Category: Sports

For the second straight day nine innings were not enough to decide a winner between the Nashville Sounds and Tacoma Rainiers. Tuesday, however, it was the Sounds who came out victorious with a 6-3 win.

A three-run top of the 10th inning helped the Sounds escape Tuesday’s matinee in Tacoma 6-3 over the Rainiers. Joey Wendle’s 99th career double for the Sounds put them in front 4-3. The Sounds then tacked on two more runs on a Kenny Wilson single to give Raul Alcantara some breathing room.

Tacoma’s Taylor Motter proved to be a tough out in the late stages of the ball game for the second straight game. With a runner on first and nobody out in the eighth inning Motter cranked a 3-1 Felix Doubront fastball just beyond the left field fence for a go-ahead home run. That, after Motter’s ninth inning, game-tying home run Monday night.

The Sounds responded in the top of the ninth. Nashville loaded the bases with nobody out for Wilson who worked a walk to tie the game but that was all the Sounds could muster in the frame. Boog Powell grounded into a 3-2 force out, Franklin Barreto struck out, and Jaff Decker flied out to end the threat.

Wendle opened the scoring in the second inning as he yanked a 1-1 pitch down the right field line that cleared the fence for his seventh home run of the season. The lead was short-lived as the Rainiers tallied a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Danny Muno reached on a slow-roller to third base and came around to score on a ground out to first base by Zack Shank. The Rainiers were aided by a Michael Brady balk that allowed Dario Pizzano and Muno to advance to second and third respectively.

Nashville regained the lead in the sixth inning. Barreto continued his hot-hitting since rejoining the Sounds from Oakland as he laced a run-scoring double down the right field line to plate Boog Powell. The Sounds were unable to extend the lead, however. After reaching third base on a Jaff Decker single, Barreto broke on contact as Renato Nuñez hit a sharp ground ball to short and was gunned down at the plate.

Brady pitched effectively for the Sounds as he surrendered just one run on five hits in his five innings of work en route to his fourth win of the season while his ERA dropped to 3.21. The right-hander did not issue any free passes while collecting four punch outs. In his third outing with the Sounds, Logan Bawcom kept the score at 2-1 with a pair of scoreless innings of relief.

Raul Alcantara earned his first win of the season for Nashville with two innings of scoreless baseball while yielding just one base hit.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Wednesday night at Cheney Stadium. Right-hander Frankie Montas (0-1, 4.62) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Sam Gaviglio (3-5, 3.79) for the Rainiers. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. CST.

Led by Samuel Prater’s round of 66, the Coffee County golf team captured 2^nd place on Monday in the Cookeville Early Bird Tournament.  Battling periods of showers, the Red Raiders fired a team score of 300 to finish 1 stroke off the championship.  The tournament performance gives the Red Raiders a season record of 16 and 2.

Prater, a junior, shot his second sub-par round of the year at Cookeville’s Golden Eagle Golf Club with his 4 under par round.  That score was good enough to capture first place individual medalist honors.  Austin Farris carded a 75, Reid Lawrence scored a 79, Matthew Hale got around in 80 strokes and Josh Perry finished with an 82.

The Red Raiders will return home next Monday for their next match.  Coffee County will welcome district rivals Lincoln County, Franklin County and Tullahoma to Willowbrook for the 18 hole match.  The shotgun start will begin at 1 PM.

Zach Shank delivered the knockout punch with a walk-off double in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Tacoma Rainiers an 8-7 win over the Nashville Sounds Monday night at Cheney Stadium.
Shank’s game-winner off Sounds reliever Lou Trivino ended the 5-hour, 8-minute marathon that featured 12 pitchers, 21 walks, 20 hits, and 20 strikeouts between the two teams.
The bottom of the 12th started when Trivino issued a leadoff walk to Kyle Waldrop. He moved to second when Danny Muno drew a free pass to put runners at first and second. The walks came back to hurt when Shank lined a 1-2 pitch into right field to chase home Waldrop with the winning run.
Nashville had a chance to win the game earlier in the night when they took a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth inning. With one out in the inning, Franklin Barreto singled off Tacoma reliever Thyago Vieira to give the Sounds a base runner.
With Jaff Decker batting, Barreto moved to second on a balk, and third on a wild pitch. After Decker walked, Renato Nunez was batting when Vieira unleashed another wild pitch allowing Barreto to score and give the Sounds a 7-6 lead.
The lead didn’t stick, however, as Taylor Motter quickly tied the game when he started the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer off reliever Patrick Schuster.
The two teams had a number of opportunities to win the game in extras before Shank’s walk-off. Both teams left 12 runners on base and the Sounds went 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
Nashville and Tacoma combined for 12 runs in the fourth and fifth innings. The Sounds scored the first two runs of the game in the fourth when Yairo Munoz came through with a two-out, two-run single. Iowa came back with four in the home half to take a 4-2 lead.
The Sounds responded with a four-spot of their own in the top of the fifth, highlighted by Chris Carter’s two-run double. The 6-4 lead was short-lived as Nashville pitchers issued back-to-back bases loaded walks to even the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the inning.
Four Sounds had multi-hit games, including newcomer Boog Powell. Munoz and Carter drove in two runs each while Nunez and Barreto each scored two runs.
Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Cheney Stadium. Right-hander Michael Brady (3-1, 3.35) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Christian Bergman (8-3, 5.10) for the Rainiers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. CST.

A great start and a strong finish described Saturday for the CHS Lady Raider soccer team.   Hosting their own scrimmage play day, Coffee County opened the day with a win before a pair of disheartening draws.  They closed the day with a near flawless performance in a 0 to 0 tie with defending state tournament quarterfinalist Lincoln County.

Coffee County opened the day with a 3 to 1 win over Cascade.  The Lady Raiders got goals from Emilee Roberson, Jessica Barrera and Regan Ellison in the win.  Squaring off against Mt. Juliet, the Lady Raiders led 2 to 1 before a defensive breakdown allowed the Lady Bears to score the tying goal in the closing minutes of the game.  Coffee County got goals from Roberson and Allie Amado in the contest.

In the afternoon session, Coffee County opened with Shelbyville and got on the board in the 3^rd minute as Roberson got her 3^rd tally of the day.  The Lady Raiders dominated the possession and kept Shelbyville on the defensive until the closing minutes.  The Lady Eagles capitalized on a defensive breakdown to get off a shot on Coffee County keeper Ashley Woods in the 29^th minute.  Woods dove to her right for the save, but the deflection was corralled by Shelbyville and pushed past Woods as she scrambled to her feet.   With less than 90 seconds remaining, Coffee County could not mount a sustained attack settling for the draw.

Coach David Amado was animated and blunt with his young team calling the performances unacceptable.  “We were tied by two teams we dominated” said Amado following the game.  He challenged his squad to step up their game against the 2 time defending district champion, and state tournament qualifying Lady Falcons of Fayetteville.  The Lady Raiders were outmatched early as Lincoln County got off 7 shots on frame in the first 9 minutes.  Only a spectacular effort by senior keeper Ashley Woods kept the match scoreless as she turned away all 7 shots.  Coffee County was only able to fire off one shot, with it coming in the 10^th minute on a free kick by Allie Amado.

Following the match, Coach Amado was ecstatic about his team’s performance against Lincoln County.   After the shaky start of his defense in the first 10 minutes, he praised the team for making the necessary adjustments to help out Woods between the pipes.  When asked about the positives on the day, Amado had this to say:

He also singled out the play of his goal keeper Ashley Woods.  When asked about her play, Amado had this to say:

The JV Lady Raiders finished the day with a record of 2-0-1 on the day.  The JV team “played really well” said JV & keeper coach Lafredo Ramirez.

The Lady Raiders will host a pair of scrimmage games this week at the Raider Soccer Field.  Coffee County will take on Nolensville on Tuesday at 7 PM.  On Thursday, Ooltewah visits the Raider pitch for a 6 PM contest.  The Lady Raiders open the season on Tuesday, August 14^th when they travel to Smyrna.  The varsity game will kick off at 7 PM.

A pair of homers during a four-run first inning provided early comfort for Marlins right-hander Jose Urena, who proved to be nearly flawless through six innings in a 4-1 win over the Braves on Sunday afternoon at SunTrust Park.

Coming off a pair of losses to open the weekend set, the Marlins quickly marred right-hander Lucas Sims’ second career start with home runs from Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto before the game’s second out was recorded. The four-run first was more than enough for Urena, who was perfect through three innings and allowed just one run on three hits over six innings.
“That is the best thing that can happen to a starting pitcher, when you know your team takes care of you like that,” said Urena, who improved to 10-5 with a 3.70 ERA. “You’ve got the lead, four runs. You just have to go out there and do your thing.”
The homers by Ozuna and Realmuto gave Urena all the support he needed. Miami has now gone back-to-back four times this year, with the most recent on June 10 at Pittsburgh.
“Sometimes, we’ve been up and down,” Ozuna said of the offense. “Some days, one of my teammates can do it. One of those days, I can do it. That’s the biggest thing for winning.”
Sims made a nice recovery by giving up only four more hits after the first and keeping the Marlins scoreless over the remainder of his six innings. But the early deficit proved to be too significant for the Braves, who didn’t score until the sixth. Pinch-hitter Jace Peterson doubled and scored on a single by Ender Inciarte, who earlier in the game extended his current Major League-best hitting streak to 12 games.
“You can’t go out there and not execute pitches like that [in the first inning],” Sims said. “It kind of sets the table. I put us behind the eight ball, and I can’t be doing that.”
Sims encountered immediate trouble when he hit Giancarlo Stanton in the left thigh with a first-pitch fastball, then issued a five-pitch walk to Christian Yelich. This set the stage for Ozuna to jump on a hanging curveball and send it over the left-center-field wall for his 26th homer of the season. The three-run shot traveled a Statcast-projected 386 feet.
Realmuto followed by jumping on a center-cut slider that went 388 feet, with a 102.7-mph exit velocity.
After Urena needed just 33 pitches to complete three perfect innings, Inciarte opened the fourth with an opposite-field double. Freddie Freeman drew a one-out walk, but the threat ended when Nick Markakis produced a sharp grounder (103.8-mph exit velocity) that Mike Aviles fielded to begin an inning-ending double play.
“He’s pretty good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Urena. “He’s got a live arm. He’s a good pitcher. We just couldn’t get anything going against him.”
“It was nice to get the lead early, and then a quick few innings there [from Urena],” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “The first three, he gets rolling and his pitch count is down. Then he gets the big double play with Markakis [in the fourth]. There’s a little momentum. That kind of put him back in order.”
Stanton has hit 34 of his 36 home runs in 2017 as Miami’s right fielder. Braves right fielders have totaled 26 homers since the start of the 2015 season.
Derek Dietrich collected his 16th double of the season in the Marlins’ sixth inning after a call was overturned. Dietrich ripped the ball high off the right-field wall, and Markakis delivered a strong throw to second, with shortstop Johan Camargo applying the tag. Dietrich was ruled out, but Miami challenged. After a review of one minute and 15 seconds, the call was overturned.
Julio Teheran will take the SunTrust Park mound when Atlanta opens a two-game set against the Phillies at 6:35 p.m. CT on Tuesday. Teheran has given up a career-high 27 homers this season, including three during the fifth inning of his July 28 start in Philadelphia.

The Nashville Sounds offense cooled off Sunday afternoon but savvy defense, opportunistic base running, and Mother Nature propelled them to a 5-4 victory over the Reno Aces. The win clinched a series victory for the Sounds who won just one series in both June and July.
Nashville was clinging to a 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning when the skies opened up. Greater Nevada Field became so saturated with water that the tarp stuck to the ground and was unable to be pulled all the way over the infield. Following a lengthy delay the umpires deemed the field unplayable and awarded the victory to the Sounds.
Sounds starter Zach Neal rebounded Sunday afternoon in Reno after a tough outing on August 1st. Neal came within one out of a quality start as he yielded three runs on six hits to earn his second victory of the season. He had been tagged with losses in his previous six decisions.
The Aces opened the scoring in the second inning as Jack Reinheimer scored from first on an Evan Marzilli RBI double. The run was sandwiched between a pair of stellar defensive plays from Sounds shortstop Yairo Muñoz that robbed base hits.
Aces starter Eric Jokisch cruised through the Sounds lineup the first time through. He retired the first 11 batters he faced before Renato Nuñez stepped to the plate for a second time. The Sounds slugger clubbed a mammoth home run for his Minor League-leading 30th of the season to knot the game at 1-1.
The Sounds took advantage of Reno mistakes to plate three runs in the fifth. Joey Wendle led things off with a triple into the left field corner. Chris Carter drew a walk and Muñoz then reached on an error by third baseman Kevin Medrano, which allowed Wendle to score. Two batters later, with Kenny Wilson at the dish, Jokisch skipped a pitch in the dirt that got away from catcher John Ryan Murphy. Carter scampered home safely and the throw home from Murphy sailed over the head of a covering Jokisch. Muñoz never stopped running and scored on the play as well.
Nashville tacked on another run in the sixth with a brief two-out rally. Matt McBride doubled and came in to score on a Wendle base hit back up the middle.
Reno’s Christian Walker swatted a pair of lead-off home runs to cut the Sounds advantage down to 5-4. His 27th home run of the season came in the sixth inning as Neal left a pitch up in the zone that Walker was able to turn on. He belted his 28th home run to open up the bottom of the eighth inning off Chris Jensen.
Nuñez chipped in on defense as well. The left fielder gunned down the potential tying run in the eighth inning at third base. Oswaldo Arcia attempted to advance to third as Zach Borenstein flied out to left in the bottom of the eighth but a laser from Nuñez extinguished the threat.
The Aces were ready to send the bottom of its lineup to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning before the game went into a rain delay and was ultimately called.
The Sounds head to Tacoma, Washington for a four-game series against the Tacoma Rainiers Monday night at Cheney Stadium. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (3-3, 3.41) starts for Nashville while the Rainiers have yet to announce a starter. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. CST.

Mike Foltynewicz responded to Giancarlo Stanton’s MLB-leading 36th home run by throwing a career-high 11 strikeouts, as the Braves’ offense ignited for seven runs to beat the Marlins, 7-2, on Saturday night at SunTrust Park.

“I kept the team in it and I knew that they would break out at the end, which it seems like they always do,” Foltynewicz said. “Overall, it was a great team win and I am very excited for it.”
Freddie Freeman got the Braves offense started as he got the first of his four RBIs with a single in the sixth inning. He broke the game open with a three-run homer in the seventh, finishing 2-for-4 on the night. He reached 20 home runs for the fifth time in his career.
“It feels good and I have been trying to be more consistent since the All-Star break,” Freeman said. “It hasn’t been what I wanted, but I am starting to feel a little bit better with multi-hit games in three of the last four.”
The Marlins responded in the eighth inning with an RBI double from Stanton. Miami also loaded the bases in the ninth, before Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino shut the door to secure Foltynewicz’s 10th win.
Foltynewicz recorded his second game with at least 10 strikeouts this season; the first was against the Reds on June 2. He is 5-2 with a 3.48 ERA in nine starts at SunTrust Park.”
Marlins manager Don Mattingly noted that Foltynewicz was on his game, but he also felt he benefited from a favorable strike zone from home-plate umpire Adam Hamari.
“Their guy was good early, for sure,” Mattingly said. “He’s 97-98 [mph], and he was good. And that zone was pretty favorable tonight for him. He probably got six to 10 balls off the plate. When a guy is throwing 98, there’s not a whole lot you’re going to do with that, when you’re getting that pitch.”
The Marlins got a solid start from Dan Straily, who allowed two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. However, he ran into trouble and turned it over to the bullpen, which gave up five earned runs. Straily has lost four straight games and has a 6.10 ERA in his last 20 2/3 innings.
Miami had miscues in Atlanta’s two-run sixth inning. Dee Gordon wasn’t at second base in time on Ender Inciarte’s steal of second, and on a pickoff attempt of Freeman, first baseman Tomas Telis dropped the ball. Freeman had an RBI single in the inning, scoring Inciarte, and Nick Markakis delivered an RBI double.
“It’s still up to me to get Markakis out,” Straily said. “It’s still up to me to get Freddie out, no matter what else happens. I’m the one who let go of the pitch that allowed the hits. It’s frustrating not being able to get those guys out in those situations.”
After Stanton gave the Marlins a brief lead, the Braves got two runs in the sixth inning as Freeman drove in Inciarte with a single. Markakis followed with a ringing double over center fielder Christian Yelich’s head to give the Braves the lead.
“He [Straily] had been rough on us in the past,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It was good for [those] guys to come roaring back and get the runs back.”
Mattingly went to relievers Hunter Cervenka and Dustin McGowan with a one-run deficit in the seventh inning. Things didn’t end well as Cervenka walked three Braves and issued a two-run single to Brandon Phillips. A batter later, McGowan served a three-run homer to Freeman that proved insurmountable for the Marlins.
Foltynewicz became the first Braves pitcher since Julio Teheran, on May 24, 2016, to record at least 11 strikeouts without allowing a walk.
Lucas Sims makes his second career start against Miami as the series wraps in Sunday’s 12:35 p.m. CT matinee at SunTrust Park. Sims was solid in his MLB debut against the Dodgers, giving up three runs in six innings.

The Nashville Sounds jumped out to an early lead and held on late to defeat the Reno Aces in a Saturday night slugfest. The Sounds used a seven-run first inning to take the lead and survived an eight-run flurry by Reno to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Sounds did not waste any time getting the bats hot. They erupted in the opening inning to spot Ben Bracewell a 7-0 lead. Just like Friday night, Franklin Barreto cranked a one-out first inning home run to spark the rally. Matt Olson backed up Barreto with a solo blast of his own to give Nashville back-to-back jacks in the second straight game. Joey Wendle, Yairo Muñoz, and Kenny Wilson also got in on the act with run-scoring hits in the inning.
Four more runs crossed the plate in the second inning thanks to a pair of two-run blasts. Renato Nuñez smacked his 29th home run of the season to match a career-high. Muñoz slugged a two-run shot of his own four batters later to extend the Sounds lead to 11-0.
The Aces lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning. Five singles yielded by Bracewell led to a trio of Reno runs. The Aces continued to claw away at the Sounds lead in the third. They posted another three-run frame on four more hits to trim the deficit to 11-6.
Reno continued its comeback attempt with a pair of runs in the fourth inning as the pressure continued to mount on the Sounds pitching staff. Felix Doubrount quelled the Aces threat for an inning and a third as he kept Reno off the board despite allowing a pair of hits.
Nashville eased the tension in the sixth inning with a two-run frame. Olson got the inning started with a single, his third hit of the night. He came around to score two batters later as Wendle tripled off the left field fence. Matt McBride brought Wendle home with a sacrifice fly two batters after that to make it a 13-8 ball game.
Chris Carter flexed his muscles with a moon shot that left the premises of Greater Nevada Field in the eighth inning. The two-run blast was Carter’s second in as many nights. The Carter bomb was the fifth long ball of the game for Nashville, which matched a season-high.
The final game of the four-game series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Greater Nevada Field. Right-hander Zach Neal (7-4, 5.43) starts for Nashville against left-hander Eric Jokisch (7-4, 4.38) for Reno. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CST.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Coffee County CHS Lady Raider soccer team is hosting a scrimmage play day on Saturday at Carden-Jarrell Field and the Raider Soccer Field.  Seven varsity teams and 4 JV teams will take part in a schedule of 20 games.  Games begin at 9 AM with the final game kicking off at 3 PM