia outdueled Giants right-hander Matt Cain in Friday’s 2-0 win by the Braves, a crisp matchup that featured a couple of veteran starters.

Garcia tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out five, to pick up his first victory since April 29. He also broke up a scoreless tie in the seventh inning with a single to left field that led to two runs.
“I expect that out of him with his stuff,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He was really good last time out. Shoot, he was good in Toronto, that start also. It’s good to see him coming around and banging the strike zone like that.”
Garcia’s ability to limit walks — he had nine in his previous two starts — was critical, as was repeatedly getting ahead in the count while helping Atlanta to its first shutout this season.
“That’s a big thing for me, being able to control the count and keep the ball on the ground,” Garcia said. “I was able to do that when I needed it. That’s the goal every time.”
Cain suffered a hard-luck loss after the Giants were shut out for the fifth time this season. Cain went seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
“Tonight was definitely a tough one,” Cain said. “To go back and forth with Garcia and then we just weren’t able to find a good situation to get a good hit in. It just stings on my part to give up a hit to the opposing pitcher that ended up winning it.”
The Giants have scored six runs in their past four contests, dropping their average to an MLB-worst 3.32 per game.
“You got to get some hits and create those opportunities,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We’re not doing it very often.”
After the Giants intentionally walked Dansby Swanson with two outs in the seventh to get to Garcia, the pitcher knocked a single to left field. Once Brandon Belt’s throw bounced off Tyler Flowers as he crossed home plate, Swanson alertly raced around to score and double the Braves’ lead. Cain retrieved the ball from foul territory down the first-base line and tossed it to catcher Nick Hundley, but Hundley couldn’t apply the tag in time as Swanson slid under the attempt.
“It was like ‘Run, Forrest, run,'” Swanson said. “I just reacted and kept going.”
The Giants didn’t have many scoring opportunities but were able to load the bases against Garcia in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Ruggiano came to the plate after Buster Posey was intentionally walked, but grounded out to third base to kill the Giants’ biggest threat of the game.
“I thought we’d come home and get some rips in tonight but it didn’t happen,” Bochy said. “Their guy was good. He gets a lot of movement on his fastball, he’s got a good changeup. We didn’t hit many balls hard, really. A lot of weak ground balls. Just couldn’t do much offensively. We had one good chance there, and we had a good hitter up, but he made a good pitch.”
Right-hander Mike Foltynewicz (3-4, 3.86 ERA) chases his fourth consecutive win when he makes his fifth career start against the Giants in another night game (9:05 p.m. CT) Saturday at AT&T Park. Foltynewicz, who beat San Francisco twice in 2016, has walked only three batters in his previous 17 innings.

The Omaha Storm Chasers used extra innings to beat the Nashville Sounds, 8-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,253 at First Tennessee Park Friday night.

The 11th inning win overshadowed a stellar performance by Storm Chasers pitcher Jake Junis. The right-hander shutout the Sounds (23-22) over seven innings and limited Nashville to two hits while racking up a season-high 12 strikeouts in the no-decision.

Junis’ outing went for naught when the Sounds rallied in the eighth and ninth innings. Trailing 3-0, Joey Wendle sparked the first rally with a leadoff double in the eighth. Two batters later, Jaff Decker singled to right field to trim the deficit to 3-1.

Omaha turned to left-hander Eric Stout for the ninth but the move backfired. Jaycob Brugman started the frame with a sharp single through the left side. Franklin Barreto doubled down the right field line to put a pair of runners in scoring position with nobody out.

Matt Olson followed with a walk to load the bases for Matt Chapman who narrowly missed a game-winning grand slam with a deep fly out to center field. He settled for a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-2 game.

With runners at the corners and one out, hit a bouncer to send to score Barreto with a fielder’s choice.

Sounds reliever Tucker Healy kept the game close. He tossed a scoreless inning in the ninth, and followed suit in the 10th.

Trouble started right away for Simon Castro in the 11th. Ryan O’Hearn laid down a bunt single against a defensive shift to give Omaha a base runner to start the frame. Pinch-runner Billy Burns swiped second base, and then scored when Cam Gallagher singled to left. Renato Nuñez’s throw was a perfect one-hop to catcher Ryan Lavarnway who dropped the ball when Burns ran into him.

Wendle committed a fielding error, Castro hit a batter, and Raul Mondesi cleared the bases with a triple to the gap in right-center to make it 7-3. Castro issued a wild pitch to allow Mondesi to trot home with the final run of the night.

The Sounds welcome the Colorado Spring Sky Sox for a five-game series set to begin Saturday night. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (2-2, 3.59) starts for Nashville against right-hander Hiram Burgos (2-3, 5.94) for Colorado Springs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The 2017 season is the Sounds’ 40th in franchise history and their third as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

CHS senior softball player Tori Bell

The Coffee County Lady Raider softball team battled their way to a 4^th place finish in the TSSAA state softball tournament on Thursday.  The Lady Raiders scratched and clawed their way to a 5 to 3 win over Brentwood on Thursday morning.  Injuries and exhaustion finally set in on Thursday night as Coffee County lost to Henry County 14 to 4

In the morning game, the Lady Raiders jumped out to an early 3 to 0 lead then rallied for a pair of runs late to grab a 5 to 3 win.  The Coffee County defense was once again on point as they did not commit an error for the 2^nd straight game.  Tied at 3 entering the 6^th inning, Sarah West hit an RBI single to give the Lady Raiders the lead.  Katie Rutledge drove in an insurance run in the top of the 7^th.

Rutledge also came on in relief pitching when Kaylee Skipper had to come out of the game in the 5^th inning with a blister on her pitching hand.  Rutledge pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to capture the win. Rutledge added a single and 2 RBI as she was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Haley Hinshaw finished with a single, a double and 1 run scored.   Haley Richardson had a single and a double and an RBI.

In the night cap, Henry County erupted for 7 runs in the 2^nd inning and built an 11 to 0 lead before ending the Lady Raiders season by a final score of 14 to 4.   The Lady Patriots from Paris banged out 13 hits as they outhit Coffee County 13 to 6.  Coffee County sophomore pitcher Haley Richardson took the loss in the circle but crushed a 2 run home run for Coffee County to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.   Senior Tori Bell finished with 2 hits, a run scored and 1 RBI.

The Lady Raiders will finish the season with a record of 26-18-1.  Following the game, Coach Steve Wilder informed his team that he was leaving Coffee County for a job in Florida.  You can see that story at:  http://www.thunder1320.com/news/coffee-county-softball-coach-steve-wilder-resigns/

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

Karson Young holding her medal for the triple jump

Karson Young captured a pair of medals on Thursday to highlight Coffee County’s final day of competition in the TSSAA State Track Meet in Murfreesboro.  Young finished the day with a pair of medals in the 4 events in which she competed.  Sarah Pearson finished up her busy week with a 10^th place finish in the 300M hurdles.

Young opened the day at 9 AM with the long jump.  In the semifinals, Young had a top jump of 16’ 11 ½” in her 3^rd attempt to punch her ticket to the finals.  In the finals, Young tacked on a jump of 17’ 1” to capture 8^th place.

Karson Young clears 4’10” at the TSSAA state track meet on Thursday

Young moved from the long jump awards ceremony directly to the triple jump.  After posting a jump of 35’ 4 ½” in her second jump of the semifinals, Karson passed on her 3^rd triple jump attempt having secured a spot in the finals.  In the finals, Young had jumps of 35’, 34’ 8” and 34’ 3”.  Carrying over her semifinal distance, Young finished with a 5^th place medal.

Karson Young clears a hurdle in the 100M race at the TSSAA state meet on Thursday

For the second straight event, Young went from the medal stand directly to the high jump.  After 3 hours of near continuous competition, Young cleared 4’8” and 4’10”.  At 5’, Young clipped the bar 3 times to bow out in 13^th place.

In the evening session, Young failed to advance out of the semifinals of the 100M hurdles as she ran a time of 16.72 to finish in 14th place.   The race ended a hectic day and an amazing track career for the senior.  Young competed in 3 state track meets missing only in her sophomore year due to illness.  When asked about a favorite memory from her years in track at CHS, Young had this to say:

Sarah Pearson competes in the 300M hurdle race at Thursday’s TSSAA state track meet

In the final race of the day, Sarah Pearson competed in the 300M hurdles.  Pearson tied her personal record as she ran the race in 47.77 seconds to claim 10^th place.  Pearson clipped the 6^th hurdle coming into the front stretch with her front foot but maintained her balance to finish strong.   2017 marks the 26th consecutive year that Coffee County Track was represented at the state meet.

To see full results, you can check out the link at: http://brackets.tssaa.org/trackResults.cfm