Category: Sports

The Coffee County Red Raider 17U baseball team finished up play on Friday in the 14^th annual Crethan Hansert Memorial Baseball Tournament.  The Red Raiders finished the day with a win and a loss.  Coffee County finished the tournament with a record of 2 and 2.

Coffee County opened the day with a 9 to 5 loss to Marshall County.  Coffee County jumped out to a 1 to 0 lead in the first inning only to see the Tigers score 3 runs in the bottom of the first to take a lead they would not surrender.   Marshall County built the lead to 5 to 1 before Coffee County could bounce back.  The Raiders scored runs in the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th innings but could not keep up with Marshall County.  Skylar Bratcher led Coffee County in hitting with a single, a double and 3 runs scored.  Owen Neel had a single, a double and an RBI.  Ryan Stephens had 2 singles and 2 RBI.

Coffee County finished the day and the tournament with a 4 to 1 win over Grundy County.  After a scoreless 3 innings, the Red Raiders broke free for 3 runs in the 4^th inning.  With one out, Griffin Meeker ripped a single up the middle.  A Yellow Jacket error, a single by Owen Neel and a 2 RBI double from Ryan Stephens saw Coffee County build a 3 to 0 lead.  Braden Brown hit an RBI double in the 4^th to drive home Gage Edwards for the Raiders 4^th run.   Neel finished the game with a pair of singles.

The 17U Raiders travel to Coalmont on Tuesday for a game with Grundy County.  First pitch is set for 5 PM.  The Red Raiders visit Lincoln County on Wednesday for a 4 PM game..  The 15U Raider team will be at home on Wednesday night to play host to Shelbyville.   That game will get underway at 5 PM at Powers Field.

The Coffee County Lady Raider volleyball team will be hosting the 3 day Lady Raider Volleyball Kid’s Camp beginning on Monday.  The camp is open to children in elementary and middle school interested in learning more about volleyball and improving their skills.  The camp will run from noon to 3 PM on Monday through Wednesday at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.

Cost is $30 per camper and those wishing to participate are asked to arrive early at CHS to register.  If you need more information, email Andrew Taylor at: taylora@k12coffee.net

The Nashville Sounds pitching staff scrounged together nine innings with a depleted bullpen and fell to the Albuquerque Isotopes 17-12 Sunday night.

The offense gave the Sounds a chance by plating 12 runs, but the pitching staff matched a season-high by yielding 17 runs on the night.

In a spot start Raul Alcantara allowed four runs in two innings, Jake Sanchez gave up one run in his lone inning of work, Danny Coulombe surrendered four runs, one earned, in his 1 2/3 innings, Dean Kiekhefer put together 2 1/3 innings and yielded three runs, and infielder Melvin Mercedes tossed the final frame and was touched for five runs.

Nashville capitalized on a pair of two-out walks from Albuquerque’s Sam Howard in the top of the first inning. Three straight RBI-singles from Beau Taylor, Sheldon Neuse, and BJ Boyd provided Alcantara with a 3-0 advantage before he stepped on the mound. The lead evaporated quickly and turned into a one-run deficit as the Isotopes tallied four runs of their own in the home half of the inning. Garrett Hampson sent a leadoff home run beyond the left field fence followed by a two-run double from Jordan Patterson and RBI-single from Stephen Cardullo.

That trend would continue throughout the evening as each time the Sounds scored in the top half of an inning the Isotopes responded in the bottom half except for the ninth inning. The Sounds mounted a four-run rally in the ninth trailing 17-8 but the deficit was too steep to overcome despite nine Nashville hitters coming to the plate.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Monday night in Albuquerque. Right-hander Ben Bracewell (0-2, 6.60) starts for the Sounds against left-hander David Holmberg (2-5, 5.86) for the Isotopes. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• With Sunday’s 17-12 loss, the Sounds dropped to 32-35 on the season.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 50 games when he singled in the second 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 19 games. The 50-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2008 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
• Nick Martini’s RBI ground out in the top of the eighth inning extended his RBI streak to five games, matching Dustin Garneau’s five-game streak for the team-high this season.
• BJ Boyd’s RBI-single in the first inning extended his road on-base streak to 27 straight games.
• The Sounds scored 12 runs in Sunday’s loss. It is the most runs Nashville has scored in any of their 35 losses in 2018. They have scored at least six runs in each of their last four losses.
• In all five games of their current seven-game road-trip the Sounds have scored at least six runs and collected at least 10 hits.
• The 17 runs allowed by the Sounds matched 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.

Nashville SC forward Ropapa Mensah scored the most dramatic goal in club history with a goal in the 94’ minute, on the last kick of the game, to send more than 9,000 fans into a frenzy. The miraculous goal extends Nashville’s unbeaten streak to 11 games and keeps them perfect at home in USL play with a 4-0-0 record.

Ropapa Mensah headed in a free kick in the 95th minute from Michael Reed that earned Nashville SC a final-touch 1-0 victory over North Carolina FC in front of 9,047 at First Tennessee Park.

Mensah came on in the 68th minute as Nashville SC fired crosses and shots into the North Carolina FC box. A foul in the final third produced the free kick chance from Reed.

For 94 minutes, a scoreless game headed into a frustrating result for Nashville SC at home against a team lower in the Eastern Conference. Mensah’s final-touch header in the muck of the final moment of the game will be one to remember in this first professional season in Nashville.

“Relief,” defender Bradley Bourgeois said about the game-winner. “I think my heart was beating out of my chest, to be honest.”

As the final whistle blew after the goal amid the raucous First Tennessee Park crowd, Nashville SC players sprinted and celebrated all across the field. Most of the attention centered around the goal scorer.

“I have scored a lot of goals,” Mensah said. “But this is the best goal of my life.”

Nashville SC controlled play — and the ball — for most of the game and saw several scoring opportunities narrowly miss the net.

Bourgeois had more than one chance to put the ball on target, but his headers drifted wide and chances bounced past his legs. Bolu Akinyode headed wide a chance in the last 20 minutes. Ish Jome sprinted wide and left with the ball but could not create the game-winning chance.

Saturday’s near-draw inspired exasperation as time drew closer to 90 minutes and Nashville peppered North Carolina FC keeper Alex Tambakis with shots and dangerous crosses.

“Though we were creating chances, we couldn’t find that moment,” coach Gary Smith said. “It’s that piece of invention, brilliance, incisiveness, whatever you might call it, until that final moment.”

Earning three points from a near-certain draw is another checkmark of a box for a good professional soccer team.

MAN OF THE MATCH
Ropapa Mensah’s goal will be a watermark moment in Nashville SC’s first USL season. Mensah has a tendency to bring energy and effort in the final moments of the game — Saturday’s goal was Mensah’s third goal in the final 20 minutes of the game this season.

The story of Saturday’s match would have been much different had he not finished in the 95th minute.

“He’s come on and changed a few games this season,” Jome said. “So I think (Mensah’s impact) is huge, especially for Gary to trust him and bring him on in a crucial moment to get a goal.”

STORYLINES

– Nashville’s 11 game unbeaten streak is the longest active run in any of three major North American pro soccer leagues (MLS, ULS, Liga MX)

– Nashville moves up to 4^th in the Eastern Conference standings just one point behind 2^nd place.

– That is the first of a 4-game homestand that will conclude with a massive game on July 7 at Nissan Stadium against first place FC Cincinnati.

– It’s the fifth goal of the season for Ropapa Mensah to lead the team.

– It’s Mensah’s second goal in stoppage time this season.

– Matt Pickens recorded his 7^th shutout of the season to send him into a tie for first in the USL.

– Bradley Bourgeois recorded the assist on the goal, getting his first of the season.

Anthony Garcia smacked a pair of homers, and Jorge Mateo went 3-for-4 with an RBI, but the Nashville Sounds were outslugged 10-6 by the Albuquerque Isotopes on Saturday night at Isotopes Park. The clubs combined for 29 hits, and the Sounds fell to 2-2 so far on their seven-game road trip.

The Sounds never enjoyed a lead but fought back several times. They were down 3-0 after an inning when Garcia crushed his first homer off Brett Oberholtzer in the second. The Isotopes scored twice in the fourth to make it 5-1, but Nick Martini delivered an RBI single in the fifth, and Mateo scored on an error to cut the deficit to 5-3. Martini’s single moved his hitting streak to 18 games, the longest by a Sound since 2010. He’s also reached base safely in 49 games in a row.

Starter James Naile battled to get through six innings and save an overworked bullpen. He gave up two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth, yielding a career-high eight runs on 14 hits over six frames in the loss. Garcia’s second homer came in the sixth inning, Martini doubled home Mateo in the seventh, and Mateo plated BJ Boyd with a single in the eighth to pull the Sounds within 8-6. But J.B. Wendelken allowed a two-run homer in the eighth to Raimel Tapia, and D.J. Johnson notched a four-out save for the Isotopes to end the game. Mateo’s three hits were his highest total in a game since May 3.

The Sounds continue the four-game series Sunday night when right-hander Raul Alcantara (3-1, 4.67) makes a spot start against left-hander Sam Howard (3-4, 4.68). 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.

Jorge Mateo launched an opposite-field two-run homer in the 10^th inning to break a 6-6 tie and propel the Nashville Sounds to an 8-6 victory and a series win over the El Paso Chihuahuas Friday night at Southwest University Park. The Sounds had blown a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth before Mateo’s heroics in the 10^th helped the team regain control, and Jeremy Bleich got a save in the bottom half.

The Sounds grabbed the game’s first run in the top of the second against former Sound Dillon Overton. Anthony Garcia led off with a single, and Beau Taylor laced a double to the gap in left-center to make it 1-0. El Paso answered that with two runs – one earned – in the bottom half against Eric Jokisch. That was all Jokisch allowed over 6 2/3 innings, and the lefty struck out 11 to tie his career-high. It was his third consecutive quality start, and the second time in a row he left with a lead and ended up with a no-decision.

Fueled by four doubles, the Sounds rallied for a 4-2 lead with three doubles in the fifth against Overton. BJ Boyd, Steve Lombardozzi, Nick Martini and Ramon Laureano each smacked a two-bagger. Martini’s moved his hitting streak to 17 games, the longest by a Sound since 2014, and moved his consecutive games on-base streak to 48, the longest by a Sound since the team joined the Pacific Coast League in 1998. Laureano’s double was his fourth of the series and accounted for his fifth RBI in the set.

After El Paso’s Allen Craig homered off Ryan Dull in the 8^th to make it 4-3, the Sounds scored two in the ninth on RBIs by Beau Taylor and Sheldon Neuse to go ahead 6-3, only to see the Chihuahuas storm back in the bottom of the ninth and take advantage of a costly error by Dean Kiekhefer on a dropped catch. Kiekhefer was credited with the win thanks to the Mateo homer in the 10^th off Colten Brewer, and Bleich notched his first save of the year.

The Sounds continue their seven-game road trip Saturday night with the opener of a four-game series against the Albuquerque Isotopes. Right-hander James Naile (5-5, 3.41) is scheduled to start for the Sounds against Brett Oberholtzer (2-4, 5.73). First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 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.

Rack up another state title for the Coffee County Claybusters! The Coffee County Claybusters Junior team bagged the AIM State Championship in Nashville on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The Junior Division team successfully defended their 2017 title as they outdistanced 2^nd place Macon County by 11 clays.  The Sub-Junior Division team finished as a runner-up and 5 Claybusters captured individual medals.

The Junior Division gunners shot a 962 out of a possible 1,000 to capture the trophy.  The Junior Division team shooters were: Hayden Jacobs(197), Colter Smith(190), Victoria Majors(185), Zach Bonee(193) and Austin Schaller(197).  Hayden Jacobs and Austin Schaller tied for individual runner-up in the division with Jacobs coming out on top in the tie-breaker.  Schaller finished in 3^rd place.

The Class A Sub-Junior Raider team finished in 2^nd place with a score of 926.  The Claybusters came in 2^nd place behind Tennessee Smoke by 12 clays.  Shooting for the sub-junior Claybusters were: Lexi Stacey(169), Logan Meadows(184), Tucker Carlson(194), Landon Meadows(193) and Emma Matthews(186).  Landon Meadows won the individual title for the division and Tucker Carlson finished in 3^rd place.

Neil Slone was the other individual winner for Coffee County as he finished in 2^nd place in the Gold Junior Division with a 190.   The Claybusters return to the Nashville Gun Club on June 21^st through the 23^rd for the Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) state tournament.

The Coffee County American Legion Post 78 17U baseball team opened up play on Thursday in the 14^th Annual Crethan Hansert Memorial Tournament.  The Red Raiders used a 12 run first inning in Game #1 against Marion County to roll to a 13 to 0 win which was called after 3 ½ innings due to the Mercy Rule.  The Red Raiders fell in the 2^nd game to Tullahoma, 10 to 3.

Against Marion County, Coffee County sent 16 batters to the plate in the 1^st inning as they banged out 10 hits and got the benefit of 4 walks.  Owen Neel and Skylar Bratcher each had a pair of doubles in the first inning.  Neel finished with 3 RBI and Bratcher added 2.  Ryan Stephens had a single, a double and an RBI.  Gage Edwards and Zach Milan each had a single and 2 RBI.  Bratcher got the start on the mound has he surrendered 1 hit and struck out 4.

Against Tullahoma, the Raiders could not get their offense engaged against a hot hitting Wildcat squad.  Tullahoma only outhit Coffee County 8 to 4 but picked up 9 walks to get the win.   Ryan Stephens had a double for Coffee County while Bryson Hullett and Kyle Farless each had a hit and scored a run.

Coffee County will play a pair of games on Friday in the wood bat tournament.  Coffee County will take on Marshall County at 9 AM and Grundy County at 3:30 PM.  The tournament will conclude on Saturday.

The Coffee County CHS basketball team closed out the MTSU basketball camp on Thursday in Murfreesboro.  The varsity team was perfect on the day finishing with a 3 and 0 record.  The JV team won 2 of their 3 games.

The varsity won games over White House Heritage, Tallulah Falls, GA and Murphysboro, IL.  The JV captured wins over Huntland and Providence Christian.  The JV Raiders fell to Knoxville Webb.

Coffee County returns home on Friday, June 22^nd when they welcome Cannon County and Moore County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym for a day of scrimmages.

The Coffee County Central High School athletic department will welcome two new head coaches this year to head up a pair of co-ed programs.  Coffee County CHS co-athletic director Rebecca Koger announced the hirings on last week for new swim and tennis coaches for the 2018-2019 school year.  Josh Inzer will take over the tennis program from Mike Ray and Becky Behrendorff will be the new swim coach replacing Lana Ray.  Both hirings were approved on June 5th by the Coffee County School Board upon recommendations from the respective

search committees.

Behrendorff is a former student at Tullahoma High School who is currently a swim coach for the local Makos swim program.  Behrendorff is a stay-at-home mom who teaches swimming lessons in her spare time.  In her prep days, Becky competed for the Tullahoma Swim Club and earned a scholarship to swim collegiately at Gardner-Webb University.  When contacted by Thunder Radio on Wednesday, Behrendorff was excited for the opportunity to coach a large number of athletes that are also involved in her club swim program.  It appears the swimmers are excited too. “The kids are excited to get someone they know(as coach)” said Behrendorff.  “We feel her experience and ability will be an asset to our student-athletes” added Koger.

Inzer, a former CHS tennis player, takes over for Mike Ray who will remain on staff at CHS and continue to coach the golf teams.  Inzer is currently a math teacher at the Coffee County Raider Academy.  “We are excited about the energy and enthusiasm that Coach Inzer brings to the tennis team” said Koger.  “We feel he will be a great fit for our program” added Koger.  When contacted by Thunder Radio, Inzer was looking forward to getting to work on Thursday.  “I have watched (some of the Raider tennis players) and I look forward to working with them” said Inzer.

Coach Behrendorff, along with Rebecca Koger have accepted invitations to be guests in an upcoming edition of the Coffee Coaches Show.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.