Category: Sports

Rio Ruiz’s one-out single off Josh Edgin in the ninth inning gave the Braves a 3-2 walk-off win over the Mets on Friday night at SunTrust Park.

Dansby Swanson capped his multi-hit game with a sharp grounder to center field that resulted in a one-out, ninth-inning double when he hustled his way to second base. Swanson raced toward the plate when Ruiz directed the first pitch he saw through the shaded left side of the infield.

Starting pitchers Julio Teheran and Matt Harvey were effective, but neither pitched beyond the sixth inning. Curtis Granderson’s third-inning leadoff homer accounted for the only run surrendered by Teheran, who had totaled 97 pitches when he was lifted for a pinch-hitter with two outs in the sixth inning.

Harvey pitched around a one-out, bases-loaded threat in the second inning and scattered four hits while needing 104 pitches to complete five scoreless innings. This marked just the second time this year the Mets right-hander got through the first five innings of a start without allowing a run.

After Teheran exited, the Braves attempted to mix and match their way through the bottom of the Mets’ lineup in the seventh inning. Eric O’Flaherty won his lefty-lefty matchup against Granderson, but Travis d’Arnaud then greeted Jason Motte with a game-tying solo shot that snuck over the left-field wall.

Paul Sewald surrendered Matt Kemp’s double to begin the bottom of the sixth and then recorded two quick outs before opting to intentionally walk Danny Santana after falling behind with a 3-0 count. This set the stage for Swanson to lace a 3-2 fastball to left field for a go-ahead two-run double.

Randall Grichuk’s walk-off single to deep center field gave the Memphis Redbirds a 2-1 win over the Nashville Sounds Friday night at AutoZone Park.

Grichuk’s drive came with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning. Sounds (31-28) reliever Simon Castro found himself in a jam after issuing a leadoff walk to Patrick Wisdom with the score even at 1-1.

A sacrifice bunt moved Wisdom to second, and a wild pitch put him 90 feet away. Castro came back to strike out Wilfredo Tovar, but then hit Todd Cunningham and intentionally walked Nick Martini to load the bases.

On a 1-2 pitch from Castro, Grichuk hit a high fly ball just past center fielder Ryan LaMarre on the warning track. Wisdom was able to trot home with the winning run to give the front-running Redbirds a five game lead over the Sounds in the American Southern Division standings.

Memphis led for much of the game after Harrison Bader gave the home team a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a solo home run.

Both starters were terrific for their respective club. Paul Blackburn allowed one run over six innings for Nashville. He walked three and struck out five in a no-decision.

Mike Mayers shut out the Sounds over six innings. He walked one and struck out six but had to settle for a no-decision after the Memphis bullpen coughed up the lead in the eighth inning.

With one out in the top of the eighth, Memphis turned to lefty reliever Ryan Sheriff to face left-handed hitters Joey Wendle and Matt Olson. Sheriff retired Wendle, but Olson drilled a game-tying solo homer to make it a 1-1 game. The blast for Olson was his 15th of the season.

It remained 1-1 as Sounds reliever Jake Sanchez tossed two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth innings.

Matt Chapman extended his hitting streak to eight games, and Matt McBride extended his to five games.

Game two of the three-game series between Nashville and Memphis is scheduled for Saturday night at AutoZone Park. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (3-3, 3.41) starts for the Sounds against right-hander John Gant (0-1, 2.19) for the Redbirds. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m.

Once again, the Coffee County Claybusters were on target last weekend as they claimed 2 more region titles The high school varsity squad and middle school entry level squad each captured a first place finish in the Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program(SCTP) region championship at the Nashville Gun Club.  Additionally, the high school sporting clays team placed 3^rd in the state.

The varsity squad captured the region title with an astounding score of 492 targets hit out of 500 attempts.  The Raider shooters swept the top 2 individual awards as Coleton Tabor won with a perfect 100/100 score.  Zach Bonee finished in 2^nd place with a score of 99/100 edging teammate Garrett Bradford who also shot a 99.  Neil Slone had a 98/100 while Lindsey Dickson finished at 96/100.  The Red Raiders outpaced 2^nd place Macon County by 7 shots.

For the middle school team, the brother tandem of Landon and Logan Meadows finished 1^st and 2^nd.  Landon won top individual honors shooting 96/100.  Logan was one shot back at 95/100.  Jonah Wyatt had an 83/100, Emma Matthews scored an 80/100 and Elizabeth Moore shot a 78/100.  The Raiders outdistanced 2^nd place Zion Christian by 23 points.

The Coffee County Middle School Intermediate/Advanced team of Tucker Carlton, Alexus Stacey, Blaine Schereck, Brason Fletcher and Audrey Payne finished 5^th in their classification.  The Coffee County varsity team of Garrett Bradford, Hayden Jacobs and Zach Bonee finished in 3^rd place in the sporting clays competition.

The Claybusters now prepare for a pair of state championships in the coming weeks.  On Monday, June 13^th and Tuesday, June 14^th the Claybusters return to the Nashville Gun Club for the Amateur Trapshooting Association AIM state championship.  The SCTP state championship will be held on June 19^th through the 24^th at Nashville Gun Club.  The Claybusters are coached by Scott Dickson.

The Coffee County CHS Lady Raider softball team held their end of the year banquet on Wednesday night at Ruffin’s Barn Event Center in Prairie Plains. The team celebrated a 26 win season which culminated in a 4th place finish at the TSSAA state tournament. Outgoing coach Steve Wilder and assistant coach Jackie Wilder presided over the festivities as their last official acts before leaving for new jobs in Florida next month.
Members of the District 8AAA All-District team and Tennessee Softball Coaches Association All-Academic team were recognized along team award winners. Each player also received a certificate for their participation in the TSSAA state softball tournament. Additionally, Katie Rutledge was recognized as being selected to the Tennessee Sports Writers and Tennessee Softball Coaches Association All-State teams. Wilder was also a finalist for the Tennessee Miss Softball according to Wilder.
Team award winners:
JV Coaches Award – Abigail Parker
JV Offensive Co-Players of the Year – Ashley Evans and Kyla Craig
JV Raider in the Circle Award – Haley Richardson
JV Defensive Player of the Year – Gracie Pippenger
JV Most Improved Award – Amanda Mukai
Teammate of the Year – Lexi Holder
Leadership Award – Ashlynn Morton
Coaches Award – Tatum Baldwin
Most Improved Award – Raven Rogers
Home Run Leader – Tori Bell
Renaissance Award – Haley Hinshaw
Defensive Player of the Year – Tori Bell and Lauren Tomberlin
Offensive Player of the Year – Katie Rutledge
Raider in the Circle Award – Kaylee Skipper

District 8AAA All-District team
Katie Rutledge – Offensive Player of the Year
Haley Hinshaw
Haley Richardson
Raven Rogers
Kaylee Skipper

Tennessee Softball Coaches Association All-Academic team
Haley Hinshaw
Ashlynn Morton
Kaylee Skipper
Tori Bell
Tatum Baldwin
Raven Rogers
Kasarah Scheller
Lauren Tomberlin

The Coffee County Lady Raider basketball team completed a busy week of camp action on Thursday at MTSU.  The Lady Raiders installed a diamond full court press on Thursday morning prior to heading to MTSU and it paid off.  The Lady Raiders forced 20 turnovers a game in a pair of wins against Trousdale County and Grundy County.

On Thursday, the Lady Raiders opened up with a 47 to 17 win over Trousdale County.  Jacie Vaughn led Coffee County in scoring with 12 points.  Bella Vinson and Alliyah Williams each added 9 points.  In the 52 to 25 win over Grundy County, Morgan Jones added the Lady Raiders in scoring as she netted 23 points.  Vinson added 13 points and Williams netted 12.

On Wednesday, the Lady Raiders played much improved basketball from Cumberland County but still  dropped a pair of games.  Taking on a pair of talented teams with just 6 varsity players, Coach Joe Pat Cope was pleased with his team’s performance against Lebanon and Stewarts Creek.  “I loved the way they competed”, said Cope as Coffee County led Stewarts Creek through 3 periods before falling by 5 points.  The Lady Raiders were led by Bella Vinson won netted 18 points.  The JV team captured a win on Wednesday against Warren County.

The Lady Raiders return to the court on Monday when they travel to Lebanon High School for a 2 day team camp. First game on Monday is at noon.  The Lady Raiders will finish their camp schedule on Friday, June 23rd with a team camp at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.   Coach Cope will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the summer workouts so far.

After an offensive onslaught, the Pittsburgh Penguins are one win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions. The Penguins hung six goals on the Predators in Game 5 on Thursday in a 6-0 shutout victory in Pittsburgh. The Penguins now have a 3-2 series lead.

Sidney Crosby came alive in Game 5, with three assists on the night. Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin also shone in the victory, as the pair each had two points.

It was all Penguins from puck drop onwards, as Justin Schultz got Pittsburgh on the board a minute and a half into the game on the power play. The shot snuck through Pekka Rinne for the Penguins first power play tally since Game 1.

Bryan Rust then doubled the Penguins lead 6:43 into the first period, with a wicked backhander that fooled Rinne.

The Penguins got one more past the Predators netminder in the first period, on Malkin’s 3-0 tally with 11 seconds to play. Rinne lasted just one period, as he allowed three goals on nine shots over 20 minutes of play.

Juuse Saros took over in net for the Predators for the final 40 minutes of the game.

In the middle of all the goals, Crosby and P.K. Subban’s antics came to a head on the ice. As the pair got tangled up behind the net, Crosby pushed Subban’s head into the ice, which garnered a pair of matching minors for both sides.

The Penguins increased their lead in the second period, as Conor Sheary put Pittsburgh up 4-0 just 1:19 into the second period on one of Saros’ first shots faced in the game.

Kessel’s 5-0 tally came seven minutes later, on a shot from the middle of the slot that caught Saros low glove side.

The Penguins capped off their offensive rally with their sixth goal with 3:20 left in the second period. Ron Hainsey got his second goal of the postseason on a tap-in at the side of the Predators cage.

Saros ended the evening with 11 saves on 14 shots. The Predators and Penguins both had 24 shots by game’s end.

Game 6 will be in Nashville on Sunday evening at 7 p.m.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

Matt Kemp’s RBI double capped a two-run first inning that set Phillies starter Ben Lively back and provided sufficient support to R.A. Dickey. The Braves’ knuckleballer completed his most impressive start of the season, leading Atlanta to a 3-1 win over the Phillies on Thursday night at SunTrust Park.

Dickey surrendered three hits without a walk, as he recorded a season-high eight strikeouts and limited the Phillies to one run over seven innings. Dickey gained comfort in the first inning when Nick Markakis and Kemp drove in runs against Lively, who allowed three earned runs over seven innings in his second career start.

Odubel Herrera’s leadoff double in the seventh inning positioned him to score on Maikel Franco’s two-out single. Tommy Joseph’s leadoff single in the second accounted for the only other hit surrendered by Dickey, who retired 15 straight before Herrera’s double.

Lively stranded two in the third inning and induced a double play after allowing consecutive singles to begin the fifth. But his attempt to escape again in the sixth evaporated when Matt Adams scored from first base on a Tyler Flowers double that left the bat at 110.9 mph and sailed over Herrera’s head in center field.

Joseph opened the second for the Phillies with a single and advanced to second base on a passed ball. After a Franco fly ball to center field moved Joseph to third, Dickey killed the threat with a Michael Saunders strikeout and Cameron Rupp’s popup. Dickey didn’t allow another Phillies batter to reach base until Herrera’s double in the seventh.

A pair of errors from Sounds second baseman, Joey Wendle, cost Nashville dearly as the Omaha Storm Chasers eked out a 4-2 victory Thursday night. The loss meant a series split for the Sounds who were seeking a third consecutive series win.

The first error of the evening from Wendle came in the first inning as he was playing in shallow right field with the shift on against left handed hitting first baseman Ryan O’Hearn was at the plate. The error allowed Ruben Sosa to come around to score to put Omaha out in front. Nashville responded with a run of its own in the next half inning as Renato Nunez doubled to begin the frame, advanced to third on a Matt Chapman single, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Jaff Decker.

After a pair of scoreless innings the Sounds lit up the scoreboard once again in the fifth inning. With one out Matt McBride, Ryan LaMarre, and Franklin Barreto all recorded singles to load the bases. Wendle then drove in the second run of the game for the Sounds on a groundout to the second baseman.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Raul Mondesi scorched a ground rule double to deep right field. Jorge Soler then stepped up to the plate and popped up a pitch just beyond the lip of the grass in shallow right field. Wendle camped underneath it but was unable to corral the pop up allowing Mondesi to score the tying run. The Storm Chasers plated the go-ahead run two batters later when Bubba Starling hit a soft line drive to center field.

Omaha added to its lead in the eighth inning when Garin Cecchini went deep off of Tyler Sturdevant to cap off the scoring.

Both starting pitchers were superb on the evening. Sounds starter, Corey Walter, allowed just one unearned run in 5 2/3 innings of work while striking out three Storm Chasers.Omaha hurler, Luke Farrell, lasted 6 1/3 innings and recorded ten punch outs and did not issue any free passes.

The Sounds did not go down without a fight. They brought the potential go-ahead run came up to the plate in the ninth inning after Decker and Ryan Lavarnway each reached on base hits to begin the frame. McBride struck out before LaMarre drew a walk to load the bases for Barreto. The Sounds’ shortstop popped out and with two outs Wendle stepped in. He cranked the ball to deep center field but it was run down at the warning track by Starling to preserve the win for Omaha.

Thursday night was the fourth career two-error game for Wendle and first since June 13, 2015 in a game at Oklahoma City.

For the Sounds it was just the second time in 26 games they suffered a defeat after having a lead through six innings.

The Sounds begin a three-game series against the Memphis Redbirds Friday night at AutoZone Park. Right-hander Paul Blackburn (4-5, 3.26) starts for Nashville against right-hander Mike Mayers (4-5, 4.73) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The best high school athletes from the Nashville area were honored by The Tennessean on Tuesday night at the second annual Tennessean Sports Awards presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans. The red-carpet event was held at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Jackson Hall in Nashville with Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota as the guest speaker.   Coffee County rising senior soccer player Ben Reid was selected by the readers of the Tennessean, via an online poll through social media, as the YMCA Good Sportsmanship Award winner.

Reid, who was selected as a finalist by the Tennessean sports staff, won the award over other finalists J.T. Gilbert of CPA and Nashville Christian’s Brittan Jarrell.  Reid was selected for his efforts at spearheading a fund raising campaign to benefit Mike Rampy, a former North Franklin soccer coach who passed away earlier this spring.  The fund raising effort collected $1,200 for medical expenses for the family which includes Franklin County High School soccer player John Michael Rampy.  The money was presented to the family following Coffee County’s soccer match with Franklin County on April 11th.

After the award presentation, Reid was asked to say a few words where his humbleness showed through as he thanked his family and teammates.  After receiving the award, Reid got to meet Mariota which he described as “pretty cool.”  When asked about how winning the award, Ben’s character truly showed. “Giving them the money and being able to help out was better than winning the award.”  Reid went on to share credit for any special recognition: “I kinda pitched the idea to Coach Harper and everyone else made it happen” said Reid.  Ben went on to say that he wanted to thank everyone who voted for him online.  “I am thankful for everyone’s vote and support which brought attention to my team and community.”

The Coffee County Red Raider basketball team will be hosting a 3 on 3 tournament at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. The 3 on 3 Red Raider Shootout will take place on Saturday, June 17th and is open to boys and girls ages 9 to 99. Registration begins at 8 AM at the gym.
Teams can be boys, girls or co-ed and each team is guaranteed 3 games. There will be pool play games and a champion in each age division will be crowned after championship bracket play. A roster and team name must be provided during registration and each team must have matching jerseys/t-shirts. Cost to participate is $15 per person and team size is capped at 5 team members. Prizes will be awarded for champions in each of the following age divisions:
9 to 11
12 to 14
15 to 17
18 to 25
26 to 39
40+
Participants will be asked to sign a waiver of indemnity prior to participation. For more information, contact Red Raider head coach Micah Williams at: 931-492-2123 or williamsm@k12coffee.net