Category: Sports

Nashville Soccer Club announced Tuesday the club signed four of its 2020 Major League Soccer SuperDraft selections in Nashville native Tanner Dieterich, midfielder Luke Haakenson, midfielder Alistair Johnston and goalkeeper Elliot Panicco. No. 2 overall pick Jack Maher is included on the roster as part of the Generation adidas program.

On Jan. 9, Nashville SC selected Jack Maher with the club’s first draft selection in franchise history. The club then picked midfielder Alistair Johnston with the No. 11 overall selection after a trade with Colorado Rapids that sent $75,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to the Rapids.

The club then selected goalkeeper Elliot Panicco with the No. 13 overall pick after a trade with New England Revolution in exchange for $50,000 in GAM and an additional $50,000 in GAM, if Panicco meets certain performance-based metrics during the 2020 season. Nashville SC finished the day by selecting local product Tanner Dieterich with the 28th overall pick in the draft.

Nashville SC concluded its first MLS SuperDraft in club history by selecting midfielder Luke Haakenson from Creighton University in the Fourth Round.

Tickets to Nashville SC’s inaugural MLS match against Atlanta United FC, presented by Renasant Bank, are available through Season Ticket Memberships starting at just $425 ($25 per game) and through single game and group tickets. Be sure to secure your place in history with the best seats for Feb. 29 and throughout the inaugural season by visiting NashvilleSC.com/Tickets or calling 615-750-8800.

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club traveled to Jasper on Saturday to compete in a joint region/state trail tournament on Nickajack Lake.  The high school squad had 3 boats finish in the top 30 in a field of 163 boats.  The Raider anglers also captured 7^th place in the junior division.

The boat of Tristen Boyd and Reagan Hershman were the top finisher for Coffee County on the day as they came in 7^th place.  The duo caught 3 fish weighing a total of 11.61 pounds which included a 5.49 pound bass which was the 3^rd largest fish caught on the day.  The team of Jase Rice and Jacob Garms finished in 23^rd place with a 2 fish total of 6.73 pounds.  Kaden Freeze and Briley Sain came in 29^th place with a 3 fish stringer totaling 5.88 pounds.  Garrett Davis and Isaiah Owens landed a pair of fish weighing 4.72 pounds to finish in 39^th place and Branson and Dawson Wells came in 43^rd place with a pair of fish weighing 4.36 pounds.  Other Coffee County anglers were Sawyer Banks and Avery Brown who came in 50^th place; Colby Thurmond and Paul Zuzich who finished in 62^nd place plus a trio of boats were shut out on the day has they tied for 87^th place: Curtis Tudor/Ethan Bell, Jayden Yates/Adam Petty and Brent Boehman/Logan Floyd. 

The Junior division team of Kylan Mantooth and Jonathan Lewis finished in 7^th place.  The duo snagged 1 keeper weighing in at 2.39 pounds.  Mantooth and Lewis competed against 25 boats on the day.  The finish keeps the Mantooth/Lewis team in 2^nd place in the region standings.

After 6 region events, the Coffee County team of Garms and Rice are in 2^nd place in the high school region standings.  Freeze and Sain are currently in 12^th place.  The brother team of Dawson and Branson Wells are in 21^st place.  Reagan and Boyd moved up to 36^th place followed closely by Thurmond and Zuzich who are in 37^th place and Davis and Owens who are in 38^th place.   The teams of Yates/Petty are currently in 40^th place while Floyd/Boehman are in 47^th place in the region. 

In the high school state trail standings, Coffee County has 4 boats in the top 200.  Tristan Boyd/Reagan Hawkersmith sit in 75^th place.  Jacob Gamrs/Jase Rice are in 176^th.  Kaden Freeze/Briley Sain currently sit in 182^nd and Garrett Davis/Isaiah Owns are in 194^th place. 

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club returns to action on Saturday, March 28^th when members have the opportunity to compete at the state trail meet on Percy Priest Lake.  The event will begin at first light from the Fate Sanders Marina in Mt. Juliet. 

The Coffee County CHS baseball team will be hosting their annual Spring Baseball Clinic on Saturday, March 14th.  Players will utilize the facilities at Powers Field and the Crethan Hansert Hitting Facility on the campus of Coffee County Central High School.  Campers will work with Red Raiders head coach David Martin and his staff along with members of the CHS varsity baseball team.  Each camper will receive age appropriate, hands-on instruction in all aspects of the game.

The clinic is open to boys and girls ages 5 to 17 who wish to learn more about hitting, defense, base running and pitching.  Campers should bring with them a bat, glove, tennis shoes, cleats, hat and batting helmet to the camp which will run from 9 AM to Noon.   Concessions will also be made available at Powers Field on the day of the clinic.

Cost for the clinic is $20 per player if paid in advance.  Cost of the clinic, if not paid before March 7th, will be $25.  A sibling discount of half price will apply for any additional campers.  If you have questions or wish to pre-register, contact Jamie Spry at: jamie.o.spry@adjent.com or call him at 931-273-2265. 

Having Mike Soroka wait a couple extra days to make his Grapefruit League season debut is not a big deal. But jeopardizing their young ace’s chance to make his first career Opening Day start is something the Braves certainly did not want to do.

So, after Soroka slightly tweaked his groin while throwing live batting practice late last week, the Braves opted to push him back a few days.

Before Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Tigers, Braves manager Brian Snitker said the 22-year-old pitcher will make his first start near the end of the week.

“It’s not something huge,” Snitker said. “We had a couple days built in for all of them that we could play with so that they wouldn’t miss anything. It’s just one of those things where we can do this, so we’re going to make sure. It’s February, and we’ve got time. Their innings will be right where we need them to be.”

If Soroka were to make his first start by Saturday, he would have time to total five Spring Training starts and still be available to be on the mound when the Braves open their season on March 26 in Arizona.

Having Soroka wait a little longer to get started might be a good thing. By the time he had completed his gem in Game 3 of last year’s National League Division Series, he had totaled 191 innings. A right shoulder ailment had limited him to 56 1/3 innings in 2018, and he had never previously thrown more than 153 2/3 innings during his professional career.

Snitker also announced Mike Foltynewicz will make his spring debut on Tuesday, when the Braves host the Twins.

One to shake off: Kyle Muller seemed to let his emotions get the best of him as he struggled to come close to the strike zone with many of the pitches he threw in Sunday’s sixth inning. The 6-foot-6 lefty threw a couple of pitches to the backstop and hit two of the first three batters he faced to load the bases with none out. He then recorded two consecutive strikeouts before barely missing with a 3-2 pitch that walked a run in and ended his forgettable spring debut.

“When I went to the mound, everyone said the pitch he walked him on was a strike,” Snitker said. “That would have been a great way to strike the side out. He just got relaxed and started breathing. When he turned the ball loose, we saw what he’s capable of.”

Muller is the Braves No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline. The big southpaw posted a 3.14 ERA over 22 starts (111 2/3 innings) for Double-A Mississippi last year. He hit seven batters and had a 14.5 percent walk rate, which was significantly higher than the 8.0 percent walk rate he produced while pitching for Class A Rome, Class A Advanced Florida and Mississippi in 2018.

Rotation battle: Bryse Wilson’s bid to earn one of the two vacancies within Atlanta’s rotation began inauspiciously. Wilson surrendered four consecutive one-out singles during Detroit’s two-run first inning and then escaped further trouble by inducing a double play. He ended his debut with a perfect second inning.

Wilson has experienced stints with Atlanta both of the past two seasons, but he is still a work in progress. He rose to the big leagues as primarily a fastball pitcher in 2018 and he has since steadily gained comfort with what has the potential to be an above-average changeup. His struggles on Sunday were related to his inability to spot his cutter.

Wilson, Sean Newcomb, Félix Hernández and Kyle Wright are the top candidates for Atlanta’s two rotation vacancies. One of those spots was created because of the shoulder inflammation that will cause Cole Hamels to miss at least the first three weeks of the regular season.

“I’m just trying to go out there and perform the best I can,” Wilson said. “Obviously everybody knows it’s there. There are four guys for two spots. I just want to go out there and be the best pitcher I can be.”

Alanna Coker of the Lady Raider wrestling team closed out competition in the TSSAA State Wrestling Tournament in Franklin on Saturday.   Coker, wrestling at 112 pounds, became the 3^rd Lady Raider wrestler in the program’s history to capture a state medal.  Coker, a sophomore, finished in 5^th place in her weight class. 

Coker opened the day with a decision loss to Jesmarie Negron of Forrest.  Negron took a 4 to 1 lead in the first round.  Coker came back with to grab a reversal in the 2^nd round but could never overtake Negron in a 9 to 4 decision.  In the 5^th place round, Coker won via a forfeit by Lindsey Waver of Sequatchie County who had suffered an injury.  Coker finished the tournament with a record of 2 and 2.  Teammate Mary Wolfrum finished with a record of 0 and 2.  Red Raider wrestler Cardin Stump finished his tournament with a record of 2 and 2 while teammate Gavin Prater went 0 and 2 for the championship.

You can keep see the full breakdown of all the wrestlers’ performances online at: http://www.tssaasports.com/wrestling

With a break in the rainy weather this weekend, several spring sports teams got in some much needed scrimmage action on Saturday.  The Coffee County CHS soccer team hosted their annual Red Raider Jam scrimmage playday.  The Coffee County baseball team hosted Warren County at Powers Field.  The Westwood Middle School baseball team competed in three games at Moore County while the Coffee County Middle School softball team played in a pair of games at Shelbyville. 

The Red Raider soccer team welcomed 10 varsity teams and 6 JV teams to the Raider Academy.  The Raider varsity team got a win, a tie and 2 losses.  The Raiders beat Marshall County 2-0 and tied St. Andrews-Sewanee at 1.  Coffee County lost to Franklin County and Central Magnet by identical 1 nil scores.  Scoring goals for the Raiders were Isaiah Escamilla, Felix Salinas and John Martinez.  The JV team won 2 of their 4 games. 

The Red Raider baseball team dropped a 10 to 0 decision to Warren County.  The Red Raiders outhit the Pioneers 8 to 7 but 6 Red Raider errors led to 7 unearned runs for Warren County.  Coffee County pitchers struck out 15 Warren County batters in 12 and 2/3 innings of work led by Hayden Skipper who had 4 K’s.  Braden Brown was the leading hitter for Coffee County as he had 2 singles and 2 sacrifices.  Owen Neel had a pair of singles and a stolen base. 

The Westwood baseball team dropped all 3 of their games in Lynchburg on Saturday.  The Rockets lost Tullahoma 4 to 1, Harris 4 to 0 and Moore County 4 to 0.  Trevor Jesse and Timothy Henderson each had a couple of base hits fro Westwood.  Coach Jeff Houck called out the play of catchers Vaughn Parker and Cayden Trail who performed well behind the plate and threw out runners trying to steal. 

The Coffee County Middle School softball team captured wins in both of their games on Saturday.   In the opener, the Lady Raiders won 15 to 0 over Fayetteville.  The Lady Raiders pounded out 21 hits in the win led by Channa Gannon had 2 singles, a double and a triple.  Haleigh Skipper got the win in the circle.  In their second game, Coffee Middle beat Cannon County 8 to 0.  Willow Carden had a triple and a single while Kurry Neel had a double, a single and 2 runs scored in the win.  Sammie Cothran was the winning pitcher for the Lady Raiders as she had 7 K’s in 4 innings of work. 

It took until round eight, but the Predators found a way.

Rocco Grimaldi tallied the winner in the shootout, as Nashville came back to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets by a 4-3 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds three out of a possible four points across their back-to-back set this weekend, and although they weren’t able to get back into a playoff spot tonight, they got the win – and that’s what matters most.

“One of the things we had talked about was being better at home on Saturday nights and making sure that we were mentally prepared to play,” Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. “It’s a step in the right direction, and it was a bit of a grind game for us. They were rested, we were in the back-to-back with travel, so you can anticipate that you may not play a great 60 minutes, but these are the games you have to have mental toughness and a complete team effort. I thought we did that for the most part.”

“There are things we could have done better, but the group fought until the end,” Preds forward Ryan Johansen said. “We found a way to get two points which was the job that needed to be done. Great to get the result. I don’t think we are going to be looking back at this game in a month. All we are going to look at is the points we got. We’ll take that and move forward.”

The night began ideally for the home team, as Ryan Johansen took 33 seconds to give the Preds a 1-0 lead. Midway through the frame, Mikael Granlund finished off a 2-on-1 with Filip Forsberg and beat Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins for a 2-0 advantage after 20 minutes.

In the second stanza, Columbus scored three straight on Juuse Saros to take their first lead of the night, but before the middle period was out, Forsberg found Colton Sissons in front, and No. 10 directed the puck over the line for his first goal since Dec. 12 to tie the game at three.

“It felt good [to score],” Sissons said. “I’ve been working really hard since I’ve been back, and it feels good to be rewarded.

“We loved our first period, but I’m sure they got a talking to by their coach in the intermission there and they came out flying… They made it difficult on us, so kudos to them for that. They pushed us all the way to a shootout, and I’m certainly happy that we grinded and stuck in there to show a bit of mental toughness to grind one out.”

After a scoreless third period and overtime, Saros stopped six Columbus attempts in the shootout, and Forsberg, Ryan Ellis – and finally Grimaldi – all tickled the twine to give the Preds a win on Saturday night in their home building.

“Honestly, I’ve never gone backhand in my life on a breakaway or shootout,” Grimaldi quipped. “Maybe when I was 10, but I mean every goal I’ve scored on a breakaway the last few years, always forehand, so I thought I might try something new. Glad it worked.”

The Predators would have preferred to collect four points in the standings over the last two days, but they still got one in Chicago on Friday, and a shootout victory to top the Jackets was the perfect way to begin a five-game homestand.

“We’ve been working in segments here, and we’ve been doing a good job, but [we] need to string a couple more together,” Sissons said. “Three out of four on a tough back-to-back isn’t bad.”

Saturday was the final game for the Predators prior to Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline (at 2 p.m. CT), and it remains to be seen what General Manager David Poile elects to do with his club. However, one thing is certain: This Nashville team, despite all that’s happened to this point in the season, still has plenty of belief when it comes to their postseason aspirations.

“It’s just crazy to think that we’re still right there, and we’ve got games in hand too, which is great,” Grimaldi said. “Sometimes that’s what happens. So if we’re not in a playoff spot in Game 81 and we are in Game 82, that’s fine. Who cares? It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, you want to be in a playoff spot the entire season, for sure, but as long as you’re in after 82, it really doesn’t matter if you’re in right now.”

Notes:

Prior to Saturday’s game, the Predators made a trade to acquire defenseman Ben Harpur from Toronto in exchange for forward Miikka Salomaki.

Nick Bonino missed his second-straight game due to illness. Dan Hamhuis and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Preds.

Nashville’s five-game homestand continues all week long as the Predators host Ottawa, Calgary and Colorado on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

The Coffee County CHS Lady Raider basketball team opened up play in the District 8AAA Tournament on Friday night.  Coffee County squared off against Franklin County at Lincoln County High School in the tournament’s semifinal round.  In a game you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Lady Raiders held off a tenacious Franklin County squad to get a 57 to 50 win and advance to district championship game.

Coffee County jumped out to a red hot start as they drained five 1^st National Bank 3 pointers in the first quarter to hold a 23 to 10 lead entering the 2^nd period.  The Rebelettes from Winchester rallied to outscore Coffee County 14 to 5 to open the 2^nd period cutting the deficit to 4 points.  Coffee County managed to score the final 5 points of the period to take a fragile 9 point advantage into the intermission.  Franklin County trimmed the lead to 8 points on 4 different occasions in the 2^nd half but could never overtake the Lady Raiders.   

Jenna Garretson was the leading scorer for the Lady Raiders as she finished with 22 points, including 4 three point baskets, to earn the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game honors.  Bella Vinson added 18 points and Alivia Reel came off the bench to net 8.  The win improves Coffee County’s record to 26 and 3 on the season. 

The Lady Raiders return to action on Saturday in the championship game for the District 8AAA Tournament at Lincoln County High School.  Coffee County will take on Tullahoma in a game beginning at 7 PM.  The boys’ consolation game will tip off at 2:00 PM as the Red Raiders will take on Lincoln County.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast of both of the Coffee County basketball games as the official station of Coffee County CHS athletics. 

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

Two members of the Lady Raider wrestling team opened up competition in the TSSAA State Wrestling Tournament in Franklin on Friday.   Alanna Coker and Mary Wolfrum hit the mat on Friday morning in their first ever trip to the state meet.  It is the 3^rd straight year for the Lady Raider wrestling program to earn a tournament bid. 

Coker, wrestling at 112 pounds, opened the day with a forfeit win over Chelsea Judy of Farragut.  In the 2^nd round, Coker fell in a 7 to 4 decision to Verena Pate of St. Andrews-Sewanee to fall in to the consolation bracket.  Coker will take on Jesmarie Negron of Forrest on Saturday. 

Wolfrum, wrestling at 125 pounds, suffered a pair of heart-breaking decision losses.  After taking a 2 to 0 lead into the 3^rd period of her opening match, Wolfrum suffered a takedown with 10 minutes left in the 3^rd period to fall 4 to 2 to Addie Sadler of David Crockett High.  In the consolation round, Wolfrum and Autumn Brazzell of McMinn County went into the 3^rd period tied at 5.  Wolfrum was assessed a 1 point penalty with 6 seconds left in the match as she  fell 6 to 5 to end her quest for a medal. 

Cardin Stump of the Red Raiders returned to Franklin on Friday after going 2 and 1 on Thursday.  Stump was the only Red Raider wrestler to advance to Friday and is the first ever heavyweight qualifier at the state tournament for the Coffee County program.  Stump fell in his opening match in a 1^st round pin to Ryan Smith of Summit.  Stump finished his first state tournament appearance with a record of 2 and 2. 

Coker will return as the lone Raider grappler on Saturday and will be in action starting at 10 AM.  With a win, Coker would advance to the 3^rd place match.  A loss would put Coker in the 5^th place match.  Both medal matches will take place on Saturday afternoon.  Regardless of her performance on Saturday, Coker has assured a wrestling medal for the Lady Raider wrestlers for the 3^rd straight year.  Tickets for the event are $10 daily with a parking charge of $5 per car.

You can keep track of their performances in real time online at: http://www.tssaasports.com/wrestling