Category: Sports

The Nashville Sounds (Honky Tonks) return to First Tennessee Park for a four-game homestand set to begin this tonight.

The Honky Tonks host the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, the Round Rock Dance Halls, in the “Battle for the Boot” series. The two teams continue their pursuit for the coveted Boot Trophy after beginning the “Battle for the Boot” in late May when the Dance Halls won three of five games in Texas. The Honky Tonks need to win three of four to claim the trophy.

Both teams will wear special uniforms representing the rich music tradition of their respective city. Additionally, Cumberland Hospitality has provided entertainment with pre-game concerts prior to each game. In the spirt of the series, First Tennessee Park welcomes a mechanical bull that will be set up in the Family Fun Zone during the four-game series.

Below is a preview for each game of the homestand:

Thursday, June 21 vs. Round Rock – 7:05 p.m.

• Gates open at 6:00 p.m.
• Cowboy Hat Giveaway to the first 1,000 fans.
• Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
• Live pre-game concert by Rocky Bottom courtesy of Whiskey Bent and Cumberland Hospitality.
• Throwback Thursday presented by Budweiser – Fans can purchase Pepsi fountain soda and Budweiser products at a discounted rate.

Friday, June 22 vs. Round Rock – 7:05 p.m.

• Gates open at 6:00 p.m.
• Live pre-game concert by Jay Bragg courtesy of The Nashville Palace and Cumberland Hospitality.
• FOX 17 News post-game Honky Tonks-themed fireworks presented by Koorsen Fire & Security.

Saturday, June 23 vs. Round Rock – 7:05 p.m.

• Gates open at 6:00 p.m.
• Live pre-game concert by George Dunn courtesy of Scoreboard Bar & Grill and Cumberland Hospitality.
• Enjoy Saturday at the Park with visits to The Band Box and our Family Fun Zone in the right field corner.

Sunday, June 24 vs. Round Rock – 6:15 p.m.

• Gates open at 5:15 p.m.
• Honky Tonks Jersey Auction benefiting Notes for Notes. The online and mobile auction will begin at 10:00 a.m. and finish at the end of the sixth inning. Winning bidders in-ballpark will receive their game-worn signed jersey on the field post-game.
• Live pre-game concert by Bobby Johnson and Randy Moore courtesy of Germantown Depot and Cumberland Hospitality.
• Hyundai pre-game autograph session with select Sounds players from 5:15 to 5:30 p.m.
• Military Sunday Family Fun Day – The Sounds extend their military appreciation by offering discounted reserved section tickets for active and veteran men, women and families – subject to availability.
• Post-Game Kids Run the Bases (12 & under) presented by First Tennessee.

Seniors and Military families can enjoy a $2.00 discount on single game ticket prices at First Tennessee Park. The offer is valid for any reserved seat section on Sunday through Wednesday games – subject to availability. Offer valid for up to four (4) tickets per I.D. (Seniors 55 +, government issued military I.D. required at box office; no phone orders).

 

The Coffee County Lady Raider basketball team ended their summer camp season on Tuesday with a pair of wins in the MTSU Team Camp in Murfreesboro.  After dropping a pair of games on Monday, the Lady Raiders bounced back with a pair of nice wins on Tuesday.  The JV team got a win over White County while the freshmen dropped a game to Gibson County.

The Lady Raiders opened up the day with a 60 to 16 drubbing of East Robertson.  Coffee County scored 30 points in each half in the blowout win as they held East Robertson to 4 points in the 2^nd half.  A trio of Lady Raiders finished in double figures led by Bella Vinson who had 16 points.  Abby Morgan finished with 15 points and Kiya Ferrell came off the bench to toss in 11.

In the second game, Coffee County edged Class AA powerhouse Macon County 39 to 37.  The Lady Raiders hit 7 3 pointers in the game. Vinson again led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 19 points.  Jacey Vaughn added 11 points.  Coffee County finished the month of June with an 18 and 4 record.  Coach Joe Pat Cope was “very pleased” with his team’s performance.  The Lady Raiders will now take off until July.  Following the dead period, the Lady Raiders look to get in a few weeks of practice prior to the beginning of school.

The Coffee County Red Raider 17U baseball team traveled to Coalmont on Tuesday to tangle with Grundy County.  The Raiders and Yellow Jackets squared off in a pair of 5 inning games.  Coffee County fought to a split winning a 2 to 0 decision and dropping a 6 to 2 game to Grundy.

In the loss, Grundy County sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning as they banged out 6 hits and used 2 Raider errors to plate 5 runs.  Grundy County came back in the 2^nd inning to tack on an insurance run.  Coffee County got an RBI double from Ryan Stephens in the 2^nd inning and a RBI sacrifice fly from Braden Brown in the 3^rd for their 2 scores.  Kael McCall had a double while Griffin Meeker and Gage Edwards added singles as the Red Raiders were held to 4 hits.

In the Coffee County win, the Raiders got on the board in the 1^st inning after Braden Brown led off with a double and came around to score.  Brown led off the 5^th inning with a single and was driven home by a Skylar Bratcher double.  Brown finished the game going 3 for 3.  Bratcher had a single and a double and reached on an error.

The 17U Red Raiders will travel to Lincoln County on Wednesday night for a 4 PM game with the Falcons.  The 15U Red Raiders will be at home on Wednesday night as they play host to Shelbyville.  First pitch is set for 5 PM at Powers Field.

Jordan Patterson hit a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Albuquerque Isotopes to a come-from-behind 7-4 win over the Nashville Sounds Tuesday afternoon at Isotopes Park.

Patterson’s blast off J.B. Wendelken completed the comeback for the Isotopes after the Sounds jumped out to a 4-0 lead. It’s the first four-game sweep the Sounds have suffered in the 2018 season.

Red-hot Nick Martini started the scoring for Nashville in the top of the first inning. After Matt Joyce started the game with a single to left field, Martini split the gap in right-center for a run-scoring triple and 1-0 lead. The three-bagger for Martini extended his hitting streak to 21 games and moved his on-base streak to 52 games.

Steve Lombardozzi scored in the second on a balk, BJ Boyd knocked in Anthony Garcia with a base hit in the third, and Garcia launched his team-leading 12th home run in the fifth to give the Sounds a 4-0 lead behind starter Edwin Jackson.

Trouble started in the sixth when Albuquerque plated their first run of the game on a fielder’s choice from Josh Fuentes. Jackson didn’t factor into the decision after he allowed one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Carlos Ramirez relieved Jackson and coughed up Nashville’s lead in the seventh. The Isotopes scored three runs with Fuentes knotting the game at 4-4 on a sacrifice fly.

It stayed 4-4 as both teams squandered scoring threats in the eighth and ninth. The Sounds had runners at the corners with one out in the top of the ninth, but Martini bounced into a 6-3 double play to end the threat.

In the bottom half, Raimel Tapia and Fuentes singled ahead of Patterson. The first baseman drilled a 3-2, two-out pitch from Wendelken over the wall in right-center to send Nashville to its fourth straight loss.

The Sounds are off Wednesday before returning to First Tennessee Park to open a four-game series against Round Rock Thursday night. Left-hander Eric Jokisch (1-7, 4.62) starts for Nashville against left-hander Michael Roth (2-1, 3.52) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With today’s 7-4 loss, the Sounds dropped to 32-37 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 52 games when he tripled in the first 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 52-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic. The triple extended his hitting streak to a career-high 21 games. His hitting streak is the fifth-longest streak by a Sounds player in the PCL era.
• Anthony Garcia’s home run in the fifth inning extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 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 has another date with Louisville City. U.S. Soccer held its U.S. Open Cup 5th round draw on Thursday morning and pitted two of the three USL
sides remaining in the tournament against each other. The matchup will be held on Wednesday, June 20 at Lynn Stadium on the University of Louisville’s campus.

It will be the third time since March that Nashville and Louisville have played, with each team winning 2-0 at home. There is one more USL match scheduled between the clubs on August 18 that will be held at Louisville’s typical home site, Slugger Field.

The venue for the Open Cup matchup, Lynn Stadium, is a traditional soccer facility, home to the Louisville Cardinals and holds 5,300 fans.

While this is Nashville’s first year participating in the Open Cup, it is Louisville City’s first time advancing to the final 16 teams. Alongside Sacramento Republic, the three clubs are the only non-MLS teams remaining in the tournament. Sacramento will play at LAFC of MLS in the 5th round.

The winner of Nashville SC and Louisville City will play the winner of Atlanta United and Chicago Fire, both of MLS, in the Quarterfinals of the Open Cup.
Kickoff time for Nashville SC’s 5th round game will be at 6:00 p.m. CST.

The Coffee County Central High School softball team held their annual Awards Banquet on Monday Night at Boskey’s Grill.  Celebrating the career of 5 seniors, the 2018 Lady Raiders gave toast to a 2018 District 8AAA championship and a Region 4AAA championship.  Head Coach Brandon McWhorter presided over the festivities.

Ten Lady Raider seniors and juniors were recognized by the Tennessee Softball Coaches Association as members of the All-Academic Team.  Seniors Shelby Scrivnor, Lauren Tomberlin, Tatum Baldwin and Raven Rogers all maintained an overall GPA of 3.6 to earn a spot on the squad.  They were joined by juniors Lexi Holder, Haley Miller, Haley Richardson, Alexcia Barnes, Erin Ferrell and Katie Rutledge.

Three members of the Lady Raider team were selected to the All-District 8-AAA team.  Katie Rutledge, Sarah West and Lauren Tomberlin were named to the squad by a vote of the District 8AAA coaches.

For team awards, Erin Ferrell was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the junior varsity and Justus Turner was selected as the Offensive Player of the Year.  For the varsity squad, Kasarah Scheller and Keri Munn were named the Co-Defensive Players of the Year.  Sarah West earned the Offensive Player of the Year.  Tatum Baldwin was named the Team First Award winner by a vote of her teammates and Haley Miller was selected as the Lady Raider Award winner.

The 17U Coffee County Red Raider baseball team played host to Warren County on Monday night at Powers Field.  In a pitcher’s duel, Coffee County was held to 4 hits on the game as they fell 3 to 1 in the 7 inning contest.

Both teams pushed across a run in the 2^nd inning.  After Warren County scored In the top of the inning, the Red Raiders used singles from Owen Neel and Ryan Stephens to set the stage for an RBI sacrifice fly from Kyle Farless.  The visiting Pioneers added single runs in the 3^rd and 7^th innings to get the win.  Gage Edwards and Braeden Brown had the other 2 hits for Coffee County.

The 17U Raiders travel to Grundy County on Tuesday night.  First pitch is set for 5 PM.  On Wednesday, they will visit Lincoln County for a 4 PM game.  The 15U Raiders will be at home on Wednesday as they play host to Shelbyville.  First pitch is set for 5 PM at Powers Field.

The Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider basketball team opened play on Monday in the MTSU team camp.  The varsity and junior varsity Lady Raiders each played 2 games while the freshmen team had one game.

The varsity team lost a pair of nail-biters to Maryville and Gatlinburg-Pittman.  Trailing by 10 at the half, Coffee County went on a 2^nd half tear before falling 50 to 47 to Maryville.  Abby Morgan led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 17 points.  Jacey Vaughn added 11 points and Bella Vinson finished with 9.  Against Gatlinburg-Pittman, the Lady Raiders took an early lead  but went cold in the 2^nd and 3^rd periods to fall behind 39 to 29 entering the final period.  A 4^th quarter rally, including 8 points from Vinson and a pair of 3 point baskets from Morgan Jones was not enough as Coffee County fell 51 to 44.  Vinson finished the game with 21 points while Morgan added 12.

The JV Lady Raiders fell to Summit by 2 points and Wartburg by 16 points.  The freshmen Lady Raiders defeated North by 12 for the bright spot of the day.

The Lady Raiders return to MTSU on Tuesday to conclude their summer scrimmage schedule.  Coffee County will take on East Robertson at 9 AM and Macon County at 1 PM with both games taking place in the Alumni Gym.  The JV will take on White County at 11 AM in Murphy Center’s Auxiliary Gym #2 while the freshmen will tangle with Gibson County at noon in Murphy Center’s Auxiliary Gym #1

After combining for 45 runs on 58 hits in the first two games of the series, the Nashville Sounds and Albuquerque Isotopes came back to earth Monday night as the Isotopes edged the Sounds 3-2. The two ball clubs mustered just five runs on 15 hits.

Nashville’s bullpen was asked to pitch 7 2/3 innings after the game began with a bit of controversy. Sounds starter Ben Bracewell was ejected after recording one out and throwing just three pitches. On his third pitch he threw the ball behind Albuquerque’s Raimel Tapia and was tossed, prompting the Sounds to go to their bullpen much earlier than anticipated. Ryan Dull entered the game and allowed a double from Tapia and a run-scoring single from Josh Fuentes as the Isotopes jumped out to a 1-0 lead. A sacrifice fly from Garrett Hampson doubled Albuquerque’s lead in the second.

Nashville cut the lead in half in the fourth inning. Sheldon Neuse smoked a two-out triple and then came in to score on an error by the second baseman, Hampson, whose relay throw went into the third base dugout. Albuquerque regained its two-run advantage with back-to-back doubles in the fifth inning by Hampson and Tapia.

The Sounds got a run back in the sixth inning as Bruce Maxwell slapped an RBI-single into left field to bring Ramón Laureano home from second base.

In his lone inning of work, Ryan Buchter, on a rehab assignment from Oakland, sat down the Isotopes in order in the fourth on just seven pitches.

Bobby Wahl kept the Sounds in striking distance. The hard-throwing right-hander entered with the bases loaded in two outs in the seventh inning and blew away Fuentes with three fastballs. He then retired the three Isotopes he faced in the eighth. Nashville got the leadoff man on-base in the top of the ninth as Maxwell drew a walk, but the threat was ended as BJ Boyd hit into the Sounds’ fourth double play of the game.

The final game of the four-game series is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in Albuquerque. Right-hander Edwin Jackson (0-1, 5.40) starts for the Sounds against right-hander David Holman (2-1, 5.52) for the Isoptopes. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With Monday’s 3-2 loss, the Sounds dropped to 32-36 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 51 games when he singled in the first inning. Martini’s streak is the longest by a Nashville player in the Pacific Coast League era and is the longest active streak in Minor League Baseball. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in. The single extended his hitting streak to a career-high 20 games. The 51-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic. The hitting streak is the fourth-longest streak for the Sounds in the PCL era.
• BJ Boyd’s failed to reach base, snapping his road on-base streak at 27 straight games.
• Anthony Garcia’s sixth inning single extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games.
• The Sounds hit into a season-high four double plays.

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.