Category: Sports

Manuel Margot was two years old when Bartolo Colon first set foot on a big league mound in April 1997. The Padres center fielder was the spark plug behind Colon’s demise on Wednesday night.

Margot ignited a trio of two-run rallies as the Padres made their early cushion hold up in a 7-4 victory that snapped their nine-game losing streak against Atlanta. In his second game since returning from the disabled list, Margot walked in the first and singled in the third and fourth, scoring three times and adding a pair of stolen bases. Carlos Asuaje and Erick Aybar also chipped in three hits apiece, as the Padres built an early 6-0 lead on the strength of five two-out RBIs.
“We had continuous momentum going in and out of innings,” Asuaje said. “We had good plays on defense, good pitching, and offensively we were stringing at-bats together well tonight. It felt like we were dominating, even though it was a closer game.”
Those three rallies were enough to chase Colon after four innings, as he allowed at least six runs for the fourth consecutive start. In that time, Colon’s ERA has skyrocketed to 8.14, the highest in baseball, leaving his future with the Braves in question.
“He had pretty good command overall,” Braves catcher Tyler Flowers said. “He had a couple of untimely misses. There really weren’t too many at-em balls. They found the holes.”
On the flip side, the Padres feel as though Luis Perdomo has a very bright future. But the 24-year-old right-hander is still experiencing some growing pains when he’s working through the order a third time. Perdomo pitched five scoreless frames and retired a batter in the sixth — before allowing five straight hits and four runs once the lineup turned over again.
“You hate to see a guy that’s throwing the ball that well, that efficiently run into that much trouble that quickly,” said Padres manager Andy Green. “Because for 5 1/3, he was absolutely cruising.”
After Perdomo’s sixth-inning struggles, the Padres called on rookie right-hander Phil Maton with the tying run at the plate and the bases loaded. He plunked Flowers in the left forearm (and Flowers exited as a result). But Maton retired the next two hitters to escape the threat, punctuating the inning with a strikeout of Johan Camargo. He became the 13th Padres pitcher to open his career with nine straight scoreless outings. (The franchise record is 12 straight, set most recently by Ernesto Frieri.)
Ryan Buchter, Brad Hand and Brandon Maurer followed Maton by retiring all nine hitters they faced, ending the game without a hint of a late Braves rally.
“Outside of [the hit-by-pitch], Maton was great,” Green said. “Buchter, Hand, Maurer were lights out tonight. That was a very efficient job by the three of them.”
Streaking Spangenberg: The Padres drew two walks in the top of the first inning, and Cory Spangenberg made certain Colon would pay. He smacked a liner out of the reach of Matt Kemp into the left-field corner. Both runs scored, giving the Padres an early advantage. In 21 games this month, Spangenberg is batting .314 with six extra-base hits.
Spangenberg’s double came immediately after plate umpire Mike Winters ruled Hunter Renfroe checked his swing on a 3-2 pitch that could have resulted in Colon’s third strikeout in what would have been a scoreless first inning.
“I thought he went to be honest,” Colon said. “But you can’t focus on that and the reality is I’ve been getting hit hard. That’s the truth and you can’t just dance around it.”
Jaime Garcia will start the finale of this three-games set, which is scheduled to start Thursday at 8:05 p.m. CT. Garcia allowed four earned runs or fewer in his first 12 starts, but he has been charged with six earned runs in each of his past two outings. .

The Nashville Sounds used an eight-run fourth inning and outlasted the Round Rock Express in an 11-9 win in front of 8,408 fans at First Tennessee Park Wednesday night.

The offense was out in full force for both teams as the Sounds (38-40) collected 16 hits while Round Rock had 13 of their own. The teams added 10 walks in the 3-hour, 30-minute contest.

Round Rock raced out to a 5-0 lead with one in the second, three in the third, and another single tally in the top of the fourth. Nashville starter Frankie Montas was charged with four runs in three innings.

The comeback for Nashville started in the fourth with the biggest offensive inning of the season. The team sent 12 to the plate and at one point had nine consecutive batters reach safely.

Run-scoring hits in the frame came on Mark Canha’s RBI single, Beau Taylor’s two-run base hit, Melvin Mercedes’ RBI knock, Yairo Muñoz’s bases-clearing double, and Joey Wendle’s RBI single up the middle.

When the damage was done, the final tally was eight runs on seven hits and two walks. Round Rock starter James Dykstra was charged with all eight runs.

Round Rock didn’t go away quietly as Drew Stubbs’ RBI single and Drew Robinson’s sacrifice fly made it a one-run game in the fifth.

Sounds third baseman Renato Nuñez pushed the lead up to 11-7 when he hit a towering three-run homer down the left field line. The blast was Nuñez’s Minor League Baseball-leading 21st of the season.

Stubbs was at it again in the seventh when he drew the Express within a pair of runs with a two-run double to make it 11-9.

The combination of Felix Doubront and Tucker Healy shut it down the rest of the way for Nashville. The relievers worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings to end it.

Six different players had multi-hit games for the Sounds, led by Wendle’s three and Beau Taylor’s three in his Triple-A debut.

The four-game series concludes Thursday night as the Sounds become the Honky Tonks and the Express become the Dance Halls. Right-hander Zach Neal (1-3, 3.47) starts for Nashville against right-hander Clayton Blackburn (1-0, 5.40) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Former Coffee County Lady Raider Tori Bell will continue her high school softball career for one last night tonight.  Bell was selected for the Tennessee/Kentucky All Star Game to be held beginning at 1 PM Wednesday at Friendship Christian School in Lebanon.  The Tennessee-Kentucky All Star series will be a best of 3 competition between All-Stars from across each state.  The inaugural Kentucky/Tennessee Games were played on June 28, 2006.  Kentucky holds a 6 to 5 lead in the series after winning in 2016.

Bell qualified on June 13^th with her performance in the Tennessee All-Star Classic.  Playing for the Middle Tennessee All-Star squad, Bell helped lead the Middle squad to a win and a loss in the round-robin event.  Bell had 2 singles, a double and a home run in the 2 games on 6 plate appearances.

Bell also won the annual Home Run Derby as she hit 9 home runs, easily outdistancing the 4 home runs hit by her closest competitor.  Bell led Coffee County in home runs this season and has signed to play her college softball at Chattanooga State.  Start time for Game #1 is set for 1 PM Wednesday at Friendship Christian School located at 5400 Coles Ferry Pike in Lebanon. Introduction of players starts at 12:40.

Sean Newcomb pitched six-plus scoreless frames and struck out a career-high eight Padres Tuesday night, sending the Braves to a series-opening 3-0 victory at Petco Park, their ninth straight against San Diego.

In four outings since his early June callup, Newcomb has four quality starts, and he lowered his ERA to 1.48. The rookie southpaw allowed six hits, while allowing only one walk.
“He was really good again,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He threw a lot of strikes and was on the attack. His breaking ball was good. It was just a really impressive outing.”
On the other side, Padres right-hander Jhoulys Chacin continued to impress at Petco Park. He tossed seven innings of two-run ball to bring his home ERA to 1.83 (compared with a 9.08 mark on the road.) But Chacin was done in by Johan Camargo’s two-run double in the top of the fourth.
“Camargo has been amazing,” Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte said. “He’s giving us really good at-bats every single day. You see him play and it’s like a veteran playing the game. He’s not putting any pressure on his shoulders. He’s just coming to play and have fun.”
The Braves tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when Inciarte led off with an infield hit and advanced around the bases on an error and two fly balls. That was plenty of cushion for a trio of relievers, who struck out six Padres over three innings.
Seven Friars went down looking on Tuesday night against — in the words of Padres manager Andy Green — “the largest strike zone I’ve ever seen against our guys.” On the night, the Braves received 39 called strikes.
“These umpires are human,” said Padres first baseman Wil Myers, who went 2-for-4. “They miss calls. Like I said before, I’ve missed some pitches right over the plate and fouled them off. It’s no big deal if they miss one. Everybody’s human.”
Matt Adams doubled to open the fourth, and Tyler Flowers followed with a single. Two batters later Camargo sent them both home with a double into the left-center-field gap, barely out of the reach of the newly activated Manuel Margot. Camargo was thrown out at third on the play, but the Braves had their lead.
“I could’ve made a better pitch to [Camargo],” Chacin said. “After that, I was just trying to keep the game there, trying to go deep into the game.”
Myers came an inch from putting the Padres on top in the first inning. Heck, he may have been closer than that. Myers sent an opposite-field blast off the very top of the right-center-field wall, and he broke into a trot, believing the ball had left the yard. Instead, it ricocheted back into the field of play, and Myers settled for a double. A crew-chief’s review confirmed the call on the field.
But replays appeared to show the ball hitting a separate padded area behind the initial fence. According to the Petco Park ground rules, “a batted ball in flight striking the top of the right field wall above/beyond the padding or scoreboard [is a] home run.”
“I have no clue how New York interpreted it the way they did,” Green said. “It’s hard to even understand. It’s frustrating for the team. It’s frustrating for Wil. We’re on top 1-0 at that point in time, and that ball is clearly a home run the way our ground rules are written. … Anything that clears that front part of the wall, lands on top, that’s a home run. We have a very clear understanding of the ground rules in that way.”
On the way to becoming the first player in Atlanta Braves history to open a career with four consecutive quality starts, Newcomb recorded 25 called strikes, 21 of which were fastballs. He hadn’t recorded more than 12 called strikes with his fastball during any of his previous three starts.
Bartolo Colon will take the mound when this three-game series resumes Wednesday at 9:10 p.m. CT. Colon has been on the disabled list for the past three weeks with a strained left oblique. He limited the Padres to one run over seven innings on April 16, but has posted a 9.21 ERA in the nine starts that have followed.

The Round Rock Express scored a pair of runs in the ninth inning en route to a 6-4 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 9,431 fans Tuesday night at First Tennessee Park.

With the game even at 4-4 in the top of the ninth, Round Rock’s Travis Snider delivered a two-out, two-run double to give the Express a 6-4 lead, and eventual win.

Sounds (37-40) closer Jake Sanchez retired the first two batters of the inning. Back-to-back two-out knocks by Brett Nicholas and Ryan Rua set the stage for Snider who rifled a pitch from Sanchez down the left field line.

Jason Martinson followed with a base hit to left field, but left fielder Jaff Decker fired a perfect throw to catcher Ryan Lavarnway who put the tag on Snider to end the inning.

It was a back-and-forth contest throughout the night between the division rivals. Round Rock jumped on Sounds starter Chris Smith with three runs in the second inning to grab a 3-0 lead.

The Sounds fought back with two runs in the second, and another run in the fourth to even the game at 3-3.

Melvin Mercedes drove in a run with a triple off the right field wall, and Kenny Wilson knocked in a run with a base hit in the second. In the fourth, Wilson singled and swiped second and third before sprinting home with the tying run on a wild pitch.

Ryan Rua’s run-scoring base hit sent the lead back to the Express in the fifth, but Nashville evened it up again in the bottom half of the inning. Jaff Decker’s two-out base hit to center plated Mercedes to make it 4-4.

Both bullpens kept it there until the ninth when Sanchez allowed the double to Snider. Joely Rodriguez, Tony Barnette, Adam Loewen, and R.J. Alvarez combined to throw 5 1/3 shutout relief innings for the Express.

Decker, Wilson, and Mark Canha had multi-hit games for the Sounds. Decker’s two hits extended his hitting streak to seven games.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Frankie Montas (0-1, 5.68) starts for Nashville against right-hander James Dykstra (0-1, 6.14) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The mandatory summer dead period for all TSSAA sports began on Sunday,  June 25 and runs through July 8. During this time there is to be no activity in high school sports or any middle school sports sanctioned by the TSSAA.

Coaches and players can’t hold workouts and all school facilities are to be closed. To quote the definition from the TSSAA bylaws, Dead Period—No coaching, observing, or contact between coach and players in sport involved. There is no practice, no open facilities, and no weight training/conditioning.

The TSSAA instituted this period around 20 years ago to ensure that high school athletes had some form of summer break allowing for family vacations. With the dead period families are given the chance to plan vacations together and not worry about summer camps and workouts.

TSSAA regulations forbid coach-led practices, weightlifting or conditioning during the two-week, all-sports dead period that annually covers the last week in June and the first week in July. Coaches are not allowed to have contact with athletes during this period or to mandate any type of practice-related activities.

The dead period was implemented at the request of school administrators who wanted to give coaches and athletes an across-the-board break in addition to sport-specific dead times. Mandating the dead period in the summer levels the playing field and gives everyone a break, according to TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress.

For more information on TSSAA rules visit their website at : www.tssaa.org

Story by Jim Wyatt – TitansOnline.com

Eric Decker has owned a home in the Nashville area since 2012.

The veteran receiver used to joke with his wife about one day playing for the Tennessee Titans, realizing how nice a fit the city and team would be for the family.

It’s now a reality. Decker officially signed with the Titans on Monday, after agreeing to terms Sunday night. The former Jets and Broncos receiver brings a veteran presence and some nice credentials to his new team.

“It was kind of a perfect storm,” Decker said on Monday. “You only get so many years to play this game, and I wanted to find the right fit. I wanted to come to a place where I can help out, and this is home.

“There were a lot of factors. This is a team on the rise, and I like the coaching staff, the GM, and the philosophy upstairs. I like the quarterback, the locker room and the mentality. When I talked to the GM and the coaches, finding out what they wanted out of me, what my role would be, Tennessee was the best opportunity.”

A third-round pick of the Broncos in the 2010 NFL Draft, Decker has 385 career receptions for 5,253 receiving yards and 52 touchdowns in seven seasons. He has three 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his career, including a 1,288-yard season in 2013. He’s also turned in 12 100-yard performances.

When the Jets released him last week, it opened up doors elsewhere. Decker said he talked with five or six teams, and had other visits scheduled for this week. But he opted to sign a one-year deal in Tennessee.

“Mulling over some of my options, I just felt like this was the right fit,’’ Decker said. “Just looking at the roster, and the progress they’ve made over the last few years, and meeting with Jon (Robinson) and Mike (Mularkey), I have a lot of respect for where they came from, their philosophy, how they do things, and that’s something I want to be a part of.

“And I am excited about Marcus Mariota and the young talent he is.”

Decker, whose wife is singer-songwriter Jessie James Decker, said he wants to bring leadership to his new team. But he said he wants to first earn the trust of his new teammates, starting in training camp.

He has a nice track record.

Since 2012, Decker’s 43 receiving touchdowns rank fifth in the NFL and his 4,535 receiving yards rank 18th. His 33 red zone touchdown receptions are the second-highest total in the NFL over that time period. Between 2012 and 2015, Decker averaged 82 receptions for 1,085 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Decker joins a group that already includes veteran Rishard Matthews, who led the team in receptions and receiving yards last season. The Titans drafted Corey Davis with the fifth overall pick of the draft, and also selected Taywan Taylor in the third round.

Tajae Sharpe, who is recovering from foot surgery, also returns, along with Harry Douglas, Tre McBride and others.

“The one thing we discussed is having a veteran presence, and having success in Denver being around Peyton Manning,” he said. “I learned a lot about the game and how to do things the right way and I want to be able to help others in that sense.”

Decker spent his first four seasons with the Broncos before joining the Jets in 2014. Decker led the Jets with 74 receptions for 962 yards and five touchdowns in 2014. In 2015, Decker had 80 receptions for 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Decker was limited to three games last season. He was placed on injured reserve on October

12 before undergoing hip and shoulder surgeries. Decker returned to the team’s offseason program, however, as a full participant. He said on Monday he’s healthy, and ready to go.

He’s looking forward to catching passes from Mariota.

“He’s a big guy, and he throws a great ball,” Decker said of Mariota. “He is very accurate, and he uses his feet and gets out of the pocket and throws. He’s a talent, but I also like the way he carries himself. He is very stoic, and he seems very humble. I hear he’s a real football junkie who wants to be great, and that’s so important.

“And he has a good supporting cast around him, a great offensive line. The defense is playing well. There’s a lot of factors that make things attractive here.

“I am excited. It’s good to get this process over and join the Titans. I am happy it worked out. It’s a great place to be.”

The Nashville Sounds got home runs from Renato Nuñez and Matt McBride, and a solid start from Paul Blackburn in a 5-3 win over the Round Rock Express in front of 7,975 fans Monday night at First Tennessee Park.

The win over the American Southern Division rival snapped a four-game losing streak and kept the Sounds (37-39) in second place.

Nuñez’s homer came in the first inning and was a two-run shot. It was his league-leading 20th long ball of the season and gave Nashville an early 2-0 advantage.

Round Rock got a run back in the second when Will Middlebrooks hammered a solo homer to straightaway center field to make it a 2-1 game.

Mark Canha started another Nashville rally in the fourth when he led off the inning with a double to the gap in right-center. Jermaine Curtis followed with a walk, and Matt McBride launched a three-run homer to left field to give the Sounds a 5-1 lead.

Blackburn used the long ball to his advantage and settled into a groove on the mound. He put up zeros in the third through fifth innings to keep the lead intact. He allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings and earned his fifth win of the season.

The fourth home run of the night – Round Rock’s second – trimmed Nashville’s lead to 5-3 in the sixth. First Baseman Ronald Guzman sent a two-run blast off Tucker Healy into The Band Box to make it a two-run game.

The rest of the game belonged to right-handers Simon Castro and Jake Sanchez. Castro tossed two scoreless innings and racked up three strikeouts in his second hold of the season. Sanchez worked the ninth and got a nifty 4-6-3 double play to end the game to notch his third save of the season.

Ryan Lavarnway and Canha each had multi-hit games while Yairo Munoz notched his first Triple-A hit in the third inning.

Game two of the four-game series is set for Tuesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Chris Smith (4-3, 2.84) starts for the Sounds against right-hander David Ledbetter (1-0, 1.69) for the Express. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The Coffee County Claybusters middle school and high school trap teams competed in the Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program state championships last week.  Competing in their second state tournament in last 2 weeks, the high school and middle school shooters hit the firing line at Nashville’s Gun Club.

On Thursday, the Coffee County Middle School intermediate/entry level team captured a state title as they shot 431 of 500 targets.  They outdistanced the 2^nd place team of Hardin County by 20 targets.  Logan Meadows paced the Raider trap shooters as he hit 95 of 100 targets.  Landon Meadows was 2 broken clays back at 93.  Jonah Wyatt shot 86, Elizabeth Moore broke 81 targets and Emma Matthews hit 76.  Moore finished as the #5 female shooter in the classification while Matthews came in 7^th.  Logan Meadow’s score was good enough for 2^nd overall while brother Landon finished in 4^th place overall.

Also on Thursday, the CCMS intermediate/advanced team came in 19^th place in their class after shooting 359 out of 500.  The team was led by Tucker Carlton(96 of 100) which was good enough for 7^th place overall.  Other team members were Blaine Schreck(86/100), Brason Fletcher(77/100), Alexus Stacey(77/100) and Aubrey Payne(23/100).  Stacey’s score of 77 was good enough for 18^th place in the ladies division.

On Saturday, the Coffee County Central High school team shattered 484 targets out of 500 to capture a 4^th place finish.  The Claybusters finished 5 clays behind state champion Hardin County.  The Raiders were led by Austin Schaller’s 98/100 which was good enough for 13^th place overall in his classification.  Victoria Majors also shot a 98/100 which was the 5^th best score for lady shooters in her classification.  Other team members were Neil Slone(96/100), Hayden Jacobs(96/100) and Zach Bonee(96/100).  Lindsey Duncan shot a 95 to finish in 18^th place in the ladies division.

The Claybusters will guests on the Coffee Coaches Show on Saturday, July 15^th.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live at 10 AM each Saturday morning from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio.

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club team of Braeden and Colby Thurmond battled 230 teams and some lousy weather in this weekend’s Costa Bassmaster High School National Championship on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes.  After a good start in Thursday’s opening round, the risk of severe weather on Friday forced the postponement of the 2^nd round,  The full field competed on Saturday as the brother tandem captured a 134^th place with a total of 8 fish weighing in at 17 pounds and 12 ounces.

On Thursday, the Thurmonds got off to a good start catching 4 fish that tipped the scales at an even 11 pounds.  That finish gave them a placement of 127^th after the first day of competition.  After sitting out Friday’s weather delay, Braeden and Colby netted 4 more fish on Friday but they were weighed in at 6 pounds and 12 ounces.

Team Thurmond is the first Coffee County Youth Bass Club team to compete at the national tournament.  The Thurmonds qualified for the national championship by finishing the year in 21^st place in the 2016-2017 TN Bass Nation Points Championship.  Braeden and Colby captured a 54th place finish in the Tennessee State Championship held in May on Tims Ford.