Category: Sports

Julio Teheran was cruising toward his finest start of the season before Austin Slater drilled an eighth-inning, three-run homer that rewarded Matt Moore’s strong effort and allowed the Giants to snap a seven-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Braves Tuesday night at SunTrust Park.

“It’s big to get out there, keep plugging away and playing good baseball,” Giants outfielder Hunter Pence said. “It feels good to get rewarded for all the hard work and see Matt [Moore] and the bullpen pitch so well. It is a feel-good day.”
Slater jumped on a first-pitch fastball that found too much of the plate and lined an opposite-field shot that sneaked over right field’s tall wall. Teheran had allowed just three hits before the Braves committed three errors during a five-run eighth inning that accounted for the first runs San Francisco tallied through the first two games of this series. Denard Span’s RBI single off Ian Krol proved to be the decisive blow during the frame.
“The kid bailed us out,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “For seven innings, it was quiet. Their guy was throwing the ball very well, and we couldn’t mount anything against him. We got a couple of breaks with the ground attack, and Slater bailed us out.”
Coming off a start in which he allowed a season-high eight runs in just three innings at Coors Field, Moore limited the Braves to just three runs over seven-plus innings. The left-hander exited after allowing an eighth-inning leadoff single to Ender Inciarte, who scored on Matt Kemp’s one-out double against George Kontos.
Teheran has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his past three starts and completed at least seven innings in his past two outings. He has distanced himself from the struggles he had during his first few home starts, but the one mistake he made to Slater prevented him from savoring what might have been a gem.
“It was a two-seamer, I threw [Slater that pitch] in the at-bat before,” Teheran said. “I don’t know how he hit it that way. It’s part of the game. They were attacking that inning, and I was just trying to get out of the jam.”
Braves third baseman Johan Camargo recorded three hits, including an RBI triple in the two-run second inning. But his inability to cleanly field Pence’s grounder resulted in an infield single to begin the decisive eighth. Pence found more fortune moments later when he was ruled safe after shortstop Dansby Swanson couldn’t hold Brandon Phillips’ double-play feed. Slater followed with his second homer of the season.
The Giants surrendered seven eighth-inning runs during Monday’s series-opening loss. Thus, there was some tension when Kemp’s RBI double gave the Braves runners at second and third with just one out in the eighth. But lefty Josh Osich got Matt Adams to pop out before newly acquired righty Sam Dyson ended the threat with Kurt Suzuki’s flyout to right field.
Sean Newcomb will make his third career start against the Giants Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. CT. Newcomb’s scheduled start was moved up a day because Bartolo Colon was scratched with a stiff back.

Matt Olson’s walk-off three-run homer gave the Nashville Sounds a 6-3 win in game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader at First Tennessee Park. The dramatic homer completed a furious comeback and helped the Sounds earn a doubleheader split in front of 7,734 fans.
The Sounds’ offense was in a major funk and trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Joey Wendle cracked a three-run blast off Baby Cakes reliever Javy Guerra to even the game at 3-3. It snapped a 19-inning stretch in which the Sounds failed to score a run.
Simon Castro and the Nashville (36-34) bullpen did its part by keeping the game close. Patrick Schuster, Tucker Healy, Felix Doubront, and Castro combined to throw five scoreless innings after starter Paul Blackburn left in the third.
Castro’s scoreless top of the seventh set the stage for Olson’s dramatics in the home half of the inning. Franklin Barreto started the rally with an infield single off reliever Brandon Cunniff and Melvin Mercedes followed with a base hit into right field to send Barreto to third.
On the first pitch he saw from Cunniff, Olson sent a moon shot into the right field seats for the game-winner to set off a celebration at home plate. It was his 17th blast of the season and first walk-off knock.
The walk-off win flipped the switch on the night’s events. The Sounds were blanked by the Baby Cakes in game one, 3-0, as the offensive struggles continued.
A complete game effort by starter Corey Walter went for naught. The right-hander worked all seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits in a tough-luck loss.
The quality start didn’t matter much as New Orleans pitchers Chris O’Grady and Junichi Tazawa combined to shut out the Sounds on just five hits.
Franklin Barreto added a pair of hits for Nashville, but the team went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring chances as the opportunities were minimal.
The offense kicked into gear in game two with 12 hits. While Wendle and Olson had the game-changing blasts, several others had multi-hit games as well.
Barreto, Olson, Bruce Maxwell, and Renato Nuñez had two hits each.
The Sounds enjoy a league wide off day Wednesday before traveling to Oklahoma City to begin a four-game series with the Dodgers Thursday night. Right-hander Frankie Montas (0-0, 0.00) starts for Nashville against right-hander Fabio Castillo (4-3, 3.12) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m.

Motlow State Community College featured 29 student-athletes, over 40 percent of the rosters of the baseball, softball, women’s basketball and men’s basketball teams, who achieved academic honors either on the Dean’s List or Honor Roll during the spring 2017 semester.

To be selected to the Dean’s List, a student must have a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5. To earn a spot on the Honor Roll, the GPA must be between 3.0-3.49. The following student-athletes, by sport, achieved academic honors.

Women’s Basketball

Dean’s List – Sepe Moore, Clarksville; Miranda Boutwell, Linden; Sara Vujacic, Slovenia.

Honor Roll – LisaJo Wygal, Bardstown, KY; Aja Robertson, Bells; Sydney Floyd, Murfreesboro; Shalyn Washington, Henrico, VA.

Men’s Basketball
Dean’s List – Rashawn Fredericks, Tampa.

Honor Roll – Kevonte Corley, Antioch; Dillion Smith, Lexington.

Baseball

Dean’s List – Jase Carvell, Lawrenceburg; Lane Whitesell, Lewisburg; Camron Harper, Smyrna; Cory Coggins, Gallatin; Ryan Hartigan, Winchester, VA; C.J. Brown, Mt. Juliet.

Honor Roll – Jake Fossick, Port Charlotte, FL; D’Marcus Guillory, Buford, GA; Luke Allison, Goodlettsville; Darin Keller, Tullahoma; Jordan Burdette, Leoma; Kirby Smith, Fayetteville.

Softball

Dean’s List – Breanna Owens, Fayetteville; Ashton Watkins, Lewisburg; Riley O’Neal, Fayetteville.

Honor Roll – Renee Bolduc, Madison, AL; Taylor Mitchell, Dellrose; Miranda Cooksey, Lewisburg; Sarah Wilson, Sparta.

R.A. Dickey quickly distanced himself from his worst start of the season and extended the Giants’ offensive woes as he helped the Braves take another step toward evening their record with a 9-0 win Monday night at SunTrust Park.

While claiming their third straight win and moving within five games of a .500 record (32-37), the Braves received seven brilliant innings from Dickey, who allowed eight runs to the Nationals in five innings last week. The Braves knuckleballer retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced and 21 of 24 after allowing consecutive hits to begin the first inning.
“He had seven good innings,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “[The knuckleball] was coming out consistent, especially after the first inning, when it looked like it could have gone either way. He seemed to have a feel for it the whole night.”
Johnny Cueto scattered five hits and allowed just two runs while completing seven innings for the first time in more than a month. But Ender Inciarte’s RBI double in the third inning proved to be enough against the Giants, who have tallied two runs or fewer four times during their seven-game losing streak.
“It’s sad that we lost the way we lost,” Cueto said through an interpreter. “Everything was working fine, and I was working the way I wanted to. You saw Johnny Cueto pitching today.”
The Braves produced a seven-run eighth inning that included a two-run single from Dansby Swanson and a Danny Santana three-run homer that landed in the second level of the Chop House. Santana’s pinch-hit home run traveled a projected 417 feet, per Statcast™, making it the second-longest homer he has hit since the start of the 2015 season. He hit a 437-foot shot on May 4, the day before the Twins designated him for assignment.
“I have confidence in my ability, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised it happened,” Santana said through an interpreter.
Cueto has generated one of the best whiff rates with his changeup this year, but the off-speed pitch has also occasionally spelled trouble. The latest such instance occurred in the fourth inning, when Matt Adams drilled a 0-1 changeup over the right-field wall and into the Chop House. The solo shot traveled a projected 402 feet, per Statcast™, making it the longest of the six home runs he has hit at SunTrust Park this season. He has 10 homers through his first 111 at-bats with the Braves.
After Denard Span (double) and Eduardo Nunez opened the game with consecutive hits to put runners at the corners, Dickey navigated his way through the middle of the Giants’ order without incurring any damage. He sandwiched a Buster Posey strikeout between popups produced by Brandon Crawford and Hunter Pence.
Adams needed 109 at-bats to record his 10th homer with the Braves this season. The man he is currently replacing at first base, Freddie Freeman, recorded his 10th homer in his 88th at-bat of the season.
Julio Teheran attempts to extend his recent success at SunTrust Park when the Braves host the Giants at 6:35 p.m. CT. Teheran posted a 10.50 ERA through his first five home starts but has allowed just one earned run over his past 12 innings in Atlanta.

The New Orleans Baby Cakes swept the Nashville Sounds in a doubleheader in front of 7,977 fans at First Tennessee Park Monday night. The Sounds’ offense was shut out in both games and collected a total of just six hits.
The doubleheader was made up as part of the suspended game from April 30th between the two teams. When play resumed on Monday, the score was 0-0 in the top of the fourth inning.
Nashville’s (35-33) Chris Smith and New Orleans’ Tom Koehler went to work on the bump and both were brilliant. Smith worked six innings and allowed one run in the Sounds’ 1-0 loss. Koehler was even better as the right-hander kept the Sounds off the board for six innings. He limited Nashville to one hit – a two-out single by Jermaine Curtis in the seventh.
With two outs in the sixth and the score still 0-0, Baby Cakes center fielder Brandon Barnes sparked a rally with a single to left field. Chad Hinshaw followed with a line drive to the wall in left-center that chased Barnes around from first. His foot-first slide into home was just ahead of the relay throw from shortstop Franklin Barreto.
The one run was all Koehler needed. He extinguished a mild threat in the eighth when Joey Wendle was hit by a pitch and swiped second base. Koehler breezed through the ninth in order to lock down the 1-0 win.
Game two was all Baby Cakes from start to finish in a 6-0 win. Mike Aviles gave New Orleans an early lead with a two-out, two-run double in the second.
Another two-out hit plated runs for the Cakes in the third. KC Serna launched a three-run homer off Sounds starter Dustin Hurlbutt to make it a 5-0 game.
Hurlbutt was chased after three innings in his Triple-A debut. The right-hander was up from Advanced-A Stockton and allowed five runs on seven hits in three innings.
William Cuevas started game two for New Orleans and worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He held Nashville to just one hit before handing over to Victor Payano. The middle reliever did his part by keeping the Sounds off the board for 2 1/3 innings.
Nashville’s offense never kicked into gear as they went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in game two.
The Sounds and Baby Cakes wrap up the five-game series with another doubleheader Tuesday evening at First Tennessee Park. Both games will be seven-inning contests. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. with game two to follow 30 minutes after game one.

Hunter Courtoy delivers a pitch on Saturday in Coffee County’s win over Walker Valley in the 14th Annual Crethan Hansert Memorial Tournament

The Coffee County Red Raider baseball team went 2 and 0 on Saturday to close out the 14^th Annual Crethan Hansert Memorial Tournament.  Coffee County got a 3 to 1 win over Grundy County to open the day before out slugging Walker Valley 14 to 4 on Saturday afternoon.  The 2 wins gave the Red Raiders a  perfect 3 and 0 record in the tournament.  The Raiders tied for first place in the tournament but lost out to Marshall County in the tiebreaker to capture 2nd place.

In game #1, the Red Raiders were held to 2 hits but took advantage of a 3 run 4^th inning thanks to a huge error on a bunt attempt by Grundy County.  A.J. Rollman laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt in the 4^th that Grundy County threw away allowing a pair of runners to score.  Jonathan Sherrill and Nathaniel Tate had the hits for Coffee County in the win.  Hayden Skipper pitched 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball with 6 strikeouts to get the win.  Rollman came on and pitched 1 1/3 innings to get the save.

In game #2, Coffee County opened up with a 5 run first inning to clobber Walker Valley 14 to 4.  Hunter Courtoy got the start and the win for Coffee County on the bump.  The Raiders banged out 10 hits while getting 4 walks and a hit batter.  Nathaniel Tate had 2 singles and an RBI.  Cael McCall had a double, was hit by a pitch and reached on an error and scored 3 times.  McCall also knocked in 2 runs.  Jonathan Sherrill had an RBI triple and Hayden Hullett added a single and 2 RBI.

The Coffee County Red Raiders baseball team opened up play in the 14th Crethan Hansert Memorial Baseball Tournament with an 8 to 0 win over Franklin County on Friday.  Coffee County scored in 4 of the 5 innings in the Mercy Rule shortened game.  Friday was the first day that the Raiders had played together, as Coffee County, since the District 8AAA tournament.

The pitching trio of Hayden Skipper, Scottie Duke and Hunter Courtoy combined to throw a 2 hit shutout with 5 strikeouts.  Skipper led the Raiders in hitting as he had 2 singles and a double with 3 RBI.  Garrett Davis and A.J. Rollman each had a pair of singles for the Raiders.  Nathaniel Tate had a triple and 2 RBI.

The Red Raiders will play a pair of games on Saturday in the 2nd day of the 14th annual Crethan Hansert Tournament.  Coffee County will take on Grundy County at 9 AM and Walker Valley at 3:45 PM.  Both games will be at Powers Field.

Saturday’s Complete Schedule 
9:00 – Coffee County vs. Grundy Co
11:15 – Grundy Co vs. Warren Co
1:30 – Walker Valley vs. Warren Co
3:45 – Coffee County vs. Walker Valley
6:00 – Franklin Co vs. Marshall Co
8:15 – Franklin Co vs. Central Magnet

The Coffee County Red Raider basketball team will be hosting a youth basketball camp.  The Red Raider Skills Academy will take place on Monday, June 19^th thru Thursday, June 22^nd. The camp will run from 10 AM to 1 PM each day and is open to boys and girls who will be in grades 3^rd thru 8^th.  Cost for the camp is $50 per camper and the camp will be held at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym at Central High School.  To pre-register online, visit https://docs.google.com/a/k12coffee.net/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScD1NonkoHFJ10c-Mrz9500M5tr9NFjLerg_hxdDA2o0FZXkg/viewform?c=0&w=1

Registration will also be taken on the first day of camp.  For additional info call Head Coach Micah Williams (931) 492-2123 or email williamsm@k12coffee.net

As the Braves play with a chip on their shoulders and prove their doubters wrong, they continue to receive timely hits from the likes of Brandon Phillips, who delivered his second walk-off hit in less than 24 hours to cap Sunday afternoon’s 5-4 win over the Marlins at SunTrust Park.

Atlanta has recorded a Major League-best 11 last at-bat wins this season. These victories account for more than a third of the club’s season victory total (31).
“I’ve been kind of talking about these guys for a long time,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You keep the game manageable, they have a knack of figuring out a way to win. If we can stay in the game, I like our chances.”
Johan Camargo recorded a one-out infield single, then advanced to third base on Ender Inciarte’s single to left-center field. With runners at the corners and one out, the Marlins brought Marcell Ozuna in from left field to serve as an extra infielder. But Phillips still found a hole as he bounced his game winner through the middle of the infield.
“It was one of those balls kind of up the middle,” Marlins shortstop JT Riddle said. “I should have dove for it.”
After surrendering just one hit in wildly effective fashion through the first six innings, Marlins starter Jose Urena saw the Braves open a four-run seventh with consecutive singles. Nick Markakis’ two-run single off Nick Wittgren gave Atlanta a lead until Marcell Ozuna drilled a game-tying, two-run homer off Jose Ramirez in the eighth.
The Marlins had multi-run leads slip away in late innings on Saturday and Sunday, resulting in dropping two of three in the series.
“You feel like you had chances to win both games,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Yesterday, we’re up four and weren’t able to hold on. Today, Jose pitches really good. We had chances to tack on runs, [but] we weren’t able to do that.”
Dansby Swanson raced to second base on Rio Ruiz’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and scored when Camargo followed with an RBI single. Camargo provided similar hustle in the ninth when he advanced from first to third base on Inciarte’s single to left-center field. His aggressive decision was influenced by his realization Ozuna was playing a little deeper and closer to the left-field line to protect against a potential double.
“In those situations, you’re always looking at the positioning of the fielders to know where they’re at,” Camargo said through an interpreter. “So I noticed they were playing a little further back. So I knew I had my opportunity to go for third base.”
Foltynewicz recorded a strike on 14 of 17 pitches through the first two innings before issuing a four-pitch walk to Riddle open the third. Riddle advanced to third base on a Dee Gordon single that put runners at the corners with one out. But when Gordon advanced toward second base on the back end of a Giancarlo Stanton strikeout, Phillips cut off catcher Kurt Suzuki’s throw and fired back to the plate to begin a rundown that retired Riddle.
“That [play] gets [messed] up a lot [defensively] no matter how much you work on it,” Snitker said. “You work on it a lot during Spring Training. It’s never game speed. That was about as good as it gets right there.”
Ozuna was 0-for-9 in the series before his two-run homer tied the game at 4 in the eighth. Statcast™ projected the drive at 395 feet with an exit velocity of 103.1 mph. The home run was his team-leading 18th of the season, as Miami’s left fielder continues to have an All-Star-worthy first half.
Urena hit back-to-back batters in Matt Adams and Suzuki with two-strike fastballs, exchanging some words with the former. Urena also hit Markakis with a two-strike slider in the third inning. Nothing escalated.
“We’re not just going to go out to hit people to be hitting people,” Mattingly said. “Those aren’t situations that we really want to keep putting runners on. I know it may have looked funny, but they’re pretty obvious that he’s not trying to hit anybody there.”
R.A. Dickey takes the mound at 6:35 p.m. CT on Monday as the Braves open a four-game series against the Giants at SunTrust Park. Dickey has a 4.15 ERA there, but the Braves have won his last three home starts.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.