Category: Sports

Little-used Lane Adams drove in three runs with a pinch-hit, bases-loaded double in the sixth, giving Atlanta the lead, and the Braves beat the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks 8-5 on Saturday night.

Adams was hitting only .214 in 28 at-bats before his double to the left-field wall off Randall Delgado (1-2) cleared the bases. Arizona led 3-2 before Atlanta’s four-run inning.

The Diamondbacks have lost seven of eight and 10 of 13.

Brandon Phillips had three hits, including a homer. Ender Inciarte also had three hits.

After Arizona scored two runs in the eighth to cut Atlanta’s lead to 7-5, Jace Peterson hit a pinch-hit homer off Jorge De La Rosa into the top level of seats in right field in the bottom of the inning.

Patrick Corbin’s streak of 28 consecutive scoreless innings against Atlanta ended with Phillips’ homer with one out in the third. The streak was the longest by an Arizona pitcher against a team to start his career. It covered six games, including four starts, and began on June 28, 2012.

Inciarte’s one-out single in the fifth set up Brandon Phillips’ double off Corbin to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead.

Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz, who threw 51 pitches in the first two innings, allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings. Ian Krol (2-2) recorded the final out in the sixth. Jim Johnson pitched a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 28 chances.

Foltynewicz had thrown 95 pitches when he was allowed to take the mound to open the sixth. Chris Herrmann doubled and scored on a one-out single by pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso, tying the game at 2-2. A review confirmed the call on the field that Herrmann’s hand touched the plate on his slide before he was tagged by Kurt Suzuki.

Descalso scored from second on Paul Goldschmidt’s single to center field off Luke Jackson, giving Arizona a 3-2 lead.

Arizona trailed 7-3 before scoring two runs in the eighth. Braves left-hander Sam Freeman didn’t record an out while giving up two walks and a single. David Peralta’s groundout against Rex Brothers drove in a run. Goldschmidt added another RBI groundout.

Corbin allowed two runs on six hits in five innings.

 

The attendance was 41,627, setting a season high in new SunTrust Park.

LHP Jaime Garcia (2-7, 4.55) will get the start on Sunday as the Braves go for a sweep.  Garcia is 5-2 with a 4.00 ERA in seven career starts against Arizona. He has allowed five or more runs in four straight starts and has lost his last four decisions.  First pitch is set for 12:35, Thunder Radio brings you live coverage on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network beginning at noon.

A career night from Yairo Muñoz carried the Nashville Sounds past the Omaha Storm Chasers 11-5 Saturday night. Muñoz drove in a career-high five runs as he went 3-for-5 with a home run and a pair of doubles.

The Sounds offense spotted starting pitcher, Frankie Montas, a four-run cushion before he took the mound. Renato Nuñez lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Franklin Barreto from third base for the first run of the game. Matt Olson doubled and came around to score on a single from Mark Canha and an error by Omaha first baseman, Ryan O’Hearn. Muñoz then destroyed a 1-0 pitch for his second home run of the season.

Montas put in a stellar shift on the evening. He was effective in his four innings of work, surrendering just a pair of singles without issuing any walks and striking out five. It was the second consecutive scoreless start turned in by Montas. Josh Smith picked up his third win of the season as he allowed just one run on three hits in three innings.

Omaha threatened in the fifth as Frank Schwindel doubled off Smith to get the inning started. For the Storm Chasers it was the first extra-base hit of the series. Smith then walked Corey Toups but induced a double play and recorded a punch out to end the threat.

Nashville added to its lead in the sixth inning. Back-to-back doubles from Canha and Muñoz and base hit from Beau Taylor extended the Sounds’ lead to 6-0.

The Storm Chasers broke through in the sixth inning when Garin Cecchini took Smith deep to lead off the frame. It was the third home run allowed by Smith on the season.

A two-out rally in the seventh inning extended Nashville’s lead to 8-1. Nuñez and Canha each singled while Muñoz brought them both home on his second double in as many innings. Nashville tacked on another pair of runs in the eighth inning on two more hits.

The Storm Chasers made some noise in the eighth inning as they exploded for four runs as 10 batters came to the plate. Omaha tallied five hits in the inning off Lou Trivino. Kyle Finnegan came on with the bases loaded and struck out the next two batters to limit the damage.

Matt McBride capped the scoring off for the Sounds in the ninth inning with a two-out solo blast. McBride had a season-high three hits with a single, double, and home run on the night. Canha also tallied a trio of hits for the Sounds.

The final game of the the four-game series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Werner Park. Right-hander Chris Bassitt (1-1, 7.24) starts for Nashville against left-hander Eric Skoglund (2-4, 4.42) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.

A few hours after saying he and his teammates were playing for something greater than a .500 record, Freddie Freeman got the second half of the season started in auspicious fashion as he homered and delivered the decisive eighth-inning hit that enabled the Braves to claim a 4-3 win over the stubborn D-backs on Friday night at SunTrust Park.

Freeman drilled his 17th homer of the season off Taijuan Walker in the sixth inning and then delivered an eighth-inning single off Archie Bradley that became a game-winner when left fielder Gregor Blanco made a lackadaisical throw back toward the infield. These contributions preserved the effort provided by R.A. Dickey, who surrendered one run over six innings against the D-backs, who still hold a comfortable lead atop the National League Wild Card standings despite losing nine of their past 12 games.
As the Braves moved within two games of a .500 record and fueled their hope to make a run at a Wild Card berth, they tallied a pair of runs over six innings against Walker. The D-backs went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and remained scoreless until recording four consecutive one-out singles in the sixth inning.
Paul Goldschmidt delivered a game-tying solo shot off left-handed reliever Sam Freeman in the seventh inning.

The Sounds were clinging to a 3-2 lead entering the ninth inning but a pair of singles and a costly error lifted the Omaha Storm Chasers to the 4-3 victory.

Logan Moon legged out an infield single to start the ninth inning rally for Omaha. Billy Burns followed that up with a base hit through the left side of the infield to bring Dean Anna to the plate. Anna laid down a bunt back to Sounds closer, Simon Castro who airmailed the throw into foul territory allowing the tying and winning runs to score.

The Storm Chasers did not waste time lighting up the scoreboard. Burns drew a leadoff walk from Sounds starter Jesse Hahn, swiped second base and advanced to third when Beau Taylor’s throw went into center field. Burns came in to score on a bloop single into shallow left field from Cam Gallagher.

The game did not stay tied for long. Mark Canha continued his hot hitting by leading off the frame with a double. Two batters later, Taylor crushed a double into deep right center field to bring home Canha from second.

With one out in the top of the third inning Franklin Barreto golfed a solo home run onto the berm beyond the left center field fence to give the Sounds a 2-1 advantage.

Hahn retired the first two batters he faced in the home half of the third inning before running into some trouble. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases. Then Frank Schwindel hit a ground ball up the middle forcing Sounds shortstop Joey Wendle to range to his left. The ball went off Wendle’s mit and trickled into center field for the Storm Chasers’ second unearned run of the game.

The Sounds starter was chased from the game with one out and two runners aboard in the fifth inning. In his 4 1/3 innings of work the right-hander allowed a pair of unearned runs on five hits while walking three and fanning six. Patrick Schuster came out of the bullpen and eliminated the threat by inducing a ground out and recording a punch out.

The Sounds regained the lead with two outs in the top of the fifth inning when Matt Olson drove a 2-2 pitch into the opposite field gap to score Wendle from first base. Olson would be the final base runner for Nashville as the Storm Chasers retired the final 13 Sounds hitters to come to the plate.

Omaha had opportunities to tie the game prior to the ninth inning on multiple occasions but the timely strikeouts from the Sounds pitching staff squashed those chances.
Wendle extended his hitting streak to seven games with his one-out single in the fifth inning.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at Werner Park. Right-hander Frankie Montas (0-1, 5.19) starts for Nashville against left-hander Onelki Garcia (1-1, 5.46) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

As the fall sports season gets ready to crank up, Thunder Radio sports continues our series of previews for the fall prep sports teams. Each day, we will spotlight a different team as we count down to the opening of practices and games of the upcoming season. Today, we look at the Westwood football team.
The Rockets donned the pads this week as they opened their preseason workouts. Coach Chad Dyer has a squad of 25 “dedicated young men who are giving up a part of their summer for the game of football.” Dyer went on to say that his team has shown a positive work ethic. “They are excited to represent their school” added Dyer.
Dyer is looking for the return of 3 talented starters from 2016 in quarterback Will Partin, wing back Trenton Thompson and left guard Xavier Garcia. Coach Dyer is also impressed with the play of some of his 7th graders who are battling for starting positions. Dyer was quick to point out the play of Darryn Strickland, Conner Heaton and Cameron Ballard. Additionally, Dyer is looking for contributions from transfer Derek Scott and 8th grader Gavin Prater who is recovering from a toe injury.
Experience at the skill positions is expected to be the strong suit for the Rockets as Westwood has 3 players who have posted 40 yard times below 5 seconds. Dyer begins his 14th season of coaching as he will employ a Wing-T attack on offense and a 5-3 base defense. “This group can be as good as they want to be” said Dyer.
The Rockets will conclude their preseason workouts with their annual Blue/White game on Thursday, August 3rd at Dyer-Bouldin Field. The intersquad scrimmage wil get underway at 7 PM and is a fundraiser for the Rockets football team. Rockets will take part in the Cascade Jamboree on August 4th before opening the season on August 10th at Chapel Hill when they take on Forrest. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you that broadcast as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.

The Coffee County Claybusters trap teams are making their final preparations for the AIM Grand Championships for later this month. The AIM Grand Championship is the national trap shooting championship and is held on July 27th through August 1st. AIM is the youth program of the Amateur Trapshooting Association and holds their national championship in Sparta, Illinois.
The Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) is the official governing body of the sport of Trapshooting and was founded in 1889. The purpose of AIM is to provide a safe and positive experience with firearms and registered trapshooting for youth, elementary school through college age. AIM encourages good sportsmanship and personal responsibility through competition while establishing the foundation to make trapshooting a lifelong avocation.
The Coffee County Claybuster middle school and high school teams will be guests on Saturday’s edition of the Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the upcoming national championship. They will also talk about their performances at the SCTP and AIM state championships in June. The Coffee Coaches Show is heard each Saturday at 10 AM here on Thunder Radio as it is broadcast live from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.

Despite spending seven weeks without Freddie Freeman and bidding adieu to their most expensive free-agent acquisition — Bartolo Colon — after he essentially spent just two months in the rotation, the Braves should feel good about entering the All-Star break with the National League’s seventh-best record.

There is certainly a sense of optimistic anticipation as the Braves enter the second half with reason to believe they could still make things interesting in the NL Wild Card race. They went 24-20 while Freeman was sidelined with a fractured left wrist and entered the break having won 13 of their past 21 games.
Here is a quick look back at how the Braves have proven to be one of this year’s most surprising teams, while also enhancing hope as they conclude what is just the third season of their rebuilding process.

What went right
Freeman was arguably the NL’s top MVP candidate before he was injured, and the impressive power numbers he produced were nearly matched by Matt Adams, who was acquired from the Cardinals as an emergency replacement in May. To keep Adams in the lineup, Freeman then made the selfless decision to move to third base when he returned from the disabled list on July 4, three weeks earlier than expected. … Ender Inciarte earned his first All-Star selection after once again providing Gold Glove-caliber defense and serving as a dependable catalyst at the top of a lineup that benefited from the production Matt Kemp provided before beginning to slump in June. … Mike Foltynewicz legitimized his bid to establish himself as a legit frontline starter and Tyler Flowers served as an invaluable asset as he extended his reign as the game’s top pitch-framer and also became a legit offensive threat.
What went wrong
Colon became a $12.5 million bust as he produced an 8.14 ERA over the 13 starts completed before he was released. … Julio Teheran produced a 2.53 ERA in nine road starts and a 7.58 ERA in nine starts at SunTrust Park, the sparkling new stadium, which didn’t serve as a cozy new home to many of Atlanta’s pitchers through the first two months. … Thoughts of having a much-improved bullpen evaporated as closer Jim Johnson blew seven of 26 save opportunities. … Dansby Swanson showed some offensive promise after June arrived, but he made some costly errors as he progressed through what is essentially just his fourth full season since he graduated from high school.
What we learned
Though Colon faltered, the offseason additions of R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia gave the Braves the necessary veteran stability needed in the rotation. Their presence allowed Sean Newcomb to gain two more months of development before coming to the Majors in June and making an immediate positive impact.
It might be a year early to optimistically hope for a postseason berth, but the Braves had the best interest of their fans and players in mind when they quickly acquired Adams after Freeman’s injury and reacted to Sean Rodriguez’ February shoulder surgery by acquiring second baseman Brandon Phillips, who has proven he can still provide consistency near the top of the lineup.
First half top player (non-pitcher)
Freeman might have been the game’s top player for this season’s first six weeks, and he has picked up right where he left off since returning to action. But the Braves are where they are because of what they did while their MVP candidate was sidelined. Thus, the nod goes to Inciarte, who aided the pitching staff with his glove and compiled a .385 on-base percentage and a 111 Weighted Runs Created Plus mark while Freeman was on the DL.
First half top pitcher
Though Dickey entered the break on a roll, Foltynewicz served as the rotation’s most consistent and dominant piece throughout the first half. The talented right-hander carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning of a June 30 start in Oakland and allowed two earned runs or fewer in 12 of his 16 starts. The strides he’s made both physically and mentally have given the Braves a base as they attempt to project how their rotation might look next year and beyond .
First half top rookie
Swanson narrowly maintained his rookie status last year and Newcomb showed signs of his potential throughout much of June. But the rookie who made the greatest impact was Johan Camargo, who has drawn comparisons to a young Martin Prado. Camargo provided the indication he may soon become an everyday player, solidifying the third-base position after Adonis Garcia was injured in June. He will enter the second half with a chance to continue being a regular at one of the infield positions over the remainder of the season.

Joey Wendle became the Nashville Sounds franchise leaders in doubles in a 10-1 win over the Omaha Storm Chasers Thursday night at Werner Park.

Wendle’s record-breaking 95th double in a Sounds uniform came in the sixth inning. In typical Wendle fashion, he turned a line-drive to right-center into a two-bagger when he hustled into second ahead of the throw. Wendle broke the record held by Skeeter Barners who notched 94 doubles in 514 games with Nashville. Wendle, who has played parts of three seasons with the Sounds, broke the record in game number 335.

In the first game back from the All-Star break, the Sounds (43-48) out-hit the Storm Chasers, 15-3, and got another solid performance from starter Ben Bracewell.

The offense started early when Mark Canha doubled and Jaff Decker singled to start the second. Canha raced home on a groundout by Yairo Munoz that gave the Sounds a 1-0 lead. Canha went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, three runs scored and two runs knocked in.

Five consecutive batters reached against Yender Caramo in the top of the third. Wendle walked, Franklin Barreto singled to left, Matt Olson singled, Canha drove in a pair of runs with his second double, and Decker followed with a single to knock in a pair of runs and give Nashville a 5-0 lead.

Bracewell’s lone misstep came in the home half of the third when a leadoff walk to Terrance Gore resulted in a run. Gore swiped second and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Billy Burns.

It was the second consecutive quality start for Bracewell. He limited the Storm Chasers to one run on two hits in six innings in his first Triple-A win.

Nashville’s offense kept churning as the night went on. After Barreto singled to start the fifth, Olson launched a two-run homer to right-center to make it 7-1. It was Olson’s 18th with the Sounds and 22nd between Nashville and Oakland.

Kenny Wilson cleared the bases with a three-run triple in the top of the ninth to cap the scoring. The top six hitters in the lineup had multi-hit games led by Canha’s three-hit night.

The bullpen trio of Felix Doubront, Lou Trivino, and Kyle Finnegan finished the job for Bracewell. Each reliever tossed a scoreless inning in the win.

Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Friday night at Werner Park. Right-hander Jesse Hahn (0-0, 9.82) starts for Nashville against right-hander Luke Farrell (7-4, 4.11) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

As the fall sports season gets ready to crank up, Thunder Radio sports continues our series of previews for the fall prep sports teams. Each day, we will spotlight a different team as we count down to the opening of practices and games of the upcoming season. Today, we look at the Coffee County Central High School volleyball team.
The Lady Raiders face a rebuilding task in 2017 as they return only 2 starters and a senior class with only 4 players. Middle hitter Alliyah Williams and libero Tyanna Fenton will provide leadership at 2 crucial positions this season but Coach Andrew Taylor is looking for several players to set up to help return the Lady Raiders to the region tournament for the 6th year in a row. Senior outside hitters Alexis Baker and Odalis Garcia have each showed marked improvement coming out of a skills camp on Tuesday as they look to provide a solid base of experience. Junior Kirsten Prater will be in contention for a setter position as Coach Taylor looks to find a suitable lineup combination. To complicate matters, junior Shannah Frame was lost for the season due to a knee injury earlier this week costing Coffee County a likely starter. Several underclassmen have stepped to the forefront in the summer workouts as Coach Taylor called out the talented play of sophomores Amanda Mukai, Keelie Hillis, Sarah West and Elizabeth Proffitt along with freshman Lexi Bryan. Each are looking to provide depth to the Coffee County netters.
After hosting the skills camp with Coffee Middle earlier this week, the Lady Raiders are off to Lebanon on Thursday to begin a 3 day camp at Cumberland University. The camp will work on skills during the day with match play in the evenings. Coffee County will travel to Eagleville next week for a team camp on Wednesday through Friday before returning home to host a varsity play day on Wednesday, July 26th.
The Lady Raider conclude preseason play with a varsity/JV scrimmage play day at Stewarts Creek on August 5th.
The Lady Raiders open the season on August 14th at home when they play host to Middle Tennessee Christian School. That match is scheduled for 6 PM. The Lady Raiders will be featured this fall on the First National Bank Home Town Sports Series. Thunder Radio’s first CHS volleyball broadcast is set for August 15th when they play host to Shelbyville at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.
Coach Taylor will also be a guest on the July 22nd edition of the Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the upcoming season. The Coffee Coaches Show is heard each Saturday at 10 AM here on Thunder Radio as it is broadcast live from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.

The Voice of the Nashville Predators has been adding to his trophy case this summer.

Preds Radio Play-by-Play Broadcaster Pete Weber was named the 2016 Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association on June 27, and then followed that by being named as an inductee to the Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame Class of 2017.

Weber, who has been with the Preds franchise since Day One, collected his third consecutive Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year honor, and fifth overall, having received the accolade in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

A native of Galesburg, Illinois, Weber spent a large portion of his career covering sports in Buffalo, New York. He’s a worthy recipient of their induction, thanks to his work with the Buffalo Bills, Sabres and Bison, as well as collegiate broadcasting in the area.

After stops with the Los Angeles Kings and the Seattle Supersonics, Weber landed in Buffalo from 1982 to 1998 before the Preds came calling. He has been in Nashville ever since.