Category: Sports

The Nashville Sounds salvaged a series split with the Tacoma Rainiers after Thursday night’s 7-4 victory. The Sounds wrapped up their eight-game road trip with a 5-3 record.
Ben Bracewell was solid on the mound for Nashville, spanning five innings while allowing just a pair of runs, one earned, on just two hits to pick up his second victory of the season. His lone blemish was a Dan Vogelbach solo shot in the second inning that put the Rainiers on the board. Both free passes issued by Bracewell came in his fifth and final inning of work as he came to the end of the line.
The Sounds started the scoring in the second inning when Ryan Lavarnway sparked a two-out rally. His base hit was the first of five consecutive hits for the Sounds, highlighted by Matt McBride’s two-run blast that just stayed fair inside the left field foul pole. Jaff Decker picked up an RBI single in the inning to put the Sounds in front 3-0. Tacoma cut into the lead one batter into the bottom half of the inning as Vogelbach took Bracewell deep.
Nashville went back up by three runs in the third inning as Joey Wendle scored Franklin Barreto from first base on a three-bagger, his team-leading seventh triple of the season.
The Sounds manufactured a run in the sixth inning. Kenny Wilson was plunked by a Cody Martin pitch to lead off the inning. He advanced to third on a Decker single and came in to score on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 6-2. The Rainiers cut the Sounds’ four-run lead in half with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Shawn O’Malley and Taylor Motter crossed home plate on a two-run double from Gordon Beckham.
Melvin Mercedes collected his 13th RBI of the season in the seventh inning to cap off the scoring. Mercedes tallied a season-high three hits on the evening including a pair of infield singles. Decker collected a trio of hits for the fourth time this season.
Kyle Finnegan and Raul Alcantara each tossed scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth respectively to shut the door on the Rainiers. For Alcantara it was his second save of the season for the Sounds and second of his career.
The Sounds return home for a four-game set against the Memphis Redbirds Friday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Zach Neal (2-7, 5.37) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Jack Flaherty (4-1, 2.83) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CST.

1st National Bank and Thunder Radio will once again combine forces this fall to continue to highlight more and more local athletes. The highly acclaimed 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series begins its 4^th season as we highlight middle school football action from Westwood and Coffee County Middle, along with girls’ soccer and volleyball at the middle schools and at Coffee County Central High.

Beginning on Thursday, and running through the end of September, Thunder Radio will bring you a series of 13 contests as we strive to spotlight Manchester’s incredible school and community spirit.  The Hometown Sports Series will continue into the postseason for the high school volleyball and soccer teams as well as any middle school football championship games.  Just another example of why Thunder Radio is Coffee County’s number 1 station.

The schedule is as follows:

2017 FNB Hometown Sports Schedule

The Coffee County Lady Raider basketball team will be hosting a fund raising golf scramble.  The tournament is set to be held on Saturday, August 12^th.  The tournament will be a 4 man scramble format and everyone is invited to participate.  The tournament will be held at Willowbrook and will tee off at 1 PM.

Cost for the tournament is $85 per person which includes 18 holes and lunch.  Lunch will be served at noon.  The tournament entry fee will also buy you a red tee and a mulligan.  There will be cash prizes for 1^st and 2^nd place plus a chance to win a car for a hole-in-one.  Al White Ford/Lincoln will be giving away a new car to the first person in the tournament who records an ace on the 17^th hole.

If you need for information, contact Joe Pat Cope at: copej@k12coffee.net or call his office at: 931-723-5174

2017 CCMS Soccer PlayDay

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team will be hosting their annual “Kickin’ Cancer Soccer PlayDay Scrimmage on Saturday at CCMS.  The Lady Raiders will welcome varsity and JV teams from 6 different middle Tennessee counties for the daylong event.  Games are set to get underway at 9 AM and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to a local cancer charity.  Additionally, the Lady Raiders will don pink jerseys for the day and will play with a pink ball.

Coffee County will play varsity games at 9:30 and 3:20.  The JV Lady Raiders will play at 11:20 and 2:50.  Everyone is encouraged to bring your lawn chair and come out to the Coffee County Middle School to enjoy some good soccer and donate to a worthy cause.

The Braves accounted for each of the three losses the mighty Dodgers experienced during a recent 24-game span. But they have also encountered nothing but frustration against the last-place Phillies, who extended their success against their National League East rivals with a 3-2 win on Wednesday night at SunTrust Park.

Odubel Herrera once again was a thorn in the Braves’ side, as he helped produce a 2-0 lead with his second triple of the night in the third inning.
“Odubel is playing like his hair is one fire,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
But it was the back-to-back doubles by Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis off Atlanta starter Sean Newcomb to begin the fifth inning that proved decisive for the Phillies, who have won 11 of 13 against the Braves and gone 31-67 against all other opponents this season.
The Braves have averaged 3.6 runs per game against the Phillies and 4.7 runs against all other opponents this season. They have gone 6-16 and 0-6 against Philadelphia since evening their record through 90 games on July 16.
“It’s just kind of the way we’ve been against [the Phillies],” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Everybody pitches like they’re Bob Gibson against us, regardless of their history. It’s just one of those things. You can’t explain it. You can’t point to any one thing.”
Phillies starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff had some good fortune when Nick Markakis’ second double of the night did not lead to a run in the sixth inning, after the Phillies caught Freddie Freeman in a rundown after rounding third. The right-hander pitched past the sixth for the first time since April 10, but encountered some poor luck when right fielder Nick Williams misplayed Ozzie Albies’ routine fly ball into a double that set the stage for Danny Santana’s two-out, pinch-hit single in the seventh.
“To go back in after that sixth inning felt pretty good and I was just happy to go back out and have a chance to do it,” Eickhoff said.
After being left stranded after a two-out triple in the first, Herrera reached across the plate to drill a liner to left-center that scored Galvis from first base and resulted in his second triple. The Phillies’ center fielder also scored on the play when Newcomb was not in position to field Albies’ throw which sailed into the Phillies’ dugout.
“I feel good,” Herrera said. “I just have to keep working and good things will happen.”
After Santana increased the Braves’ MLB-best pinch-hit RBI total to 35 with his key single in the seventh, third-base coach Ron Washington’s indecisive blunder in the sixth inning proved to be costly. When Markakis drilled a double into the right-center-field gap, Freeman took off sprinting from first base. Washington initially waved Freeman before suddenly putting up a stop sign too late. Freeman was then retired in a rundown.
Mike Foltynewicz will be on the mound when the Braves open a three-game set in St. Louis on Friday at 7:15 p.m. CT. Foltynewicz allowed seven earned runs in just four innings against the Cardinals in early May.

The Tacoma Rainiers scored a pair of runs in the opening inning and never looked back in a 9-2 win over the Nashville Sounds Wednesday night at Cheney Stadium.
Tacoma first baseman Dan Vogelbach drilled an opposite field two-run homer off Nashville starter Frankie Montas in the first inning to start the scoring for the Rainiers.
Nashville managed hits in each of the first three innings but came away with only one run. Franklin Barreto’s first inning double, and Yairo Munoz’s second inning single went for naught as Tacoma starter Sam Gaviglio worked around both in his first two frames.
Gaviglio issued a leadoff walk to Melvin Mercedes in the third and it came back to hurt the right-hander. Mercedes moved to second on Boog Powell’s single to center, and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Franklin Barreto. Jaff Decker followed with a sacrifice fly to score Mercedes and trim the deficit to 2-1.
Another long ball hurt Montas in the fourth as Mike Marjama followed Vogelbach’s inning-opening free pass with a towering two-run shot to left to make it a 4-1 game. Montas was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs in four innings.
It got worse in the fifth when Tacoma plated five runs off Chris Jensen to bust the game open. All five runs came with two outs as Vogelbach’s big night continued with a run-scoring single to extend Tacoma’s lead to 5-1.
After a single and walk, Kyle Waldrop drilled a high fly ball to deep right field that Decker couldn’t corral as he slammed into the outfield wall. Three runs scored and the Rainiers took a commanding 8-1 lead. Dario Pizzano tacked on an RBI triple when his fly ball was lost in the lights by Munoz in center field.
The Sounds didn’t get much going the rest of the night. Ryan Lavarnway had a two-out single in the seventh but nothing came from it.
Base hits by Joey Wendle and Munoz sparked a little rally in the ninth as the Sounds scored their second run of the night. Munoz was the lone Nashville play with a multi-hit game.
The series finale is set for Thursday night at Cheney Stadium. Right-hander Ben Bracewell (1-2, 6.89) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Max Povse (1-0, 8.74) for the Rainiers. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. CST.

Reyna Flores of CHS soccer

It was not easy on Tuesday night, but the Coffee County CHS soccer team held off a second half rally to grab a 6 to 5 scrimmage win over Nolensville.  After racing out to a 5 to 0 lead midway of second half, the Lady Raiders saw Nolensville rally for 4 goals in a 6 minute stretch to make the final 10 minutes a tense affair.  Nolensville had a chance to tie the game on a free kick as the final seconds ticked off the clock.  That potential game tying goal sailed high over the crossbar to end a hectic second half.

The Lady Raiders scored first in the 1^st minute as Reyna Flores banged home a goal before many in the crowd had found their seats.  Jessica Barrera added the assist.  Jenna Garretson scored in the 8^th minute unassisted off a set piece play.  Flores added Coffee County’s 3^rd goal off another assist from Barrera to give Coffee County a 3 to 0 halftime lead.

The Lady Raiders extended their lead to 4 to 0 on another unassisted goal from Garretson in the 48^th minute before an unassisted goal from Allie Amado in the 53^rd minute made it 5 to 0.  At that point, Coffee County made some substitutions and Nolensville began to find their rhythm.  The visiting Lady Knights used several Lady Raider defensive lapses to bang home goals in the 60^th, 62^nd, 64^th and 66^th minutes.  Barrera added a goal in the 71^st minute that proved to be the game winner off an assist from Amado.  Nolensville added a goal in the 78^th minute and drew a foul just outside the box in the 80^th minute.  A hurried free kick by the Lady Knights sailed high just ahead of the final horn.

Coffee County will be back at home on Thursday when they play host to Ooltewah.  That match is set to get underway at 6 PM.

Marley Perry of CCMS soccer

After holding Siegel scoreless for 25 minutes, the Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider soccer team saw the Lady Stars notch 2 goals in the final minutes of the first half.  The Stars carried that momentum into the second half as they banged home 4 goals in the final 30 minute half on their way to a 6 to 0 scrimmage win.

The Lady Raiders were held to 7 shots on the night against the talented Siegel team.  Coffee County struggled to maintain possession and effectively mount an offensive attack as Siegel was able to put up 21 shots.  Lady Raider keeper Lucy Riddle played well as she made 10 saves on the night.  Marley Perry led the Lady Raiders in shots with 4.

The Lady Raiders will host their annual Kickin Cancer Scrimmage PlayDay on Saturday at CCMS.  Games will begin at 9 AM as 7 teams from 6 different counties will be in action in the daylong event.

The Manchester Parks & Recreation is sponsoring a tennis league this fall.  The league will be for players aged 10 to 100 and of all skill levels.  The league is set to begin on Labor Day with a flexible scheduling option.  League matches will be held at the newly resurfaced Fred Deadman Park tennis courts.  Cost to participate is $15 per player and $25 per doubles team.  Age divisions will be 10 to 14; 15 to 49 and age 50+.  Doubles will be mixed doubles.  If you need more information, contact the Recreation Center at 728-0273 or send an email to: IKAMPMEIER@CITYOFMANCHESTERTN.COM

Odubel Herrera hit a two-run homer, Zach Eflin pitched seven strong innings following his recall from the minors, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Atlanta 5-2 on Tuesday night to continue their season-long mastery of the Braves.

After Maikel Franco drove in Freddie Galvis with a line-drive single to right field in the fifth inning, Herrera reached down to pull a low pitch from Julio Teheran into the restaurant behind the right-field wall. Herrera had three hits, including a double.

Freddie Freeman hit a first-inning homer off Eflin, the right-hander who was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley before the game and earned his first win of the season. Eflin (1-3) allowed two runs, seven hits and one walk.

The Phillies have won 10 of 12 against Atlanta this season. They swept a four-game series against the Braves in Philadelphia on July 28-31.

Hector Neris pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances.

Teheran (7-10) allowed five runs, seven hits and three walks in five innings. He has allowed a career-high 28 homers, the most in the National League.

Teheran fell to 1-8 in 12 home starts at new SunTrust Park. He is 6-2 on the road.

Nick Williams had a run-scoring double and scored on Eflin’s bloop single up the middle in the fourth.

Ender Inciarte’s first-inning single extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Braves rookie shortstop Johan Camargo was hurt before the game began. He suffered a hyperextended right knee while jogging onto the field. His knee appeared to lock near the first base line as he reached down to touch the dirt or chalk.

Camargo was supported by assistant trainer Jim Lovell and third base coach Ron Washington as he returned to the dugout. An MRI was scheduled for later Tuesday night.

Jace Peterson replaced Camargo in the lineup.

Left-hander Max Fried threw two scoreless innings in his major league debut for the Braves.

Rookie LHP Sean Newcomb (1-6, 4.61), who is 0-4 in his last six starts, will make his second start against the Phillies on Wednesday. He allowed only two hits and one run in five innings and did not receive a decision in the Braves’ 4-3 loss at Philadelphia on July 29.  First pitch is set for 6:35 CT and can be heard here on Thunder Radio.