Category: Sports

Rising Coffee County Central High School sophomore tennis player Jaden Talley captured a flight championship on Sunday in the 2018 Ensworth Summer UTR Invitational.  Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) is a global tennis player rating system whose goal is to produce an objective, consistent, and accurate index of players’ skill in the game of tennis. UTR rates all players without regard to age, gender, nationality, or locale of a given match. Playing in a bracket of 14 competitors, Jaden won 4 matches over the course of the 3 day weekend to earn the title.

Talley opened play on Friday with a 7 to 5 , 6 to 1 win over Trey Brown of Hendersonville.  Talley came right back and dropped John Yancey of Brentwood 6-0, 6-2 to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.  In the semifinals, Talley dropped Karthik Chitturi of Brentwood 6-3, 6-3 to advance to Sunday’s finals against Pierce McGee.  After splitting the first 2 matches 6-2, 4-6, the two players went to a tiebreaker.  Talley captured the tiebreaker set 10 to 8.

Talley was playing in his first summer tournament of the year.  Talley, who picked up tennis in the spring of 2016, is in his 2^nd season of playing summer tournament tennis.  Talley will be back in action on July 20^th when he takes part in a tournament at the Adams Tennis Complex in Murfreesboro.

The Nashville Sounds took care of the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-1 in Sunday’s matinee to even up the five-game series.

Raul Alcantara took on his biggest workload of the season as he logged a six innings in his third start of the campaign. In those six frames he allowed just one run, which came on a solo home run in the second inning from Omaha’s Frank Schwindel. The 70 pitches thrown by Alcantara were a season-high.

The Sounds were all over the base paths all afternoon as they tallied 14 hits and put a runner on base in each inning.

Beau Taylor got the scoring started in the first inning when he delivered a two-out RBI-single to right field. Jake Smolinski doubled Nashville’s lead when he shot a two-out flare into shallow left field to bring home Nick Martini. The Sounds added three runs in the third on a run-scoring single from Melvin Mercedes, a sacrifice fly from Ramón Laureano, and Sheldon Neuse came in to score on a wild pitch from Omaha’s Luis Vasquez.

Smolinski kept the offense going for Nashville in the latter stages of the ball game. The right fielder extended Nashville’s advantage in the fifth inning with his second RBI-single of the game. He then showed off his power by tagging a solo blast to left field to begin the eighth inning. It was the ninth home run of the season for Smolinski in just his 29^th game.

Carlos Ramirez and Danny Coulombe combined to blank the Storm Chasers in the final three innings to complete the victory for the Sounds.

The Sounds and Storm Chasers continue their five-game series Monday night at Werner Park with a doubleheader. Right-hander Norge Ruiz (0-0, 4.50) starts for the Sounds in game one against left-hander Jake Kalish (2-2, 3.71) for the Storm Chasers. Right-hander Ben Bracewell (1-2, 4.87) will start for the Sounds in game two while Omaha has yet to announce its game two starter. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With today’s 7-1 win, the Sounds improved to 38-41.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 60 games with his second-inning single. Martini’s streak is the longest by a Nashville player in the Pacific Coast League era and is the longest active streak in professional baseball. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game
  he has played in with the Sounds. The 60-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• With his two hits Sunday afternoon, Nick Martini has now hit safely in a PCL-leading 21 straight road games.
• The Sounds left 13 runners on base to match a season-high.

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.

Back at home and back in the win column for Nashville SC. The club from the Music City routed Atlanta United 2, 3-0, in front of almost 9,000 fans at First Tennessee Park on Saturday night.

Goals from Brandon Allen, Alan Winn and Lebo Moloto and another shutout from Matt Pickens all contributed to the victory over the Atlanta United’s second team. Nashville SC picked up a much needed three points vaulting back into the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference.

90’ in a Nutshell

Nashville SC got on the scoresheet early in the 19’ minute when a Winn cross found the foot of Allen who tapped it in near the far post for an easy marker. Allen had multiple chances throughout the first half and would have had a second if not for the quick hands of Atlanta keeper Justin Garces.

Just before the halftime whistle, Nashville caught Atlanta on the counter, with Moloto threading a pass to Winn who brought it back to his right foot and found the net. It was Winn’s third of the season and gave him a goal with the assist.

In the second half, Atlanta tried to find its way back into the game, but the Nashville defense and Pickens hung tough, denying United 2. Late in the half, it was Moloto’s turn to add a goal with an assist as he took a Ropapa Mensah ball and curled it home from the top of the box. It was a dagger from Nashville and insured the three points remained with the home team.

Goals

19’ NSH – Brandon Allen (assisted by Alan Winn)

45’ + 3 NSH – Alan Winn (assisted by Lebo Moloto)

84’ NSH – Lebo Moloto (assisted by Ropapa Mensah)

Quotables

Head Coach Gary Smith – “Alan was terrific, he was very positive, involved in an awful lot of creation and of course got an assist and a goal. I’m not sure I could have asked for much more of a performance. He came off because he’s not had bundles of football. He had a terrific hour and it was time to really inject some energy.”

Key Stat

Alan Winn – 1 goal, 1 assist. In his first start since June 9, Alan Winn showed why he is one of Nashville’s most dangerous players, throwing multiple dangerous passes into the box, recording an assist and getting a goal himself.

Standings Update

Nashville jumped over Indy Eleven and into 4th place with the three points tonight. They are just two away from second place which is currently occupied by both Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Louisville City FC.

Stroylines

– Nashville’s win improves its home record to 8-1-1 overall and 5-1-1 in USL play.

– The goals are Allen’s 4^th, Winn’s 3^rd and Moloto’s 5^th with Nashville SC. Moloto is tied with Ropapa Mensah for the team lead in goals.

– The shutout is Matt Pickens 8^th in USL play and 9^th total this season. He leads all of the USL with 8 in league play.

– Winn and Moloto also contributed assists, along with Mensah, on the night.

– The three points moves Nashville into 4^th place in the USL Eastern Conference with 26 points in 15 games, just two points behind 2^nd place in the East.

Up Next

Nashville has its premier summer game as it will take on fellow MLS market FC Cincinnati on July 7 at Nissan Stadium, followed by a firework show. Tickets are available and can be purchased at NashvilleSC.com/tickets or by calling (615) 457-8200.

The Nashville Sounds and Omaha Storm Chasers were postponed due to rain at Werner Park on Saturday night. The contest will be made up Monday at 5:05 p.m. CT as part of a doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games.

Sunday afternoon’s 2:05 p.m. nine-inning game will continue as originally scheduled, and the five-game series concludes Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. before the Sounds return to First Tennessee Park on Wednesday to host the Iowa Cubs in a five-game series.

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 Nashville Sounds’ winning streak ended at four on Friday night with a 10-1 loss to the Omaha Storm Chasers at Werner Park in the opener of a five-game series.

With the wind blowing out to left field all night, Anthony Garcia belted a home run, his team-high 13^th of the year, but Omaha swatted five homers. James Naile gave up two runs in the bottom of the first inning and needed 39 pitches to complete the frame. He lasted four innings on 91 pitches and took the loss.

Garcia went deep off Trevor Oaks in the top of the second to cut the deficit to 2-1, but that turned out to be the Sounds’ only run. Oaks went six innings and beat the Sounds for the second time this season. Omaha made it a rout with eight runs over their final three innings of offense. Kyle Finnegan allowed two two-run homers in the sixth, Jeremy Bleich yielded three wind-aided solo homers in the seventh, and infielder-Melvin Mercedes allowed one run in the eighth to save the bullpen.

The Sounds continue the five-game series Saturday night when Raul Alcantara (3-1, 5.09) makes the start against Omaha’s Scott Barlow (1-2, 4.85). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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 Middle School cheerleaders capped off a spectacular week of camp on Wednesday returning home with an impressive haul of hardware.  The Raider cheer squad cleaned up at the UCA camp at MTSU garnering three 1st place team awards and a top 4 individual finish.  Additionally, a pair of Raider cheerleaders were selected to the All-American team and the squad was invited to perform at the 2019 Citrus Bowl.

Coaches Tami Weaver and Laina Meeker took their 14 member cheer team to MTSU to compete in their first ever “away camp.”  Coach Weaver was ecstatic with her squad’s performance calling them “the most coachable group” she has worked with.  Coffee Middle won three 1st place awards highlighted by 1st place in the “Band Routine” competition.  Individually, McKenzie Givens captured a Top 4 finish in the “Jump Off” competition.  Raider cheerleaders Audrey Barton and Alexia Mears were selected as UCA All-Americans.

The coaches and cheerleaders from the CCMS squad have accepted an invitation to be guests on the July 7th edition of the Coffee Coaches Show.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast each Saturday morning LIVE from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio.

The Nashville Sounds came from behind in the ninth inning to defeat the Oklahoma City Dodgers 10-9 and complete the four-game sweep. Beau Taylor’s four-RBI effort spurred the comeback win for the Sounds as the two teams combined for 19 runs on 28 hits and five lead changes.

The Sounds entered the ninth inning down 9-7 but a leadoff walk to Ramon Laureano sparked a rally. Jake Smolinski then singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Anthony Garcia cut the deficit in half with a base hit. Taylor then delivered the game-winning hit as he ripped a two-run triple into the gap in right center field to complete the comeback. It was the second three-run deficit the Sounds overcame on the night. The

Oklahoma City went out in front with a run in the first and two in the second to take a 3-0 advantage.

The Sounds muscled up on Oklahoma City’s Guillermo Moscoso in the fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead. Smolinski started off the frame with a bang. Nashville’s center fielder smacked a solo shot to left field to pull the Sounds within a pair of runs. After a Garcia walk, Taylor went yard for his first home run of the campaign to tie the game. Two more walks from Moscoso kept the rally going and Nick Martini capitalized by yanking a two-run double to right field.

The lead was brief, however, as two Sounds errors proved costly. Throwing errors by third baseman Sheldon Neuse and shortstop Jorge Mateo allowed Oklahoma City to score three runs in the frame and go back in front.

The back-and-forth game continued in the fifth as Nashville loaded the bases with no outs. After a pair of strikeouts, the possibility of a golden opportunity wasted was looming, but Steve Lombardozzi came through with a base hit up the middle to plate a pair of runs and regain the lead for Nashville. The Dodgers posted a single run in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to put themselves in position to salvage a game in the series but the Sounds had other plans.

Taylor’s ninth-inning heroics propelled the Sounds to victory and put Nashville in position to match its season-long winning streak of five games Friday night. It was the first series sweep of the season for Nashville.

The Sounds travel to Nebraska for a five-game series against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Game one is scheduled for Friday night at Werner Park. An All-Star pitching matchup will pit right-hander James Naile (5-6, 3.93) for the Sounds against right-hander Trevor Oaks (4-3, 2.05) for the Storm Chasers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 10-9 win, the Sounds improved to 37-40.
• The Sounds have four one-run wins in the last 48 hours and are now 16-13 in one-run games in 2018.
• After Thursday night’s 10-9 game, the Sounds and Dodgers have played seven straight one-run games against each other.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 58 games with his single to lead off the game. Martini’s streak is the longest by a Nashville player in the Pacific Coast League era and is the longest active streak in professional baseball. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in with the Sounds. The 58-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• With his three hits Thursday night, Nick Martini has now hit safely in a PCL-leading 19 straight road games.
• Sheldon Neuse committed two errors Thursday night, his third multi-error game of the season. There has been a total of seven multi-error games by Sounds players in 2018.
• The game lasted three hours and 41 minutes, making it the longest nine-inning game of the season for the Sounds.

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.

Motlow State Community College basketball star Janna Lewis has been selected as one of only 40 student-athletes in the nation to participate in the 10th Annual National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-Star weekend, beginning July 26 in Atlanta.

Lewis, a rising sophomore from Butler High School in Louisville, was named the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) Freshman of the Year following her outstanding 2017-18 season at Motlow, where she averaged 16.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists for the Lady Bucks. She was also named first team all-conference.

Lewis is the first Motlow women’s player selected for the all-star event. Motlow men’s star Jaylen Barford was selected for the men’s all-star event three years ago in Las Vegas and was named the Most Outstanding Player following the event.

Practices and meetings in Atlanta will be held July 26 and 27, with games taking place on July 28 and 29. Entering her sophomore season at Motlow, Lewis is expected to be the centerpiece of Head Coach LaTanya Collins’ second Motlow team, which will open practice Oct. 1.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics on social media at MotlowSports.

First year CHS tennis coach Josh Inzer has announced the tryout dates for the 2019 Red Raider and Lady Raider tennis teams.  Boys’ tryouts will be July 17 from 5:00-7:00 PM and the Girls’ tryouts will be July 19 from 5:00-7:00 PM.  Both tryouts will be held at the Raider Tennis Courts behind the Raider Academy.   The makeup date for anyone who cannot be present on the 17^th or 19^th will be held on July 24th from 5:00-7:00 PM behind the Raider Academy.

Coffee County CHS students who will be in grades 9 thru 12 who wish to tryout should bring a copy of their current physical, tennis racquets, water, and wear the appropriate clothes.  Student/athletes need to remember to bring along with them the signed and completed TSSAA Physical and Parental Consent forms with them when they arrive. That form can be downloaded at:  http://tssaa.org/wp-content/uploads/Forms/med01.pdf . If you have questions, contact Coach Josh Inzer at inzerj@k12coffee.net

Coach Inzer will be a guest on a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the tryouts and give the local fans a chance to meet him.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast each and every Saturday morning LIVE from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio beginning at 10 AM.

The Nashville Sounds notched a pair of one-run wins to sweep a doubleheader at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Wednesday night. Nashville beat Oklahoma City 5-4 in game one before blanking the Dodgers, 1-0, in game two.

Nick Martini extended his on-base streak to 57 games by reaching safely in both contests. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored in game one and went 1-for-3 with the go-ahead run-scoring single in game two.

Eric Jokisch started for Nashville in game one and picked up the win with five solid innings. A three-run top of the third, highlighted by Martini’s RBI single and a two-run homer from Ramon Laureano, gave Nashville a 4-2 lead.

The Dodgers battled back to even the game at 4-4, but Jorge Mateo’s run-scoring triple in the top of the sixth provided the difference. J.B. Wendelken relieved Jokisch and went two innings, including striking out a pair of hitters with a runner at third base in the final inning.

Game two belonged to a trio of Nashville pitchers and Martini. Ben Bracewell started for the Sounds and went five scoreless in his first Triple-A win of the season. Jeremy Bleich worked a scoreless sixth inning before handing it over to Bobby Wahl who struck out the side in the seventh to earn his ninth save of the season.

The game was even at 0-0 in the top of the fifth when Brett Vertigan tripled to the gap in left-center to spark a rally. After Melvin Mercedes drew a walk, Martini lined a base hit through the right side to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead and extend his on-base streak to 57 games.

The fourth and final game of the series is scheduled for Thursday night in Oklahoma City. Left-hander Brett Anderson (1-1, 1.57) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Guillermo Moscoso (3-4, 4.50) for the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s doubleheader sweep, the Sounds improved to 36-40.
• The Sounds have three one-run wins in the last 24 hours and are now 15-13 in one-run games in 2018.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 57 games by reaching safely in both games. Martini’s streak is the longest by a Nashville player in the Pacific Coast League era and is the longest active streak in professional baseball. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in with the Sounds. The 57-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• Brett Vertigan went 3-for-3 in game two to collect his first career Triple-A multi-hit game.

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.