Category: Sports

The Manchester Youth Football League opened their regular season on Saturday in Pulaski.  The Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 teams were all in action, with all 3 teams taking on Giles County.  The Raiders went 1 and 2 on the day in the tripleheader.

The Division 1 Raiders, ages 6 & 7 years; defeated Giles County 33 to 13.  The Division 2 Raiders, ages 8 & 9; fell in a shootout 37 to 30.  The Division 3 Raiders, ages 10 thru 12; were blanked by Giles County 33 to 0.

The MYFL will travel to Lynchburg next Saturday for a tripleheader.  The Division 1 team will take on Moore County at 2 PM.  The Division 2 team will kick off at 3:30 PM with the Division 3 game set to begin at 5 PM.

Beau Taylor’s clutch base hit in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the Nashville Sounds to a 5-4 win over the New Orleans Baby Cakes in front of 9,387 fans at First Tennessee Park Sunday night.

Taylor’s line drive single to left-center scored Anthony Garcia from third to snap a 4-4 deadlock. Garcia doubled with one out and moved to third on a wild pitch just moments before Taylor’s go-ahead single off New Orleans reliever Nick Wittgren.

Nashville closer Liam Hendriks had to wiggle out of a jam in the ninth to lock in the win. Chad Wallach started the inning with a single to right-center. After a sacrifice bunt, Jon Rodriguez’s single to left put runners at the corners for the Baby Cakes. Hendriks came back with back-to-back strikeouts of Braxton Lee and Isan Diaz to notch his fifth save of the season.

A host of Nashville relievers kept the Sounds in the game after starter Frankie Montas allowed four runs in five innings. J.B. Wendelken, Chris Hatcher, Dean Kiekhefer and Raul Alcantara combined for three scoreless innings before handing it off to Hendriks in the ninth.

Franklin Barreto and Sheldon Neuse started the scoring with a pair of solo homers in the second inning. Barreto’s 15^th blast of the season gave the Sounds a 1-0 lead and Neuse’s fifth of the year made it 2-0.

New Orleans took a 3-2 lead in the third, but Nashville responded with two of their own in the fourth. RBI singles by Neuse and Jorge Mateo gave the Sounds a 4-3 lead.

A single tally by the Baby Cakes in the fifth evened the game at 4-4. It remained tied until the eighth when Taylor delivered the go-ahead run-scoring single.

The Sounds begin a 10-game road trip on Tuesday night in Round Rock, Texas. Right-hander Daniel Mengden (4-1, 3.27) starts for Nashville against right-hander Chris Rowley (1-3, 4.18) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 5-4 win, the Sounds improved to 67-59 on the season.
• Beau Taylor’s run-scoring base hit in the eighth inning was his 300^th career RBI.
• Liam Hendriks extended his scoreless inning streak to 15 1/3 with a scoreless ninth.
• Third baseman Sheldon Neuse went 2-for-4 with a home run. The multi-hit game is his team-leading 32^nd of the season.
• BJ Boyd went 1-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to a season-best 13 games. The streak is now tied for the longest in his career.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Marcus Mariota flashed, Taywan Taylor dashed, and the Titans provided some more positive vibes on Saturday night vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Of course, like most preseason games, there were some not-so-great moments as well.

The Titans lost to the Buccaneers 30-14 in preseason game No.2 at Nissan Stadium.

Mariota played just two series, and finished the night 4-of-7 for 80 yards, and a touchdown, with a passer rating of 136.9. He’s now played three drives this preseason, including Week One at Green Bay, and guided the team to two touchdowns in those appearances.

Mariota engineered a six-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Taylor to give the Titans a 7-3 drive at the end of the first quarter.

“Taywan made a huge play,” Mariota said.

Taylor caught two touchdown passes in the contest, and finished the night with four catches for 95 yards, with the two scores. He caught a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Blaine Gabbert in the second half.

Running back Dion Lewis was also among the stars of the night on offense, albeit in limited time.

“We are always, every week trying to get better,” receiver Nick Williams said. “You are either getting better, or you are getting worse, so we are always going to be critical of ourselves. Whether it’s good or bad you move quickly and keep showing up and working.

“And that’s what we have to do.”

Lewis caught a pair of passes and showed his elusiveness along the way on to spark the team’s first scoring drive, and the Titans led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter before back-ups entered the contest.

In the second quarter, facing Titans reserves, Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston got on a roll, throwing for 226 yards and two touchdowns – an eight-yard pass to Chris Godwin and a 21-yard strike to Justin Watson – as Tampa Bay raced to a 20-7 lead.

That’s when Taylor caught his second touchdown pass of the night, which cut the lead to 20-14 in the third quarter. The Buccaneers stretched the lead to 23-14 before Luke Falk entered the game at quarterback for the Titans. The Buccaneers made it 30-14 on a Ryan Griffin touchdown pass to Sergio Bailey in the fourth quarter.

The Titans travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in preseason game No.3 next Saturday.

Players know there’s work to be done. The Titans committed 11 penalties for 134 yards against the Buccaneers.

“At the end of the day we are still not where we want to be – we have a lot of work to do,” Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said. “We definitely still have work to do. I don’t think we are anywhere near where we want to be. There’s a lot of things we need to continue to build on.”

After going on a franchise-record-matching 15-game winning streak, the Nashville Sounds have now matched a season-long losing streak as they dropped their fourth straight game Saturday night to the New Orleans Baby Cakes 6-5. 10,739 fans came out to First Tennessee Park to witness the action.

Five Sounds pitchers combined to walk nine-batters to set a new single-game season-high.

After four solid innings, Sounds starter Jesus Luzardo ran into trouble in the fifth. The 20-year-old walked three batters on the night, all of which came in the fifth inning. He fanned six batters in the game while allowing just three hits.

The Sounds entered tonight having gone 3-for-34 with runners in scoring position and came up with a timely hit with a runner in scoring position in the first inning. The Sounds pushed across a pair of runs in the first inning. Dustin Fowler brought in a run with a ground out to the second baseman to score Boog Powell from third base. Two batters later Franklin Barreto came up with a key two-out hit to double Nashville’s advantage. Barreto’s hit was one of two base knocks with runners in scoring position as the Sounds went 2-for-8 on the night and are now 5-for-42 in that situation during their four-game skid.

Anthony Garcia swatted his 20^th home run of the season to lead off the fourth inning and extend Nashville’s lead to 3-0.

The two ball clubs traded runs in the fifth inning before the Baby Cakes took the lead in the sixth. Peter O’Brien belted a solo home run to get the inning started. Three batters later J.B. Shuck trimmed the deficit to 4-3 with an RBI double. The first four batters collected hits off Sounds reliever Josh Lucas in the seventh inning including a two-run home run from O’Brien, which put the Baby Cakes in front 6-4.

Sheldon Neuse pulled the Sounds within one run with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning but that would be as close as the Sounds would come to tying the ball game.

Game three of the three-game series is scheduled for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Frankie Montas (4-5, 4.67) starts for Nashville against right-hander Sandy Alcantara (6-3, 3.53) for New Orleans. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 6-5 loss, the Sounds dropped to 66-59 on the season.
• Tonight’s crowd of 10,739 was the 18^th sellout of the season and 73^rd in ballpark history.
• Anthony Garcia’s fourth inning home run was his 20^th of the season, giving him a new career-high.
• BJ Boyd went 2-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to a season-best 12 games. His career-best streak is 13 games.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Nashville SC grinded out one of its best road results of the season with a 0-0 draw at defending USL Cup champions Louisville City FC on Saturday night. Keeper Matt Pickens had five saves to record his 11^th shutout of the season.

PICKENS SHUTOUT STREAK

Nashville keeper Matt Pickens continued to star for Nashville SC with his second consecutive shutout. Pickens and the Nashville defense have combined to not allow a goal in 269 minutes of play dating back to the opening minute of Nashville’s August 4^th game against FC Cincinnati.

BLOCK BRIGADE

The Nashville SC defense was stout, blocking eight Louisville shots in the shutout. Of Louisville’s 19 shots, only five got through to Matt Pickens, limiting the saves he had to make in the draw.

HUME A LINEUP LOCK

Tucker Hume got his third consecutive start up top for Nashville SC and he again created chances with his holdup play and aerial ability. He recorded Nashville’s only shot on target, a chance in front of net in the second half.

FIRST ROAD BLOOD DRAWN

Nashville became the first team in the budding I-65 rivalry between Louisville City and Nashville SC to earn a road point. Louisville had previously won both its home games against Nashville this season, while SC took its lone home game from Louisville. In USL play, the teams split the points in the three games with both sides earning four.

EAST NASTY

The playoff race in the USL Eastern Conference is extremely tight with 5^th through 9^th place separated by just one point. With just nine wins and fewer games played, Nashville sits in 9^th, but two home wins next week could vault Nashville as high as 4^th.

HOME DOUBLE DIP

Nashville will be back at First Tennessee Park for two home games next week. They will take on Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. before turning right around and playing Richmond Kickers on Tuesday night at 7:30 as well.

The Nashville Sounds dropped their third straight game in a 3-2 decision to the New Orleans Baby Cakes in front of a sellout crowd of 10,439 fans at First Tennessee Park Friday night.

Eric Jokisch delivered a quality start but the Sounds’ offense never materialized against three New Orleans hurlers. Jokisch tossed six innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits. It was his eighth quality start of the season.

Two of the runs allowed by Jokisch came in the first inning to give the Baby Cakes a 2-0 lead. Chris Bostick’s sacrifice fly started the scoring and Peter O’Brien’s run-scoring single gave New Orleans a two-run advantage.

Nashville got a run back in the second when New Orleans center fielder Braxton Lee lost a fly ball in the lights. BJ Boyd had a two-out single to put a runner on base for Bruce Maxwell who hit a line drive over Lee’s head. It scored Boyd to make it a 2-1 game.

New Orleans bounced back right away in the third with another run. O’Brien’s RBI double down the left field line scored Bostick to give the Baby Cakes a 3-1 lead.

Nashville designated hitter Beau Taylor sparked a rally in the sixth with a leadoff double to left-center. Sheldon Neuse followed with a double of his own – a two-bagger down the left-field line that chased Taylor home to trim the deficit to 3-2.

The Sounds couldn’t push across the tying run against relievers Jose Quijada and Jumbo Diaz. Quijada tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings before handing it off to Diaz who shut the door in the ninth.

Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Left-hander Jesus Luzardo (1-0, 4.32) starts for Nashville against left-hander Dillon Peters (4-7, 6.26) for New Orleans. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 3-2 loss, the Sounds dropped to 66-58 on the season.
• Tonight’s crowd of 10,439 was the 17^th sellout of the season and 72^nd in ballpark history.
• BJ Boyd went 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to a season-best 11 games.
• Eric Jokisch logged his eighth quality start (6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) of the season.

The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41^st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Thursday afternoon marked the first ever meeting between Westwood and Coffee County Middle School in volleyball.  As your local sports leader, Thunder Radio was on hand to bring you play by play action of the landmark event as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Before a large crowd at the CCMS gym, Westwood edged the home standing Lady Raiders in 2 sets by set scores of 25-21 and 25-12

Westwood used their strong service game and exceptional passing to work their offense to perfection.  Westwood had 15 service aces led by Emma Kidder who had 12.  Brooklynn Blake  added an ace and led the Lady Rockets in kills with 3.

Coffee County finished with 8 aces led by Savannah Cooper who had 5.  Chloe Gannon led the Lady Raiders in kills with 2.

After playing 3 nights in a row, the Westwood volleyball team is off until Tuesday, August 28^th.  Westwood will host their first home game at the Joel Vinson Gym as Warren County comes to Westwood Middle.  That match is scheduled for 4:30 PM and Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the match as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  The pregame show will begin our coverage at 4:15.

The Lady Raiders will be back at home on Monday as they play host to South Franklin.  That match is scheduled for 5:00 PM at the CCMS gym.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the contest as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  The pregame show will begin live coverage at 4:45.

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

The Coffee County CHS volleyball team opened District 8AAA play on Thursday night in Shelbyville.  Coming off a stinging non-district loss on Wednesday, the Lady Raiders came out with revenge on their mind.  Coffee County got it in a 3 set win over the Eaglettes by set scores of 25-9, 25-18 and 25-22.

The Lady Raiders drilled 14 service aces and fired off 24 kills in the straight set win.  Amanda Mukai led the Lady Raiders in aces with 8, in digs with 4 and assists with 4.  Lexi Bryan led Coffee County with 7 kills and added 2 aces.   Keelie Hillis finished with 5 assists and added 5 kills.  Abigail Parker finished with 4 digs and 4 kills.

The Lady Raiders will return to the court on Tuesday when they travel to Coalmont to take on Grundy County.  That match is set to get underway at 6 PM.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the contest as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  The pregame show will begin live coverage at 5:45.

Lady Raider head coach Andrew Taylor will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to catch the fans up on the first week of the season.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast each Saturday morning at 10 AM LIVE from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln in Manchester.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively on Thunder Radio.

After a lengthy lightning delay on Thursday night, the Lady Raider soccer team had to settle for a 1 all draw with Franklin County.  Hosting their first home match of the year, the Lady Raiders and Rebelettes were taken off the field with 20 minutes remaining in the 2^nd half.  After waiting nearly an hour, the officials and coaches agreed to end the game with the score tied at one.

After a scoreless first half, Reyna Flores put the Lady Raiders up 1 nil in the 48^th minute off an assist from Maddy Jones.  After Franklin County missed a penalty kick, the Rebelettes tied the match in the 53^rd minute.  Coffee County coach David Amado was upset with his team’s inability to convert their dominance on the pitch into goals.  “We missed 10 to 12 shots tonight over the crossbar” said Amado.  The draw gives the Lady Raiders a record of 0-0-2 in district play.

The Lady Raiders will return to varsity action on Tuesday when they travel to Columbia for their 3^rd district game in a row.  Kickoff is set for 7 PM in Columbia.  The JV Lady Raiders will take part in a tournament in Tullahoma on Saturday.

Hitting the road for the first time all year, the Westwood football team traveled to Eagleville on Thursday night for a conference match with the Eagles.  Facing an Eagleville team that they beat by 2 in a preseason jamboree, the Rockets were not able to complete the season sweep as they fell 20 to 7.

The Rocket defense was much improved against Eagleville than in the preseason matchup.  Westwood trailed 12 to 0 at the half.  Westwood’s Connor Smith scored the Rocket’s lone touchdown run early in the 4^th quarter on a 7 yard carry.  Izick Sierra kicked the extra point.

The Rockets return home on Thursday as they welcome Forrest to Dyer-Bouldin Field.  Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM.