Category: Sports

Close games have been the calling cards when the Nashville Sounds and Oklahoma City Dodgers get together and Friday night was no different as the Oklahoma City Dodgers edged the Nashville Sounds 5-4 in 10 innings. 9,868 fans watched the drama unfold at First Tennessee Park. The last eight games between the Sounds and Dodgers have been decided by one run.

After the Dodgers posted three runs in the eighth inning, the Sounds used a three-run rally of their own in the ninth inning to push the game to extras.

Oklahoma City starter Drew Hutchison fanned eight batters in his five shutout innings while Nashville’s Eric Jokisch turned in a solid outing. The Sounds’ southpaw turned in a season-high 7 2/3 innings and allowed three runs, two of which came in the eighth inning.

Oklahoma City broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Donovan Solano. The score remained 1-0 until the seventh inning. Jorge Mateo tripled over the head of Alex Verdugo in center field to begin the frame. Two batters later Ramón Laureano popped out to first baseman Connor Joe, who reached into the stands to make the catch. Mateo scampered home to tie the game on the play.

The good feelings did not last long for the Sounds, however. Oklahoma City posted three runs in the top of the eighth thanks to three singles and a pair of doubles off Jokisch and Jake Sanchez.

Melvin Mercedes sparked a two-out rally in the ninth with a base hit. The next three batters all reached base including a game-tying two-run single from designated hitter Beau Taylor who had three hits on the night.

Oklahoma City plated a run in the top of the 10^th to put the pressure back on the Sounds. Sheldon Neuse started the bottom of the inning with a single to right field and advanced to second on an error by Verdugo in right field. The designated runner, Bruce Maxwell moved to third base on the play. Center fielder Tim Locastro made a diving catch in shallow center field to rob BJ Boyd of a base hit and forced the runners to stay put. Joe Broussard struck out the next to batters to preserve the win for Oklahoma City.

The Sounds and Dodgers will play a doubleheader for games two and three of the series Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Raul Alcantara (4-1, 4.20) starts for the Sounds in game one against right-hander Brock Stewart (1-2, 3.18) for the Dodgers. Nashville has not announced its starter for game two while Oklahoma City will turn to right-hander Zach Neal (2-0, 2.53). First pitch for game one is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. at First Tennessee Park.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 5-4 loss, the Sounds dropped to 47-50 on the season.
• Nashville is now 6-4 in extra-inning games this season.
• Ramón Laureano swiped two bases tonight to become the third Sounds player to steal multiple bases in a game. Jorge Mateo and Slade Heathcott are the others.
• With his seventh inning triple, Jorge Mateo became the ninth player in Sounds history to collect 10 triples in a season. Duane Walker holds the all-time single-season record with 15 in 1979.
• With a three-hit performance tonight, Beau Taylor extended his hitting streak to five games. His longest hitting streak of the season is six 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.

The Coffee County CHS Lady Raider volleyball team returned to Eagleville on Thursday for the Lady Eagles Team Camp.  Both the Lady Raiders and JV Lady Raiders were in action in Day #2 of the 3 day team camp.

The varsity squad was 1 and 2 on the day as they dropped a pair of matches in straight sets before edging district foe Lincoln County 2 to 1.  As was the case on Wednesday, The Lady Raiders continue to have trouble getting their offense started on service return.

Coach Andrew Taylor continues to emphasize the service return and passing for Coffee County.  Improvement in those areas is a must in the preseason said Taylor.  Taylor continues to be happy with his team’s performance at the service line and at the net.

The Lady Raider JV team won their matches over Lawrence County and Lincoln County while falling to Smyrna.  The 3 day camp concludes on Friday at Eagleville.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department would like to invite everyone to its 20th Annual Fishing Tournament to benefit needy children of Coffee County at Christmas. The event is Saturday Sept. 22, 2018 from 7:00 a.m. till Noon at the Normandy Lake, Barton Springs Boat Ramp. Entry fee is $10.
Sheriff Steve Graves says last year’s tournament was a huge success and he’s hoping that more people come out and do some fishing. He added that because of this event and the generosity of the people of Coffee County many children that might not get anything for Christmas will receive something special.
Fishing Tournament Trophies given in each category as follows:
Bass 1st 2nd 3rd Places, Crappie 1st 2nd 3rd Places, Bream 1st 2nd 3rd Places, Biggest fish caught by a kid 1st Place

Rules for the Tournament:
1. Only the waters of Normandy Lake may be fished and only during Tournament hours.
2. Everyone is to check in at Barton Springs Boat Ramp prior to the start of the tournament
3. You may weigh in at any time during the Tournament.
4. This is for the biggest fish tournament in each class.
5. All Bass must be alive at the weigh in station. All other fish must show being freshly caught and be of legal size as defined by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for Normandy Lake.
6. You must be inside the no wake buoys by Noon in order to be eligible to weigh in.
7. Life jackets must be worn while big motor is running.
8. Coffee County Sheriff Department accepts no liability for accidents or injury personal or property during this tournament.
9. No alcoholic beverages or drugs will be allowed before, during or after this tournament
10. Tickets may be purchased at the Coffee County Jail, 76 County Jail Lane on the Hillsboro Hwy. or at the Boat Ramp the morning of the tournament or call:728-3591

The Nashville Sounds used a four-run sixth inning to top the Omaha Storm Chasers, 4-2, in front of 9,639 fans at First Tennessee Park Thursday night.

Trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, Nashville sent nine hitters to the plate in the comeback. The one-out rally started when Beau Taylor walked, and Anthony Garcia doubled down the left field line.

Bruce Maxwell’s second hit of the game made it a 2-1 game and Sheldon Neuse delivered another run-scoring single to draw the Sounds even at 2-2. BJ Boyd followed with a base hit, the fifth straight Sound to reach safely.

After Jorge Mateo was retired for the second out in the frame, Melvin Mercedes lined a base hit to right field to score Maxwell and Neuse and give the Sounds a 4-2 lead.

The four runs were enough support for starter Daniel Mengden and two bullpen arms. Mengden scattered five hits over seven innings. He limited Omaha to two runs and earned his second win of the season.

Mengden handed off to Liam Hendriks who worked a perfect eighth inning. Closer Bobby Wahl entered for the ninth and struck out the side on 11 pitches to earn his 11^th save. Nashville pitchers retired the final 16 Omaha hitters in a row.

The Sounds welcome the Oklahoma City Dodgers to First Tennessee Park to begin a three-day, four-game series on Friday. Left-hander Eric Jokisch (3-8, 4.50) starts for Nashville against right-hander Drew Hutchison (3-1, 3.60) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 4-2 win, the Sounds improved to 47-49 on the season.
• Tonight’s game of two hours and five minutes was Nashville’s fastest nine-inning game of the season.
• With Daniel Mengden allowing only two earned runs tonight, Nashville starters have allowed two or less earned runs in 11 of the last 12 games.
• Second baseman Melvin Mercedes picked up another multi-hit game, his fourth over his last seven games. His two-run single in the seventh gave the Sounds a 4-2 lead.

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.

The Coffee County CHS Lady Raider volleyball team traveled to Eagleville on Wednesday for the Lady Eagles Team Camp.  Both the Lady Raiders and JV Lady Raiders were in action in Day #1 of the 3 day team camp.

After a loss in their opening match to a very tough Stewarts Creek squad, Coffee County bounced back for a pair of wins to finish 2 and 1 on the day.  The Lady Raiders dropped a 2 set decision to Stewarts Creek before defeating Eagleville 2 to 1 and sweeping Community 2-0.

Coach Andrew Taylor was happy with his team’s performance at the service line and at the net.  He wants to see improvement in service receive and defense behind his blockers.

The Lady Raider JV tied a pair of matches and captured a win.  Coffee County tied Stewarts Creek and Community while beating the host Lady Eagles.  The 3 day camp continues on Thursday at Eagleville.

Dr. Michael Torrence, president of Motlow State Community College, announced today that longtime Motlow leader Scott Shasteen will be assuming a new role in External Affairs and Workforce Innovation.

Shasteen has served Motlow for almost 23 years in several capacities, most recently as its Athletic Director. He stepped up to lead athletics during a time a significant transition and moved that work forward in service to students and in breadth of programming. In that role he also built a strong work relationship with Terri Bryson, Vice President of External Affairs and Workforce Innovation who was responsible for athletics. Bryson recruited Shasteen into this newly announced role to serve as a key community liaison for several rising outreach initiatives.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to have led the Motlow athletic department for the last two-and-half-years. I’m confident that the department has a solid foundation from which to work and is poised to achieve great things in the future,” said Shasteen.

Torrence added, “Scott and Terri have proven to be a great work team. They’ve accomplished a number of very demanding assignments together such as improvements in the overall quality of our athletic program and ushering several of our teams and individual players toward noteworthy historical milestones in the college’s competitive performance. I’m confident in their ability to rise to new challenges as I ask them to shift their focus toward economic, community and workforce development. Scott’s deep roots in the community will be invaluable to this work.”

Along with this transition, Cheryl Hyland, Vice President of Student Affairs, has assumed senior leadership of athletics and will lead that unit forward for the college.

The bats went quiet for the Nashville Sounds as they fell to the Omaha Storm Chasers 2-0 Wednesday night in front of 7,914 fans at First Tennessee Park.

Nashville’s Chris Bassitt and Omaha’s Jake Kalish went toe-to-toe on the mound, each looking sharp in their seven innings of work. In the end it was Kalish’s Storm Chasers who emerged victorious as the southpaw allowed just two hits in his seven shutout innings while fanning nine batters. Bassitt took the tough-luck loss as he matched a season-high by tossing seven innings. For Bassitt it was his second quality start of the season.

The Sounds mustered just four hits in the defeat, a bunt single from Sheldon Neuse, a soft base hit from Beau Taylor, a bloop single from BJ Boyd, and a line drive single from Neuse.

Omaha broke the scoreless tie with a two-out rally in the top of the fifth inning. Jack Lopez got the rally going with an infield single and then swiped second base. Billy Burns’ RBI single scored Lopez from second base to put the Storm Chasers on the board. An error by third baseman Sheldon Neuse allowed Nicky Lopez to reach first base and Burns to come home to make it a 2-0 game.

The closest the Sounds came to lighting up the scoreboard was in the eighth inning when Boyd singled and advanced to second on a ground out.

Josh Lucas and Danny Coulombe kept the Sounds in the game by each tossing a shutout frame. The only blemish was an infield single against Coulombe who struck out three.

The final game of the four-game series is scheduled for Thurssday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Daniel Mengden (1-1, 4.70) starts for Nashville against right-hander Trevor Oaks (6-3, 1.84) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 2-0 loss, the Sounds dropped to 46-49 on the season.
• The Sounds have now been shutout eight times in 2018, the most in the Pacific Coast League. They have played in 15 shutouts, tied with Memphis for the most in the league.
• Tonight was the ninth time this season the Sounds failed to record an extra-base hit and second time this series. Nashville is 3-6 in games that they don’t collect and extra-base hit.

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.

Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Monday that the team has signed restricted free-agent goaltender Juuse Saros to a three-year, $4.5 million contract. Saros will make $1.5 million in each of the three seasons.

Saros, who is 23 , was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team after posting an 11-5-7 record with a 2.44 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and three shutouts in 2017-18. The 5-foot-11 goaltender closed out the regular season with the third-best save percentage in franchise history, trailing only Pekka Rinne’s .927 in 2017-18 and .930 in 2010-11. From Nov. 4 to the end of the regular season, Saros led NHL goaltenders in save percentage (.935) and was fourth in goals-against average (2.19). He set the Predators record for most saves in a shutout with 46 on Dec. 14 at Edmonton and became the first goalie in team history to tally multiple 40-plus save shutouts in the same season. Saros started the second half of all 11 of Nashville’s back-to-backs this season and went 8-1-2, with five of those victories coming on the road. He appeared in four playoff games for the Predators last season, allowing only two goals on 42 shots faced for a 1.05 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.

Originally a fourth-round (99th overall) pick by the Predators in the 2013 NHL Draft, Saros owns a 21-14-10 record, 2.42 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and four shutouts in 48 NHL games. The Forssa, Finland, native teamed up with Rinne to post the NHL’s best save percentage (.923) and second-best goals against average (2.49) in 2017-18, helping the Predators claim the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history. Saros has appeared in six career postseason games with the Preds – including two in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final – and has posted a 1.76 goals-against average, allowing five goals on 59 shots against.

by Jim Wyatt – TitansOnline.com

Get ready to see the Titans in training camp.  It’s time to start filling out the calendar with all the dates open to fans.  This year’s schedule includes 15 open practices, including two practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Saint Thomas Sports Park.  The team will practice on Friday, August 3 at Centennial High School from 7:15-9 pm.  The Titans will kick off training camp on Thursday, July 26 at 9:50 a.m. at Saint Thomas Sports Park.  Additional information about training camp will be released at a later date, but here’s the schedule on open practices for fans:

Thursday, July 26 – 9:50 am–noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park) Friday, July 27 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Saturday, July 28 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Sunday, July 29 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Monday, July 30 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Wednesday, August 1 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Thursday, August 2 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Friday, August 3 – 7:15 p.m-9 pm (Centennial High School).

Saturday, August 4 – 3:30 pm-6 pm (Nissan Stadium).

Monday, August 6 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Tuesday, August 7 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Saturday, August 11—1:30 pm-3:30 pm (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Sunday, August 12 — 9:50 am-noon (Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Wednesday, August 15 — 9:50 am-noon (practice with Buccaneers at Saint Thomas Sports Park).

Thursday, August 16 — 9:50 am-noon (practice with Buccaneers at Saint Thomas Sports Park).