Category: Sports

It didn’t take the Braves long to find comfort in their new home, as they constructed a two-run first inning and benefited from Ender Inciarte’s latest home run to open SunTrust Park with Friday night’s 5-2 win over the Padres.

Playing their first official game in front of the 41,149 fans who flocked to their new stadium, the Braves jumped out early and watched Julio Teheran will himself through a six-inning stint that was only blemished during a two-run second, which included three consecutive two-out singles, the first of which was recorded by Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin.

“I feel really happy with myself,” Teheran said. “Obviously, we wanted to win this game, the first game at this ballpark for the franchise. We obviously wanted to win. I didn’t have my best, and I knew it was going to be a tough night for me. But I’m glad I got this moment. It was a special moment for me and the team.”

Teheran’s fourth-inning RBI single proved to be the decisive blow against Chacin, who surrendered four runs and eight hits over five-plus innings. Inciarte provided the Braves some comfort with a two-run, sixth-inning home run off right-handed reliever Craig Stammen.

Chacin surrendered hits to three of the first four batters he faced and faced a 2-0 deficit before he recorded his second out. Inciarte notched the stadium’s first hit with a leadoff infield single in the first inning, and he scored when Nick Markakis followed a Freddie Freeman double with one of his own.

“I battled pretty much all game,” Chacin said. “My pitches weren’t that good today. I wasn’t throwing enough strikes early in the count.”
Inciarte provided the Braves’ bullpen some breathing room with his two-run homer, which per Statcast™ had a 99-mph exit velocity and 40-degree launch angle (matching the highest launch angle recorded for a Braves home run during the Statcast™ era). The Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder has three homers in his past seven at-bats, or the same amount he had in 522 at-bats last year.
“I knew it was gone,” Inciarte said. “That’s all I got. After I hit it, I knew. I was looking for that pitch up in the zone. I put a good swing on it and I was able to get it out.”

Teheran wasn’t nearly as impressive as he’d been in his previous two starts, and his streak of 23 innings without giving up an earned run vanished after he hit Erick Aybar with a pitch and then allowed Chacin and Manuel Margot to record consecutive RBI singles in the second inning. The Braves’ ace allowed the Padres to produce two baserunners in two of the next four innings, but he stranded two when he ended his 105-pitch night by striking out Austin Hedges in the sixth.

“We didn’t stay in the strike zone,” said Padres manager Andy Green. “The entire night, it was chasing him and his stuff. It’s frustrating to see. … I don’t think he was as sharp as he normally is. I’ve seen him much better. He was beatable tonight. We didn’t take advantage.”

In 20 years at Turner Field, both starting pitchers drove in runs in the same game only seven times. It’s already happened at SunTrust Park. Chacin plated the Padres’ first run when he legged out a two-out dribbler to third base in the second inning. Teheran notched his RBI in the fourth with an infield knock. Padres second baseman Yangervis Solarte made a nice backhand stop, but his throw was low, and Myers couldn’t pick it at first.
R.A. Dickey will match up against Clayton Richard when this four-game series resumes Saturday night at 6:10 p.m. CT. Dickey will be pitching with two extra days of rest and attempting to bounce back from the loss he took when a few defensive miscues marred his six-inning season debut in Pittsburgh.

The Oklahoma City Dodgers spoiled the first sellout of the 2017 season at First Tennessee Park with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 10,717 fans Friday night.

With the score even at 1-1 in the eighth inning, Oklahoma City’s Alex Verdugo lifted a fly ball in the direction of Nashville’s Matt McBride. The ball glanced off the left fielder’s glove and allowed two runners to score on the E-7.

Bobby Wahl limited the damage to the two unearned runs, but it was enough for the Dodgers. Matt Olson launched a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth but the comeback fell short.

The starters controlled the game early as both held the opponent off the board for the first five innings. Nashville finally broke through against Jair Jurrjens in the fifth to put the game’s first run on the board.

Renato Nuñez doubled into the left field corner to start the rally. Jurrjens came back to get Olson and Bruce Maxwell on groundouts, but McBride came through with a two-out, RBI single up the middle to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead.

Cèsar Valdez cruised through the first five innings. He struck out a pair in the third, the side in the fourth, and added two more punch outs in the fifth.

Oklahoma City’s Tyler Holt began the sixth with a base hit to right-center, ending the night for Valdez. Josh Smith relieved Valdez and gave up a single to Chris Taylor to put runners at the corners. Oklahoma City evened the game at 1-1 when Cody Bellinger bounced into a 3-6 fielder’s choice.

Neither starter factored into the decision despite solid performances from both. Jurrjens allowed one run on five hits in six innings. Valdez allowed one run on five hits in five innings to go along with his seven strikeouts.

Nashville had a number of chances in the later innings but couldn’t come up with a big hit. They left runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth innings, and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Nuñez and McBride both had multi-hit games in the losing effort.
The Sounds welcome the Colorado Spring Sky Sox for a three-game series set to begin Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Paul Blackburn (0-1, 1.50) starts for Nashville against left-hander Brent Suter (0-0, 0.00) 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.

2017 CHS Soccer Seniors

Ten members of the Class of 2017 were recognized on Thursday night prior to the CHS soccer game.  The Coffee County Red Raider soccer team hosted Lawrence County on Senior Night at the Raider Soccer Field.  The Red Raiders were able to score early and late in an 8 to 1 win over the visiting Wildcats.

Senior Breyer Taylor got the 1^st Raider goal in the 2^nd minute to set the tone for the evening.  Senior Chase Harper followed that up in the 16^th minute as he pushed home a ball that was mishandled by the Lawrence County keeper.  Paco Barrera found the back of the net in the 19^th minute off an assist from Taylor to give Coffee County a 3 to 0 lead at the half.

In the 2^nd half, five different Red Raiders scored as Taylor got his second goal on an assist from Ben Reid.  Leo Botello got an unassisted goal and then scored an assist on Ethan Abplanalp’s goal in the 71^st minute.  Tyler Walker scored unassisted in the 73^rd minute and Felix Salinas gave Coffee County their final goal in the 75^th minute off an assist from Miguel Mendoza.

The Red Raiders return to the pitch on Monday night when they play host to Marshall County.  That match will kick off at 7 PM.

Rachel Henley of CHS tennis

The Coffee County Lady Raider tennis team welcomed Columbia to their new home courts at the Raider Academy on Thursday.   The Lady Raiders swept their doubles matches to capture the 4 to 3 win over Columbia and improve their district record to 2 and 1.

Getting wins in singles play were Natalie Elzeer(8 to 3) and Rachel Henley(8-1).  The doubles teams of Kayla Wright & Rachel Henley(8-4) and the team of Jessica Barrera & Natalie Elzeer(9-7) captured the decisive wins in doubles play to claim the match.

Both Raider tennis teams are back in action on Monday when they welcome Tullahoma to town.  That match gets underway at 4 PM at the Raider Academy.

Landon Booth of CCMS tennis

The Coffee County Middle School tennis teams put their perfect record on the line on Thursday when they traveled to Lewisburg.  Facing their toughest competition of the season, the Raider netters came out on top capturing the sweep of the Tigers.  The boys battled to a 4 to 3 win while the girls edged Lewisburg 5 to 4 as both match ups came down to the final pairings.

The boys got wins in singles competition from Luke Irwin(6 to 2), Tyler Rigney(6-3) and Landon Booth(6-1).  The doubles team of Booth and Rigney got a 6 to 4 win to clinch the match for Coffee County.

Lucy Riddle of CCMS tennis

The girls got wins in singles from Jayda Wright(6-1), Anna Amado(6-1) and Lucy Riddle(6-0) and doubles wins from the teams of Amado & Marley Perry(6-4) and Riddle & Paige Meadows(6-1).

Both teams are now 5 and 0 on the season. The CCMS netters return to the court on Monday when they take on Tullahoma.  That match is set to be played at Tullahoma High School.

Alyssa McClanahan of CCMS softball

The Lady Raider softball team of Coffee County Middle School played host to Lincoln County on Thursday night in a non-conference matchup at CCMS.  Trailing 3 to 1 entering the bottom of the 5^th inning, Coffee County rallied to score 3 runs, the last on a Lincoln County error, to capture the come from behind 4 to 3 win.

The Lady Falcons struck first getting a run in the first inning.  Coffee County rallied to tie it in the 3^rd inning after Alyssa McClanahan led off the inning with a triple and scored on an Olivia Evans groundout.  Lincoln County rallied back in the 4^th to plate a pair of runs setting up the Coffee County heroics.  Four successive hits tied the game in the bottom of the 5^th, but Lauren Brandt came across with the winning run.  McClanahan ended the night with a single and a triple and 2 runs scored for Coffee County.  Brandt had a single and 2 RBI in the 5th in addition to scoring the game winner.

The Lady Raiders return to action on Monday when they take on their hated rivals from Tullahoma.  That game will begin at 5 PM and will be held in Tullahoma.

Haidyn Campbell of Westwood softball

The Westwood softball team played host to Liberty on Thursday afternoon at Lady Rocket Field.  The Lady Rockets were attempting to end a 3 game losing streak in their final home game of the year.  Westwood banged out 9 hits in the game but could only produce one run as they fell 7 to 1 to the Lady Patriots.

Haidyn Campbell led the hit parade with 3 hits including a triple.  Kaitlyn Davis finished with a single and a double and scored the lone Westwood run.  Westwood will return to the diamond next week in the conference tournament in Shelbyville taking on Riverside Christian.  That date and time will be announced later.

Wyatt Nugent of Westwood baseball

The Westwood baseball played the final regular season game of the season when they traveled to Wartrace to take on Cascade.  The Rockets battled back and forth with the Champions before falling by a final score of 7 to 6.

After taking a 2 to 0 lead in the first inning, Westwood saw Cascade tie the game in the bottom of the inning.  Each team scored once in the 2^nd before Cascade pushed 3 runs across in the 4th inning.  Westwood was able to tie the game in the 5^th inning, but Cascade got the game winner in the 6^th.

Wyatt Nugent led Westwood in hitting with a single and a double and scored 2 runs.  Blake Hale had a pair of singles for the Rockets.  Westwood will return to action next week when they begin play in the Duck River Valley Conference tournament.  Dates, opponents and times will be announced next week.

Pekka Rinne

Pekka Rinne made 29 saves, Viktor Arvidsson scored in the first period and the Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 on Thursday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Rinne’s second career postseason shutout sent Nashville to just its second playoff win in Chicago in seven tries. The Predators did not have a 1-0 victory during the regular season.

Game 2 is Saturday night at the United Center.

Corey Crawford had 19 saves for Chicago, which got center Artem Anisimov back from a leg injury that sidelined him for the last part of the season, but struggled to find many good looks against a sound defensive performance by Nashville.

The Blackhawks, who won the Central Division this year with the most points in the Western Conference, are going for their fourth Stanley Cup championship in the last eight seasons. They eliminated Nashville during two of those title-winning runs, including in 2015 when the Predators blew leads of 3-0 in Game 1 and 3-1 in Game 6 of their first-round series.

This time, they held on — thanks to a super performance by Rinne.

Chicago controlled most of the last two periods, but Nashville blocked several shots from the perimeter and got in the passing lanes when the Blackhawks tried to find a better opportunity. The few times they managed to get open, Rinne was there.

After Ryan Johansen was sent off for delay of game 9 seconds into the second, Rinne denied Patrick Kane and Trevor van Riemsdyk on the resulting power play. Ryan Hartman found Marian Hossa on a counter midway through the second, but he wasn’t able to get much on the shot and Rinne turned the rush away.

The Predators killed off another power play in the third and then kept the Blackhawks away from the net after they pulled Crawford with 1:55 remaining

Boosted by a raucous, red-clad crowd of 22,075, the Blackhawks got off to a fast start. But the Predators eventually started to control the action, and their high-scoring top line of Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg took the air out of the United Center with one nice sequence.

Even with three Blackhawks in the area, Johansen managed to play the puck over to Forsberg in the high slot. Forsberg then threw it toward the net and Arvidsson tipped it by Crawford at 7:52.

It was Arvidsson’s fourth goal in his last four games against Chicago. The speedy winger set career highs with 31 goals and 30 assists in a breakout performance this season.

Arvidsson nearly picked up a second goal in the first, but he was denied by Crawford on a prime opportunity with 4:22 left. He also had a backhander go off the crossbar with about 4 minutes in the third.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report