Category: Sports

Atlanta southpaw Jaime Garcia outdueled Giants right-hander Matt Cain in Friday’s 2-0 win by the Braves, a crisp matchup that featured a couple of veteran starters.

Garcia tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out five, to pick up his first victory since April 29. He also broke up a scoreless tie in the seventh inning with a single to left field that led to two runs.
“I expect that out of him with his stuff,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He was really good last time out. Shoot, he was good in Toronto, that start also. It’s good to see him coming around and banging the strike zone like that.”
Garcia’s ability to limit walks — he had nine in his previous two starts — was critical, as was repeatedly getting ahead in the count while helping Atlanta to its first shutout this season.
“That’s a big thing for me, being able to control the count and keep the ball on the ground,” Garcia said. “I was able to do that when I needed it. That’s the goal every time.”
Cain suffered a hard-luck loss after the Giants were shut out for the fifth time this season. Cain went seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
“Tonight was definitely a tough one,” Cain said. “To go back and forth with Garcia and then we just weren’t able to find a good situation to get a good hit in. It just stings on my part to give up a hit to the opposing pitcher that ended up winning it.”
The Giants have scored six runs in their past four contests, dropping their average to an MLB-worst 3.32 per game.
“You got to get some hits and create those opportunities,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We’re not doing it very often.”
After the Giants intentionally walked Dansby Swanson with two outs in the seventh to get to Garcia, the pitcher knocked a single to left field. Once Brandon Belt’s throw bounced off Tyler Flowers as he crossed home plate, Swanson alertly raced around to score and double the Braves’ lead. Cain retrieved the ball from foul territory down the first-base line and tossed it to catcher Nick Hundley, but Hundley couldn’t apply the tag in time as Swanson slid under the attempt.
“It was like ‘Run, Forrest, run,'” Swanson said. “I just reacted and kept going.”
The Giants didn’t have many scoring opportunities but were able to load the bases against Garcia in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Ruggiano came to the plate after Buster Posey was intentionally walked, but grounded out to third base to kill the Giants’ biggest threat of the game.
“I thought we’d come home and get some rips in tonight but it didn’t happen,” Bochy said. “Their guy was good. He gets a lot of movement on his fastball, he’s got a good changeup. We didn’t hit many balls hard, really. A lot of weak ground balls. Just couldn’t do much offensively. We had one good chance there, and we had a good hitter up, but he made a good pitch.”
Right-hander Mike Foltynewicz (3-4, 3.86 ERA) chases his fourth consecutive win when he makes his fifth career start against the Giants in another night game (9:05 p.m. CT) Saturday at AT&T Park. Foltynewicz, who beat San Francisco twice in 2016, has walked only three batters in his previous 17 innings.

The Omaha Storm Chasers used extra innings to beat the Nashville Sounds, 8-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,253 at First Tennessee Park Friday night.

The 11th inning win overshadowed a stellar performance by Storm Chasers pitcher Jake Junis. The right-hander shutout the Sounds (23-22) over seven innings and limited Nashville to two hits while racking up a season-high 12 strikeouts in the no-decision.

Junis’ outing went for naught when the Sounds rallied in the eighth and ninth innings. Trailing 3-0, Joey Wendle sparked the first rally with a leadoff double in the eighth. Two batters later, Jaff Decker singled to right field to trim the deficit to 3-1.

Omaha turned to left-hander Eric Stout for the ninth but the move backfired. Jaycob Brugman started the frame with a sharp single through the left side. Franklin Barreto doubled down the right field line to put a pair of runners in scoring position with nobody out.

Matt Olson followed with a walk to load the bases for Matt Chapman who narrowly missed a game-winning grand slam with a deep fly out to center field. He settled for a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-2 game.

With runners at the corners and one out, hit a bouncer to send to score Barreto with a fielder’s choice.

Sounds reliever Tucker Healy kept the game close. He tossed a scoreless inning in the ninth, and followed suit in the 10th.

Trouble started right away for Simon Castro in the 11th. Ryan O’Hearn laid down a bunt single against a defensive shift to give Omaha a base runner to start the frame. Pinch-runner Billy Burns swiped second base, and then scored when Cam Gallagher singled to left. Renato Nuñez’s throw was a perfect one-hop to catcher Ryan Lavarnway who dropped the ball when Burns ran into him.

Wendle committed a fielding error, Castro hit a batter, and Raul Mondesi cleared the bases with a triple to the gap in right-center to make it 7-3. Castro issued a wild pitch to allow Mondesi to trot home with the final run of the night.

The Sounds welcome the Colorado Spring Sky Sox for a five-game series set to begin Saturday night. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (2-2, 3.59) starts for Nashville against right-hander Hiram Burgos (2-3, 5.94) for Colorado Springs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The 2017 season is the Sounds’ 40th in franchise history and their third as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

CHS senior softball player Tori Bell

The Coffee County Lady Raider softball team battled their way to a 4^th place finish in the TSSAA state softball tournament on Thursday.  The Lady Raiders scratched and clawed their way to a 5 to 3 win over Brentwood on Thursday morning.  Injuries and exhaustion finally set in on Thursday night as Coffee County lost to Henry County 14 to 4

In the morning game, the Lady Raiders jumped out to an early 3 to 0 lead then rallied for a pair of runs late to grab a 5 to 3 win.  The Coffee County defense was once again on point as they did not commit an error for the 2^nd straight game.  Tied at 3 entering the 6^th inning, Sarah West hit an RBI single to give the Lady Raiders the lead.  Katie Rutledge drove in an insurance run in the top of the 7^th.

Rutledge also came on in relief pitching when Kaylee Skipper had to come out of the game in the 5^th inning with a blister on her pitching hand.  Rutledge pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to capture the win. Rutledge added a single and 2 RBI as she was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Haley Hinshaw finished with a single, a double and 1 run scored.   Haley Richardson had a single and a double and an RBI.

In the night cap, Henry County erupted for 7 runs in the 2^nd inning and built an 11 to 0 lead before ending the Lady Raiders season by a final score of 14 to 4.   The Lady Patriots from Paris banged out 13 hits as they outhit Coffee County 13 to 6.  Coffee County sophomore pitcher Haley Richardson took the loss in the circle but crushed a 2 run home run for Coffee County to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.   Senior Tori Bell finished with 2 hits, a run scored and 1 RBI.

The Lady Raiders will finish the season with a record of 26-18-1.  Following the game, Coach Steve Wilder informed his team that he was leaving Coffee County for a job in Florida.  You can see that story at:  http://www.thunder1320.com/news/coffee-county-softball-coach-steve-wilder-resigns/

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

Karson Young holding her medal for the triple jump

Karson Young captured a pair of medals on Thursday to highlight Coffee County’s final day of competition in the TSSAA State Track Meet in Murfreesboro.  Young finished the day with a pair of medals in the 4 events in which she competed.  Sarah Pearson finished up her busy week with a 10^th place finish in the 300M hurdles.

Young opened the day at 9 AM with the long jump.  In the semifinals, Young had a top jump of 16’ 11 ½” in her 3^rd attempt to punch her ticket to the finals.  In the finals, Young tacked on a jump of 17’ 1” to capture 8^th place.

Karson Young clears 4’10” at the TSSAA state track meet on Thursday

Young moved from the long jump awards ceremony directly to the triple jump.  After posting a jump of 35’ 4 ½” in her second jump of the semifinals, Karson passed on her 3^rd triple jump attempt having secured a spot in the finals.  In the finals, Young had jumps of 35’, 34’ 8” and 34’ 3”.  Carrying over her semifinal distance, Young finished with a 5^th place medal.

Karson Young clears a hurdle in the 100M race at the TSSAA state meet on Thursday

For the second straight event, Young went from the medal stand directly to the high jump.  After 3 hours of near continuous competition, Young cleared 4’8” and 4’10”.  At 5’, Young clipped the bar 3 times to bow out in 13^th place.

In the evening session, Young failed to advance out of the semifinals of the 100M hurdles as she ran a time of 16.72 to finish in 14th place.   The race ended a hectic day and an amazing track career for the senior.  Young competed in 3 state track meets missing only in her sophomore year due to illness.  When asked about a favorite memory from her years in track at CHS, Young had this to say:

Sarah Pearson competes in the 300M hurdle race at Thursday’s TSSAA state track meet

In the final race of the day, Sarah Pearson competed in the 300M hurdles.  Pearson tied her personal record as she ran the race in 47.77 seconds to claim 10^th place.  Pearson clipped the 6^th hurdle coming into the front stretch with her front foot but maintained her balance to finish strong.   2017 marks the 26th consecutive year that Coffee County Track was represented at the state meet.

To see full results, you can check out the link at: http://brackets.tssaa.org/trackResults.cfm

After languishing through Gerrit Cole’s worst start of the season and the long rain delay that added to the frustration of Tuesday night’s loss, the Pirates righted themselves with a ninth-inning comeback on Wednesday and then capped their four-day stay in Atlanta with Thursday’s 9-4 win over the Braves at SunTrust Park.

Ivan Nova’s bid for his third complete game of the season unraveled as he allowed two of the four runs charged to him in the ninth. After twisting his left knee during his last outing and skipping his between-starts bullpen session, the Pirates weren’t sure Nova would make this start. But Nova completed at least eight innings for the third time in 10 starts this season, needing only 67 pitches to get through seven before laboring for his final four outs.
Despite his performance under the circumstances, Nova — still wearing a wrap around his knee after the game — was frustrated with himself afterward for not finishing the game.
“I get to the ninth inning with that lead, I’ve got to be able to finish them off,” Nova said. “I didn’t make the pitches that I was supposed to make that inning and the game almost got away from me. That can’t happen. … My mentality is, ‘Always go all the way.’ A lot of times that doesn’t happen, but at least you have the mentality and you go for it.”
The Pirates right-hander’s 8 1/3-inning effort was aided by a five-run second inning that included Adam Frazier’s three-run homer off Bartolo Colon. Frazier’s third homer of the season and second in as many days traveled a projected 404 feet and had a 100.5-mph exit velocity, per Statcast™.
“We got some pressure on him. Frazier got a ball he didn’t miss,” Pirates left fielder Josh Harrison said. “We were able to keep that pressure and build off of what we did last night, which was nice for us.”
As the Braves concluded this 5-4 homestand with a second straight loss, they were never able to overcome the early struggles endured by Colon, who surrendered seven earned runs and 10 hits over five innings. The right-hander, who turned 44 on Wednesday, has posted a 6.96 ERA through 10 starts and an 8.25 ERA over his past eight starts.
“It is just one of those days,” Colon said. “Every now and then it’s a hitters turn to have their day, and today was their day to have it. That’s just how it goes.”
Colon had shown some improvement during a couple recent starts. But he didn’t get through the fifth inning of this past Saturday’s start against the Nationals and he was nearly knocked out during the fifth inning of his May 15 win in Toronto.
Asked whether Colon will remain in the rotation, Braves manager Brian Snitker said, “As of now, yes.”
For the second straight day, Frazier followed a second-inning error with a three-run homer. With two on and one out, Jordy Mercer hit a slow roller to third baseman Rio Ruiz, whose wide throw bounced out of Matt Adams’ glove as he attempted to tag Mercer. Francisco Cervelli scored on the play and Gift Ngoepe followed with another slow roller to Ruiz that resulted in an infield hit.
“Ultimately, that one play started the merry-go-round, to say the least,” Ruiz said. “It was just a bad throw on my part and Matt did all he could to put the tag on the guy. The ball just got away. Those plays have to be made, and that’s all on me. I take too much pride in my defense to let those balls go.”
Cervelli matched a career high with four hits to cap a productive series in which he went 7-for-13 and raised his batting average from .227 to .258. After delivering a single that fueled the second inning, the catcher delivered a one-out double during a two-run fifth that allowed the Pirates to cruise to victory.
“Baseball is something crazy,” Cervelli said. “You have to be patient and keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
Mercer, who finished 2-for-4, went 9-for-17 with two homers and six RBIs in the four-game series. He has hit safely in 19 of his last 21 games against the Braves, carrying a .402 average during that stretch. Mercer’s 32 hits against Atlanta since the start of the 2015 season are the most by any player outside the National League East.
Jaime Garcia will take the mound when Atlanta begins a three-game series in San Francisco on Friday at 9:15 p.m. CT. The Braves have lost 22 of their last 26 road games against National League West opponents.

The Omaha Storm Chasers edged the Nashville Sounds, 8-4, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,442 at First Tennessee Park Thursday night. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Sounds.

For the first time in 11 games, the Sounds failed to score first. Omaha’s Garin Cecchini started the scoring with a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the second.

The lead didn’t last long as Joey Wendle started the home half of the inning with a solo homer to straightaway center field. It was Nashville’s professional baseball-leading 43rd home run in the month of May.

It stayed 1-1 until the top of the fourth when the Chasers struck again. A walk issued by Raul Alcantara to Ryan O’Hearn started the rally. Bubby Starling and Cam Gallagher followed with back-to-back doubles to give Omaha a 3-1 lead.

The night was over for Alcantara who gave way for Felix Doubront. The southpaw retired Billy Burns to start the fifth, but then allowed a single and a walk to spark another Omaha rally. It looked like Doubront might get out of the inning but shortstop Franklin Barreto threw a ball into right field on a possible double play ball. Omaha went on to score three in the frame to take a 6-1 lead.

Matt Chapman trimmed the deficit to 6-2 with a solo homer to left field in the sixth. It was Chapman’s 11th homer in the month of May.

Storm Chasers reliever Bobby Parnell was summoned for the seventh and struggled mightily. The right-hander issued four consecutive walks to make it a 6-3 game.

Nashville had a number of opportunities late in the game, but bounced into three double plays throughout the evening to halt multiple threats.

Jaycob Brugman bounced into one with the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh. It made it a two-run game but Omaha was able to get out of the inning without further damage.

In the eighth, Matt Olson singled and Chapman drew a walk to put a pair of runners on, but Wendle hit into a 4-6-3 double play to stop the rally.

Nashville went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.

The series finale between the Sounds and Storm Chasers is scheduled for Friday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Jharel Cotton (2-0, 2.25) starts for Nashville against right-hander Jake Junis (1-2, 3.07) for Omaha. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m.

The 2017 season is the Sounds’ 40th in franchise history and their third as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Raven Rogers of CHS softball

On a day when wet field conditions limited the effectiveness of the short game, the Coffee County Lady Raider softball team got a home run from one of their slappers to capture a 1 to 0 win in the elimination bracket of the TSSAA State Tournament.  Raven Rogers led off the bottom of the 3^rd inning with a home run to centerfield to give Coffee County a 1 to 0 win over Dyer County.  The win keeps the Lady Raiders season alive as they advanced in the Class 3A loser’s bracket.

Rain on Wednesday morning delayed the start of the game until 11 AM making the field wet.  A rain shower right before first pitch reduced the playing surface to a sloppy and slick mess.  In spite of the elements, the Coffee County defense played splendidly.  Coffee County got a double play from Ashley Evans and Tori Bell and did not commit an error on the day.  Kaylee Skipper was once again masterful in the circle as she pitched a complete game 4 hit shutout while striking out 5.

Skipper also was excellent at the plate as well as she had a pair of singles.  Haley Hinshaw had a double and Rogers finished with a home run and a single.  Rogers was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Lucky Knott had the call of Rogers’ home run

The Lady Raiders will now march on in the elimination bracket where they will face the loser of Wednesday’s 9:30 PM game on Thursday morning at 11:30 AM.  As always, Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action.  Lucky Knott begins Thunder Radio’s exclusive coverage with the pregame show around 11:20.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

You can view the updated state tournament bracket at: http://brackets.tssaa.org/bracket.cfm?id=20160503

2017 CHS soccer award winners (left to right) Moises Ramirez, Breyer Taylor, Briggs Haithcock, Felix Salinas, Ben Reid and Chase Harper[Photo by Kim Taylor]

Breyer Taylor also broke the career goal scoring record as he broke the previous record held by Rickey Ramirez.  Taylor was named the team Most Valuable Player.  Other award winners were: Moises Ramirez – Raider Award; Briggs Haithcock – Midfielder of the Year; Felix Salinas –  Freshman of the Year;  Ben Reid – Defender of the Year and Chase Harper – Offensive Player of the Year.

Coach Mike Ray(left) presents the 2017 CHS Tennis Coaches Award to Kayla Wright(right)

The Coffee County tennis teams hosted their annual awards banquet on Monday.  The banquet recognized the Red Raider and Lady Raider tennis programs who celebrated a successful 2017 season.  The season was highlighted by a boys’ team which advanced to the district finals in team competition.  The team of Reid Lawrence and Grey Riddle won the district doubles title and advanced to the region doubles tournament.  Freshman Joseph Sadler was runner-up in the district singles tournament and also advanced to the region singles tournament.   At the banquet, senior Kayla Wright was awarded the 2017 Coaches Award.

2017 CHS tennis Award winners