Category: Sports

The Nashville Honky Tonks were stunned by the Round Rock Dance Halls 2-1 in 10 innings Saturday night in front of 11,038 fans in Music City. Round Rock’s victory secured the Dance Halls the coveted Boot Trophy in the Battle for the Boot Series.

The Honky Tonks pitching staff was cruising through 26 outs but Bobby Wahl yielded a solo home run to Round Rock’s Drew Robinson, which knotted the game at one run apiece and sent the game to extra innings. Wahl blew his first save of the season as he allowed a game-tying two-out home run to Drew Robinson in the top of the ninth inning. The right-hander was a perfect seven for seven in save opportunities entering Saturday’s game.

Round Rock plated the winning run in the top of the tenth off Jeremy Bleich thanks to an RBI-single from Hanser Alberto.

Brett Anderson started for the Honky Tonks in his first rehab start and tossed four shutout innings including pitching out of a bases loaded jam in the third. He walked a pair and struck out one while yielding four hits. The bullpen then entered the equation for the Honky Tonks and continued the strong performance until the ninth inning.

Dean Kiekhefer entered the game in the fifth inning and was effective for the Honky Tonks. The southpaw tossed a pair of shutout innings while fanning three. Carlos Ramirez continued the dominance on the mound with a pair of shutout innings of his own. The right-hander did not allow a hit in his outing.

Sheldon Neuse provided all the offense the Honky Tonks would muster on the night as he broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the fourth inning. The third baseman yanked an RBI-double down the third base line and into the Honky Tonks bullpen to score Jake Smolinski from first base.

Nashville missed a golden opportunity to extend its lead in the eighth inning as the Honky Tonks loaded the bases. Melvin Mercedes was hit by a pitch while Brett Vertigan and Smolinski each drew walks but all three were left stranded, which proved costly for Nashville.

The Honky Tonks put runners on second and third with just one out in the bottom of the 10^th inning but again were unable to capitalize. Steve Lombardozzi was caught in a pickle between third base and home for the first out of the inning and would be as close as Nashville would come to tying the game.

The final game of the four-game series is scheduled for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Raul Alcantara (3-1, 5.40) starts for Nashville against right-hander Richelson Pena (0-1, 10.80) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 2-1 loss, Nashville dropped to 33-39 on the season.
• Nashville is now 5-3 in extra inning games this season.
• Nashville has now blown five saves in nine opportunities in the month of June.
• With an attendance of 11,038 First Tennessee Park saw its 10^th sellout of the season and 65^th all-time.

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 Round Rock Dance Halls took advantage of an eighth inning error and topped the Nashville Honky Tonks, 3-2, in front of a sellout crowd of 11,071 at First Tennessee Park Friday night.

With two outs and the game even at 2-2 in the top of the eighth, Dance Halls first baseman Tommy Joseph hit a bouncer to Nashville shortstop Jorge Mateo who let go of an errant throw to allow Joseph second base. The miscue came back to hurt when Andy Ibanez followed with a go-ahead, run-scoring single to give Round Rock a 3-2 lead.

The win for Round Rock gave them four in the best-of-nine Battle for the Boot series. Nashville must win the final two games of the series to claim the Boot Trophy.

Nashville starter James Naile turned in his team-high seventh quality start of the season to keep the game close. The right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits in seven strong innings.

The offense never got going against four Round Rock pitchers. The Honky Tonks only managed three hits – a Sheldon Neuse single, a Jorge Mateo triple and a Brett Vertigan bunt single.

Mateo’s RBI triple gave the Honky Tonks a 1-0 lead in the third. Round Rock evened the game at 1-1 in the fourth and took a 2-1 lead in the sixth. Vertigan electrified the crowd when his bunt single tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth. His perfectly placed bunt was fielded by Ibanez at third and thrown away down the right field line. As Vertigan raced to third, Joseph’s throw from the right field line got away to allow Vertigan to score the tying run at 2-2.

The offense stumbled the rest of the way against Round Rock relievers Chris Jensen, Ricky Rodriguez and R.J. Alvarez. Rodriguez tossed 1 1/3 innings and picked up the win while Alvarez earned his 12^th save with a perfect ninth.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Left-hander Brett Anderson (1-1, 2.89) starts for Nashville against left-hander David Hurlbut (2-5, 5.18) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 3-2 loss, Nashville dropped to 33-38 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 54 games when he walked in the third inning. 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. The 54-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• James Naile recorded his team-high seventh quality start of the season (7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)
• Jorge Mateo’s seven triples is tied for second-most in the Pacific Coast League.

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.

Emma Mathews with her 2nd place medal from Thursday[Photo courtesy of Claybusters Facebook page]

Emma Mathews was the top finisher for Coffee County as an individual as she shot her way to a first place tie in the Intermediate/Advanced division for ladies.  Mathews shot 96 clays and ended up with a 2^nd place finish after a scorecard playoff.  Mathews score was good enough to place her 14^th overall out of 423 shooters. Dylan Hickerson finished in 10^th place as an individual for the men in the intermediate/entry level division.  Hickerson tagged 90 out of a possible 100 clays.

The Intermediate/Advanced team came home with a 7^th place team finish. Team members Emma Mathews(96), Landon Meadows(91), Logan Meadows(91), Jonah Wyatt(83) and Aubrey Payne(81) shot a 442 which was 6 targets out of the Top 5.  Henry County won the division with a score of 465.

The short-handed Intermediate/Entry level team finished in 13^th place with only 4 shooters.  Team members Dylan Hickerson(90), Garrett Taylor(83), Xavier Bartley(79) and Riley Bellomy(68) shot a score of 320.  South Gibson won the division with a score of 438.

The high school Claybusters return to Nashville on Saturday for their state championship competition.  The Tennessee SCTP state shoot is held at the Nashville Gun Club.

The Coffee County 15U Post 78 baseball team opened play on Thursday in the Dr. Pepper American Legion Baseball Tournament in McMinnville.  Coffee County dropped both games of the doubleheader.  The Raiders lost to Tullahoma in a 6 to 5 walk-off loss before falling to host Warren County 9 to 2.

Against Tullahoma, Coffee County saw the Wildcats roar out to a 5 to 1 lead after 2 innings.  The Raiders rallied back to tie the game at 5 in the 5^th.  Tullahoma was able to push across the winning run in the bottom of the 7^th.

In the second game, Coffee County outhit McMinnville 10 to 7 but still came up on the short end of the scoreboard.  The home standing Pioneers were able to get the timely hits to grab the 9 to 2 win.  John McKelvey swung the hot bat for Coffee County as he finished with 4 hits on the day.  Wyatt Nugent added a pair of hits as well for Post 78.

The 15U Raiders will travel back to McMinnville to finish up the 2 day tournament..  On Friday, Manchester Post 78 will take on Columbia Post 19 at 2 PM and Tuscaloosa Post 34 at 7 PM.  All games will be played at Warren County High School.

The Nashville Honky Tonks scored four runs in the seventh inning on their way to a 7-4 win over the Round Rock Dance Halls in front of 9,477 fans at First Tennessee Park Thursday night. The win evened the nine-game Battle for the Boot series at three games apiece.

Trailing 4-1 entering the bottom of the sixth inning, Nashville got back-to-back home runs from Ramon Laureano and Sheldon Neuse to cut the deficit to one run. It was the third time Nashville teammates have gone back-to-back in 2018.

Reliever Tayler Scott came on to work for the Dance Halls in the seventh and issued three consecutive walks to start the inning. The third free pass was to Nick Martini to extend his on-base streak to 53 games with the walk.

Anthony Garcia bounced into a 6-4 fielder’s choice to even the game at 4-4 before Laureano delivered the go-ahead run with a sharp single to left field. The 5-4 lead grew to 7-4 moments later when Round Rock second baseman Christian Lopes mishandled a ground ball hit by Steve Lombardozzi. The fielding error scored Garcia and Laureano to give Nashville some breathing room.

The bullpen trio of Ryan Buchter, Jake Sanchez and Bobby Wahl did the heavy lifting the rest of the way. Following starter Eric Jokisch’s six-inning effort, Buchter tossed a scoreless seventh in his third rehab appearance.

Jake Sanchez stranded the bases loaded in the eighth to keep it at 7-4 before handing it off to Bobby Wahl who struck out a pair of batters in a 1-2-3 ninth. Buchter earned the win, Sanchez picked up his fourth hold and Wahl notched his seventh save of the year.

Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Friday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander James Naile (5-6, 4.05) starts for Nashville against right-hander Adrian Sampson (3-3, 6.64) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With tonight’s 7-4 win, Nashville improved to 33-37 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 53 games when he walked in the seventh inning. 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. The 53-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic. Martini’s 21-game hitting streak came to an end after going 0-for-4.
• Ramon Laureano and Sheldon Neuse hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning. It’s the third time Nashville has gone back-to-back in 2018.
• Neuse’s solo home run was the first of the year for the third baseman. The home run snapped a 317-regular season at-bat homerless streak.

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.

A 2-1 loss at Louisville in the Round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup broke Nashville SC’s 11-game unbeaten run and put the team out of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup. Louisville went up 2-0 and Nashville SC was able to prevent a shutout with a goal by Matt LaGrassa in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to equalize at Lynn Stadium in Louisville. It was LaGrassa’s first goal this season.

Two of Nashville’s three losses this season have come at the defending USL champions, and the club has given up 2 goals in each of the losses, the only games Nashville has given up 2 goals this season.

Nashville SC will be back in action on Tuesday, June 26 at First Tennessee Park in Nashville. Nashville’s next three games will be at home with the homestand culminating in a July 7 game at Nissan Stadium against FC Cincinnati.

The 17U Red Raider baseball team traveled to Fayetteville on Wednesday night for a pair of games.  Coffee County tied the first game 5 to 5 in 5 innings.  The Raiders bounced back for an 8 to 5 win in the 5 inning nightcap.

In the first game, the Raiders rallied for a pair of runs in the 5^th inning to earn the draw with the Falcons.  Lincoln County built a 5 to 0 lead after 2 innings before Coffee County got on the board with 2 runs in the 3^rd before adding a run in the 4^th.  Braden Brown had the big blast in the fifth with a 2 RBI double.  Brown finished with a sacrifice to go along with the double and 3 RBI.  Kyle Farless had a single and a walk and scored twice.  Lane Spry walked and was hit by a pitch in his 2 plate appearances.

In the nightcap, Lincoln County jumped out to a 5 to 0 lead after 1 inning before Coffee County could get on the scoreboard.  After scoring 3 runs in the 2^nd, Coffee County got a pair of runs in the 3^rd inning to tie the game.  The Raiders salted the game away with a 3 run rally in the 5^th.  Ryan Stephens had a triple and 2 singles with an RBI to lead Coffee County.  Kael McCall rapped 3 singles and drove in 3 for the Raiders.  Bryson Hullett added 2 singles with an RBI.

The Red Raiders are back at home on Friday and Saturday as they will play a pair of games at Powers Field prior to the TSSAA Dead Period.  Coffee County will play host to Tullahoma on Friday and Central Magnet on Saturday.  Both games will get underway at 5 PM at Powers Field.

The 15U Red Raider American Legion baseball team played host to Shelbyville on Wednesday night at Powers Field.  The visiting Eagles scored in every inning as they pounded Coffee County 17 to 3.  The Raider bats were held to 4 hits on the night.

Trailing 2 to 0 entering the bottom of the 1^st, Coffee County loaded the bases with only 1 out but a strikeout and a fielder’s choice ended the rally.  After Shelbyville built a 7 to 0 lead, Coffee County rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the 4^th inning with a pair of singles, a pair of walks and a Shelbyville error that allowed 2 runs to score.  The Eagles responded with 5 runs in the top of the 5^th to roll to the win.

Brett Jones had a pair of singles for the Raiders and scored a run.  John McKelvey had a double and 3 walks. While Conner Shemwell added the other Coffee County hit.

The 15U Raiders will travel to McMinnville to take part in the Dr. Pepper Invitational American Legion Tournament on Thursday and Friday.  The Red Raiders(Post 78) will take on Tullahoma Post 43 on Thursday at 4:30 PM and McMinnville Post 173 at 7:30 PM.  On Friday, Post 78 will take on Columbia Post 19 at 2 PM and Tuscaloosa Post 34 at 7 PM.  All games will be played at Warren County High School.

The Coffee County Red Raider basketball team will close out their summer scrimmage schedule on Friday as they welcome Moore County and Cannon County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  Coffee County will take on Moore County at noon.  Moore County will battle Cannon County at 1 PM before Coffee County closes out the day with a 2 PM game against Cannon County.  The public is encouraged to come out and attend.  Admission will be $5 to cover the cost of the officials.

Head coach Micah Williams will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the summer season.  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.