Manchester Youth Baseball League was able to complete its 2020 season with the city tournament championships Monday night. The league was delayed at the start of the season because of the COVID-19 virus.
In the 12U division, Clower Automotive came from behind with a pair of runs in the bottom of the last inning to beat Powers Storagen 7-6 and claim the championship.
It was the second win of the afternoon for Clower Automotive. They pummeled First Vision Bank 12-3 in the semi-final game that was played at 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, Star Farm ran away with the 10U championship game, beating VIAM 14-2. Brady Christian and Levi Rossman were each able to reach base four times and score four runs apiece in the rout.
Xander Meeks allowed one unearned run and struck out eight batters in three innings of work to pick up the win on the mound for State Farm.
In the 6U division, Manchester Tire and Brake beat Star Physical Therapy 15-2.
As part of the agreement reached Friday between the NFL and the NFLPA, all preseason games in 2020 have officially been canceled.
The Titans had been scheduled to play the Redskins, Giants, Buccaneers and Bears in this year’s preseason.
Season ticket holders will either receive a refund for the two canceled home games or can use those credits toward tickets for 2021.
Refunds or deferrals for the season can be requested here, now through August 7th:
The Titans are scheduled to open the regular season on September 14 at Denver.
The team’s home opener at Nissan Stadium is scheduled for September 20 vs. Jacksonville.
The Titans will work with state and local government officials to determine the number of fans permitted to attend games at Nissan Stadium this fall. The presence of, and the exact number of fans, has not yet been determined.
You can hear the Titans all season long on Thunder Radio, 107.9 FM, 1320 AM and 106.7 FM in Coffee County.
Mike Foltynewicz was the Braves’ Game 1 starter during the 2018 postseason and he was handed the ball with the season on the line during last year’s playoffs. But just one start into this year’s shortened season, his future is suddenly uncertain.
After watching Foltynewicz once again work with significantly decreased velocity in a 14-5 loss to the Rays on Monday night at Tropicana Field, Braves manager Brian Snitker announced the All-Star pitcher had been designated for assignment.
“After the last couple outings in [Summer Camp], we wanted to give it a go here, and it was the same,” Snitker said. “We didn’t see enough increase in the velocity. That’s who he’s been. He’s been a ‘stuff guy’ for the entire time we’ve had him. The stuff hasn’t been there.”
When Foltynewicz’s velocity sat between 89-91 mph during an exhibition game against the Marlins last week, he was understandably defiant, blaming the rain and the stadium’s radar gun. But his velocity had been similar in intrasquad games played over the previous couple weeks, and it didn’t get much higher in this season debut.
As Foltynewicz allowed the Rays six earned runs over 3 1/3 innings, his fastball averaged 89.3 mph and topped out at 92.9 mph. This same pitch averaged 95 mph last season and 96.5 mph during his 2018 All-Star season.
When Foltynewicz struggled at the start of last year’s injury-marred season, the Braves had the luxury of sending him to Triple-A to get right. This year is void of that option, or the time it might take for Foltynewicz to get back to where he was when he posted a 2.85 ERA in 2018, or when he produced a 1.73 ERA over his final seven starts last season.
Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian delivered the news to Foltynewicz in the clubhouse just before the end of Monday’s game. If the 28-year-old right-hander is not claimed off waivers, there is a chance he could remain a part of the Braves’ organization and work out with the members of the team’s player pool who are working out at the organization’s Triple-A Gwinnett stadium.
“It’s not an easy thing to tell a guy that, especially a guy you’ve had for a long time that’s worked hard,” Snitker said. “He’s been a big part of this organization. I’m sure he was hurt.”
Unfortunately for Foltynewicz, he will always be remembered as the starting pitcher who got just one out during the 10-run first inning the Cardinals produced during the decisive Game 5 of last year’s National League Division Series.
Just five days earlier, he had limited St. Louis to three hits over seven scoreless innings in Game 2.
In what might have been his last act in a Braves uniform, Foltynewicz allowed the Rays to belt three home runs, including the back-to-back homers that Hunter Renfroe and Joey Wendle hit during an eight-run fourth inning.
So, where do the Braves go from here?
Sean Newcomb didn’t create much long-term confidence when he needed 82 pitches to record 10 outs during Sunday’s win over the Mets. Kyle Wright approaches Tuesday night’s start with a high upside, but the Braves’ promising No. 4 prospect still hasn’t proven himself.
So, beyond Mike Soroka and Max Fried, the Braves’ rotation consists of a whole lot of uncertainty. A portion of this problem can be attributed to top offseason acquisition Cole Hamels, who will be on the injured list until at least Sept. 5 with left triceps tendinitis.
At some point, the Braves might enrich the rotation with the addition of Ian Anderson, MLB Pipeline’s No. 37 prospect. But when Foltynewicz’s previous spot comes up again on Saturday, Snitker might just mix and match Jhoulys Chacín, Josh Tomlin, Touki Toussaint or whoever might be available that day.
“It’s going to be all hands on deck getting to that spot,” Snitker said. “It could be one of two or three guys. It could be an opener. It could be a number of different scenarios; just dependent on how we get there.”
In Manchester Youth Baseball Action from Friday, July 24
18U semi finals
Expos 1, Yankees 5
Wyatt Nugent had a home run and the Yankees also picked up
runs scored from Kane Davis, Brady Nugent (2) and Blake Hale.
Mets 6, Braves 2
The Mets plated four runs in the first inning and held on to
drop the Christiana Braves.
10U
State Farm 12, Chico’s Bail Bonds 0
Every player in the State Farm lineup was able to score at
least one run, including Hyatt Moss, who scored twice behind a single and a
triple at the plate. Brady Christian also scored a pair of runs after drawing
two walks.
First National Bank 7, VIAM 9
Bryce Spencer lifted a two run homerun and also walked and
scored to help led VIAM to a 9-7 win over First National Bank.
8U
Freedom Automotive 18, KK’s 3
Dr. Jay 24, Lions Club 11
12U
Shelter 3, Powers Storage 5
Brycen Campbell struck out six batters and limited Shelter Insurance to three runs from the mound, all in the fourth inning, to lead Powers Storage to a 5-3 win.
Harrison of Lions Club fields a ground ball on Tuesday in 8U action of the Manchester Youth Baseball Association
Kameron Smusz of the Christiana Braves rips a single on Tuesday in 18U action of the Manchester Youth Baseball Association
Draven Andrews of First Vision Bank snags a pop fly on Tuesday in 12U action of the Manchester Youth Baseball Association
Kaden Brewer of Chico’s Bail Bonds delivers a pitch on Tuesday in 10U action of the Manchester Youth Baseball Association
The parking lot of the Crethan Hansert Memorial Hitting Facility
behind Coffee County Central High School has been sealed, restriped and has new
aesthetics, with the paining of the Coffee County “cc” logo and the number 7,
the retired baseball number of Hansert.
Scott Hansert, father of Crethan, helped to spearhead the
project around the facility. Work was performed at a reduced cost.
Crethan Hansert was a Central High School senior baseball player when he was killed in a car accident Oct. 31, 2003. The facility was later erected for the CHS baseball and softball teams to use, and named in his honor.
At some point over the next few hours, members of the Nashville
Predators will lay out an empty suitcase – or three – and determine what they’d
like to have in their possession for a potentially two-month stay in Edmonton.
With training camp and
Phase 3 of the NHL’s Return To Play Plan coming to an end on Saturday, the
Preds will turn their attention to Phase 4 and a trip to the Alberta capital
that will start with a best-of-5 series against the Arizona Coyotes in the Stanley
Cup Qualifier next Sunday.
If the Predators do well
and find themselves winning rounds of postseason play, they could be away from
home through the beginning of October. No matter what, the group figures to be
gone for more than two weeks at the very least
The longest of NHL road
trips don’t typically extend past 14 days, so this excursion will likely prove
to be the most extensive many of the Preds have ever encountered.
The group won’t be
expected to bring 60 different pairs of undergarments – there will be washing
machines for that – but choosing what to pack can be a daunting task for the
fashion forward and fashion challenged alike.
“I’ve had some
anxiety about packing already,” Preds forward Colton Sissons laughed. “Honestly,
I’m going to pack a lot of sweats and a lot of comfortable clothes, because I’m
probably going to be spending a lot of time in the hotel room. I got my Amazon
Kindle the other day, so I’ve got that; get a mental sweat in there so I’m not
just watching TV all day.”
What to wear isn’t the
biggest concern for most players, however. As Sissons mentioned, reading, as
well as gaming, are favorite pastimes among the group, and with some downtime
expected on non-game days, the Preds will be finding ways to keep their minds
occupied.
“We’re preparing to be there for the long haul, so obviously you’ve got the clothes and whatnot, but I’m going to be bringing, probably, an Xbox to watch some Netflix and play with some buddies back home,” forward Colin Blackwell said. “And then just some books, maybe a couple things here and there just to keep my mind sharp throughout this playoff run.”
Marcell Ozuna’s first big moment with his new team introduced Braves manager Brian Snitker to the thrill of experiencing MLB’s new extra-inning rule.
“It’s one of those changes we might end up liking,” Snitker said. “It made it interesting.”
But Ozuna was the one who truly made things interesting with his game-tying homer off Mets closer Edwin Díaz with two outs in the ninth that helped finally wake the Braves’ slumbering offense near the end of the 5-3, 10-inning win at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon.
“Yesterday, [Díaz] struck me out on a fastball away,” Ozuna said. “I couldn’t reach it. It was too far. So today I was talking to my teammates. I said if I get in a situation like that with two strikes and tries to go away, I’m going to try to hit it straight at him or to the opposite field.”
We are sad to report to you the unfortunate news that Dennis Weaver, longtime radio personality here at Thunder Radio, coach, teacher, mentor and friend to so many has passed away. He died on Friday, July 24. He was 58 years old.
Dennis, known simply as “Weave” could be heard everyday on Thunder Radio’s daily sports blasts, and most every night as the play-by-play voice of Red Raider football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer, as well as the voice of Westwood football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and CMS football, soccer, volleyball and other various sports.
He was also the host of Friday Night Thunder, a syndicated high school football pre and postgame show for 11 years, and he started and grew the Coffee Coaches Show, which highlighted coaches and athletes every Saturday morning for the past six and a half years. The show is known for its inclusion, bringing on athletes from elementary basketball to high school shooting, bass club, football and everything in between.
Born and raised in Manchester, Weaver was an alum of Coffee County Central High School (Manchester Central). He later taught at the school and coached football and softball. In the early 90s, he joined Jeff Breeden and was integral in growing the Coffee County Lady Raider softball program from a one-win team to a state power. After the 2003 season, Weaver went with Breeden to Riverdale High School, where the two eventually won a TSSAA State Championship. Weaver worked at AEDC, and continued to broadcast sports on Thunder Radio, even while working at Riverdale. When Breeden left Riverdale for the MTSU softball job after the 2012 season, Weaver retired from coaching.
Thunder Radio will announce funeral arrangements when they are available.
Dennis Weaver, longtime broadcaster, coach and lifelong Manchester resident, passed away Friday afternoon, July 24.
He was 58 years old.
Below is a column from Thunder Radio ownership about his passing:
Coffee County sports has lost its voice.
Dennis Weaver epitomized sports in Coffee County. His microphone went silent Friday,
July 24, 2020. He unexpectedly passed away after complications from a routine
surgery. We loved him. We will miss him forever.
Dennis Weaver spent decades bringing football games and volleyball matches from pastures and dimly-lit gymnasiums to vivid color on a radio – an unteachable art and talent blessed to only a select few. Weave was one of them, although he would say he was no better than anyone else at it.
He loved broadcasting games on Thunder Radio. He carried an overwhelming sense of pride about his sports coverage. This was not pride born from selfishness. This was good pride, it was Raider pride and Rocket pride. It was community and a giving pride – a sense of accomplishment that he was able to broadcast sports for every student athlete in Coffee County to the masses. It was his gift to the world, a gift that will forever be appreciated and certainly reciprocated by the many lives he touched.
Dennis Weaver took sports coverage that was at first built around high school football, basketball, baseball and softball and didn’t only raise the bar, he rebuilt the entire standard to one unmatched by any other market in the state. He took the “minor” sports and made each one as important as the next. He took sports like Westwood volleyball, Coffee Middle soccer, Lady Raider volleyball and so many others into living rooms, car radios and old work shop garage radios across Coffee County. Every game was important to him – because he knew each game was important to every kid, every parent, every coach, every grandparent and fan.
He shied away from any recognition anyone attempted to bestow upon him for the tireless dedication he provided for Coffee County sports. It was never about Dennis Weaver. Instead, it was about the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s, the Sally’s and the Sue’s. He did what he did for those student athletes, for those coaches and for those programs – never for himself.
Many will never know the depths of his generosity. He even
aided the “competition,” often giving scores, information and contacts to other
sports writers. It was the mentor and the coach inside of him, and it was his
desire to see exceptional sports coverage for Coffee County, regardless of the
outlet or the person. He was selfless.
He single-handedly launched the Coffee Coaches Show six years ago, offering the opportunity for hundreds of student-athletes to be on the air every Saturday. Weave would cover a basketball game on Friday night, write the story and post it online, be awake for the Coffee Coaches Show Saturday morning (which he undoubtedly organized down to the second earlier in the week), and then drive to Fayetteville for an afternoon of more basketball games on the radio. It was never work to him. It certainly wasn’t for the money. It wasn’t even his full-time job – it was just what he loved to do. He was living his life doing exactly what he wanted to do. Many will never be able to say that.
He loved it until the very end. Thursday afternoon, he sent me a text:
“Got sick at work.
Going to Harton. Can you call Bernard Childress for interview?”
He had scheduled an interview with TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress to record and air this Saturday on the Coffee Coaches Show. Down to the end, he was working on bringing the best sports coverage to Coffee County.
Sadly, I can’t text him back. But If I could, I would tell
him: “I’m sorry that the interview certainly isn’t up to your level. But don’t
worry, Weave. The interview is done, it’s recorded, and it will air on the
coaches show this week.”
Because that is absolutely what he would have wanted.
We will miss his daily sports updates on the air. His excitement before a big game and his adrenaline after his Red Raiders (his Alma mater) beat Tullahoma at anything.
Coffee County will forever miss his voice. But if I know him like I think I do, he’s already set up his new broadcast location. He has his laptop in place and a Facebook post going out with a photo of “his office for the night.”
And he has the best view for the call.
The Best of Dennis Weaver – on the mic for Thunder Radio.
The Manchester Youth Baseball Association postseason tournament was set to move into semi-final play Thursday, but rained forced postponement of those games to Friday, July 24. The league’s postseason tournament’s championship games are scheduled for Monday, July 27th.
Friday MYBA Schedule
6U Division at T-Ball Field
5:00 PM – Manchester Tire & Brake vs. Lovelady Auto Parts
