Category: Sports

CHS senior softball player Tori Bell

Former Coffee County Lady Raider Tori Bell will continue her high school softball career for another 2 weeks after a standout performance at Tuesday’s Tennessee Softball Coaches Association(TSCA) All-Star Classic.  Bell was 4 for 6 at the plate and won the Home Run Derby.  Bell was selected for the Tennessee/Kentucky All Star Game to be held on June 28^th.

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 as the East Tennessee All-Stars beat Middle Tennessee before Middle Tennessee beat West Tennessee.  Bell had 2 singles, a double and a home run in the 2 games on 6 plate appearances.  Bell was joined by Coach Steve Wilder who coached Bell as part of the Middle Tennessee coaching staff.

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.  The Tennessee-Kentucky All Star series will be a best of 3 competition between All-Stars from across each state.  The games will be held on Tuesday, June 28^th at Belmont University.  Start time for Game #1 has not been announced, but Thunder Radio will keep you updated.

The Coffee County Red Raider basketball team completed Day #3 of the MTSU team camp on Wednesday with a record of 2 and 1.  The Red Raiders got a win over Alexander, GA and an overtime win over Ider, AL.  The lone blemish on the day was a 9 point defeat at the hands of LaVergne.   The Red Raiders are now 7 and 2 this week in Murfreesboro.  The freshman team was a perfect 3 and 0 on the day while the JV Raiders were 1 and 2.

Coach Micah Williams praised his team once again for their defense, especially fighting through the fatigue of playing 9 games in 3 days.  Specifically, he is seeing excellent execution in the team’s help defense.  Not to be overlooked, Coffee County has had excellent defense in post and on the ball.

On the offensive end, Coffee County has done an excellent job at limiting turnovers and continues to improve in being patient.  Coach Williams specifically called out his team’s ability to pass and move the ball in their offensive sets.  He does want his squad to do a better job of hitting free throws on Thursday.

The Red Raiders return to MTSU on Thursday as all 3 Raider teams will be back in action.  The varsity and JV teams will each begin at 9 AM. The freshman will begin play at 10 AM.   Thursday will bring an end to the summer team camp workouts for the Red Raiders.

The Braves erupted for 16 hits — including four from Brandon Phillips — to defeat the Nationals, 13-2, at Nationals Park for their first series victory in Washington since 2014. The top of Atlanta’s lineup — Ender Inciarte, Phillips and Nick Markakis — combined to hit 10-for-16 with seven runs scored and six RBIs.

Julio Teheran put together his second consecutive strong start by allowing two runs in seven innings, handing the Nationals their fifth loss in six days. Both runs came in the second inning when Brian Goodwin notched his third home run in four games.
Tanner Roark entered the game with a 1.95 ERA in 15 career appearances against the Braves, but he gave up seven runs over five innings. The Nationals bullpen, which came in with the worst ERA in the National League, surrendered six runs in the seventh frame.
The Atlanta lineup didn’t waste any time getting into gear. The Braves put up four hits and three runs in the first inning off Roark, setting the tone for what would be a banner day for the offense. The game started with a single by Inciarte, an RBI double from Phillips, an RBI single by Markakis and, two batters later, a Matt Adams RBI single to make it 3-0. With the early lead in hand, the Braves wouldn’t look back the rest of the day.
Teheran may have had a solid day on the mound, but it was his work at the plate that helped put the Nats away. With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Washington elected to walk the bases loaded to face the Braves starter with hopes of keeping it a 7-2 game. Instead, Teheran worked the count full and drew a walk to score Adams, setting the stage for what would ultimately be a six-run frame.
After a day off on Thursday, Atlanta will head back home to SunTrust Park to face another NL East rival in the Miami Marlins. The three-game set kicks off Friday night at 6:35 p.m. CT and will pit left-hander Sean Newcomb (0-1, 0.00 ERA) against Dan Straily (4-4, 3.89 ERA).

The Nashville Sounds got timely hitting and solid pitching in a 6-1 win over the Iowa Cubs in front of 5,930 fans at First Tennessee Park Wednesday night.

Matt Olson and Mark Canha crushed home runs and Corey Walter turned in a quality start to help the Sounds (33-30) even the four-game series at one game each.

Nashville used small ball to manufacture the first two runs of the game in the second. Canha walked to start the inning and sprinted to third on a base hit by Joey Wendle. Moments later, Wendle swiped second before Ryan Lavarnway plated Canha with a sacrifice fly.

Wendle was at it again when he stole third base without a throw. He raced home when Matt McBride lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to give Nashville a 2-0 advantage.

Olson wasted little time getting reacquainted to the lineup and launched his 16^th home run of the season in the third to make it a 3-0 game. Canha followed suit with his sixth homer of the season to extend the lead to 4-0 in the fourth. The Sounds entered the game with 84 home runs as a team which was tied for first in the Pacific Coast League with the Fresno Grizzlies.

It was plenty of offense for Walter. The right-hander cruised through the first five innings without a hitch before yielding a run on a base hit by Jeimer Candelario in the sixth inning. He allowed one run in six innings and improved to 2-1 on the season.

Ryan Lavarnway and Matt McBride teamed up for a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth. Lavarnway’s two-out single moved Renato Nuñez to second, and McBride’s triple down the left field line plated both to give the Sounds a 6-1 lead.

Lavarnway and McBride combined to go 4-for-4 with four runs knocked in to lead the offense.

Chris Jensen tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Walter, and Tucker Healy closed the game with a zero in the ninth.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Thursday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Paul Blackburn (4-5, 3.11) starts for Nashville against right-hander Williams Perez (0-7, 7.54) for the Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The 14th annual Crethan Hansert Memorial Baseball Tournament, established to honor the late Red Raider and raise funds for Central High School baseball team, opens play on Thursday at Central High School’s Powers Field. The tournament honors former Red Raider Crethan Hansert who passed away in 2003 as the result of an automobile accident. Proceeds from previous tournaments have gone to build and maintain the Crethan Hansert Hitting Facility at CHS and support the Coffee County Red Raider baseball team.
Eight teams make up the field for the tournament that runs from Thursday afternoon through Sunday. Each team will play 3 pool games on Thursday night through Saturday. The top 2 teams in each of the 4 team pools will return on Sunday for the semifinals and finals. All the games will be played at Powers Field. The schedule is as follows:
Thursday June 15
3:30 – Coffee Co vs. Central Magnet
5:45 – Central Magnet vs. Walker Valley
8:00 – Franklin Co vs. Warren Co

Friday, June 16
3:30 – Grundy Co vs. Coffee Co
5:45 – Marshall Co vs. Throwbacks
8:00 – Marshall Co vs. Franklin Co

Saturday, June 17
9:00 – Central Magnet vs. Grundy Co
11:15 – Coffee Co vs. Walker Valley
1:30 – Walker Valley vs. Grundy Co
3:45 – Throwbacks vs. Warren Co
6:00 – Franklin Co vs. Throwbacks
8:15 Warren Co vs. Marshall Co

Sunday, June 18
1:30 – POOL A1 vs. POOL B2
4:00 – POOL A2 vs. POOL B1
6:30 – CHAMPIONSHIP

The Coffee County Red Raider basketball team went 3 and 0 on their second day of a 4 day team camp at MTSU.  The Raiders got wins over McGavock, Tallulah Falls, GA and Pope John Paul II to run their record to 5 and 1 on the week.  The JV team was 1 and 2 on Tuesday while the freshman team was 2 and 1.

In all 3 wins, Coach Micah Williams was pleased with the offensive improvement.  “Offensively we played really well and continued to eliminate the scoring droughts from last week, “ said WIlliams.  He went on to add “We got offensive production from everyone when we were patient on the offensive end.”  Defensively, the Red Raiders continue to play well as he was pleased with a great effort from the whole team.

The Red Raiders return to MTSU on Wednesday as all 3 Raider teams will be in action for 3 games.  The freshman will hit the court at 9 AM.  The JV’s first game is at 10 AM and the varsity gets underway at 11 AM.

The Lady Raider basketball team completed a team camp at Lebanon on Tuesday.  Coffee County got a win and a loss on the day as they defeated Gallatin before falling to Portland.  The Lady Raiders ended the 2 day camp with a record of 3 and 1.

Against Gallatin, the Lady Raiders captured a 20 point win as their defense once again provided the spark the Lady Raiders needed.   Coach Joe Pat Cope was able to build a big lead as the Raider offense looked sharp allowing him to liberally substitute in the second half.  Against Portland, the Lady Raiders jumped out to an early lead before Portland roared back to take a lead.  Coffee County rallied to capture a 3 point lead in the closing minutes, but a pair of turnovers and some missed free throws down the stretch spelled defeat for Coffee County.

The Lady Raiders will return home for a couple of days of practice before taking a long weekend break.  Coffee County will return for the final 3 days of workouts next week before hosting some type of scrimmage workout at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Friday, June 23^rd.

After a three-game hiatus, Ryan Zimmerman didn’t miss a beat in his return from a back injury. Zimmerman hit two home runs, including the go-ahead long ball in the sixth inning to lead the Nationals to a 10-5 win over the Braves at Nationals Park on Tuesday night, snapping their four-game losing streak.

Zimmerman’s two-run homer in the sixth — which gave him 19 dingers on the season and tied him for the most in franchise history — sparked the Nationals’ five-run inning in which they overcame a two-run deficit to take an 8-5 lead. Bryce Harper scored Ryan Raburn with a single before Zimmerman’s home run, and Matt Wieters capped the frame by notching a two-run double. That forced R.A. Dickey — who allowed back-to-back homers in the first and then didn’t surrender another run until the sixth — out of the game.
The Braves entered the bottom of the sixth with a 5-3 lead after Rio Ruiz smacked a homer off Joe Ross, who gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings. Washington allowed a combined 14 runs after the seventh inning the past three games due to the bullpen’s struggles, but three relievers shut down the final 3 1/3 frames.
Following his three-day absence from the lineup, the Nationals couldn’t have asked much more of Zimmerman upon his return. The veteran first baseman delivered a two-run shot to left field in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Nats a 6-5 edge they wouldn’t relinquish.
But the 446-foot blast, according to Statcast™, had even more significance than giving Washington the lead; it marked the 234th of Zimmerman’s career, tying Vladimir Guerrero for the most in Nationals/Expos franchise history. He’s currently just three homers away from tying Senators great Frank Howard for most ever for any D.C. club.
After failing to do so for much of the Nats’ recent four-game skid, their bullpen found a way to close out a victory without much drama. After Ross exited the game, four relievers pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, highlighted by two shutout frames from lefty Enny Romero.
Atlanta will tap right hander Julio Teheran (5-4, 5.08 ERA) in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale at Nationals Park at 3:05 p.m. CT. The right-hander will look to post a solid outing against a Washington lineup that has given him trouble since the start of the 2016 season.

The Iowa Cubs sent 12 to the plate in a six-run seventh inning en route to an 8-4 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 8,771 fans at First Tennessee Park Tuesday night.

The Sounds (32-30) built an early 4-0 lead behind another strong start by Chris Smith only to see it erased when the bullpen faltered.

Renato Nuñez provided some early fireworks when he launched his Pacific Coast League-leading 18th home run of the season in the bottom of the second inning.

A run-scoring double by Joey Wendle and bases loaded walk issued to Matt Chapman extended Nashville’s lead to 3-0 in the third. Ryan LaMarre pitched in a sacrifice fly in the fourth to make it a 4-0 game.

Smith was dialed in early as he cruised through the first four innings. The reigning PCL Pitcher of the Week ran his scoreless inning streak to 16 2/3 before it came to a halt with two down in the fifth. Elliot Soto doubled and Jacob Hannemann singled to put the Cubs’ first run on the board.

Smith recorded two quick outs in the sixth before Iowa catcher Victor Caratini launched a solo homer in the sixth to trim the deficit to 4-2. The right-hander was in line for the win after allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Right-hander Tyler Sturdevant relieved Smith in the sixth and got out of the inning, but found trouble in the seventh. All five batters he faced in the frame reached safely. Iowa’s Chesny Young made it a 4-3 game with a run-scoring base hit, and Mark Zagunis cleared the bases with a triple to put the Cubs ahead for good at 6-4.

Felix Doubront relieved Sturdevant and struck out a pair, but also issued four walks to allow the Cubs to extend their lead to 8-4. The Sounds issued a season-high eight walks in the loss.

Nashville’s offense went quiet the rest of the way against Iowa’s bullpen. The lone bright spot was Matt Chapman’s single in the eighth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 11 games.

David Berg picked up the win for Iowa and Sturdevant was tagged with the loss for Nashville.

Game two of the four-game series is set for Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Corey Walter (1-1, 3.38) starts for Nashville against right-hander Seth Frankoff (1-2, 2.77) for Iowa. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The Lady Raider basketball team opened up play in the Lebanon team camp on Monday.  Defense was the theme of the day for Joe Pat Cope’s Coffee County squad in a pair of victories.  The varsity Lady Raiders got a pair of double digit wins over Watertown and Forrest while the JV team lost a close game to Watertown.

The stifling full court press of Coffee County resulted in the Lady Raiders jumping out to a 17 to 1 lead over Watertown in the day’s first game.  Coffee County built a 24 to 4 lead before Coach Cope used everyone on his bench in a 40 to 22 win.  Against Forrest, the Lady Raiders captured a 40 to 30 win behind another strong defensive effort.

Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring in both games while Jenna Garretson returned from injury to notch a double/double.  Coach Cope singled out Ellie Graham for her stellar work at the point all day long, especially against a strong press from Forrest.  On Tuesday, Coffee County will take on Gallatin at 1 PM and Portland at 3 PM with both games being held at Lebanon High School.