Category: Sports

The Nashville Sounds’ bats remained silent for the second consecutive night as they were defeated 8-1 by the Oklahoma City Dodgers. The Sounds lit up the scoreboard in the eighth inning to snap a streak of 16 consecutive innings without scoring a run.

Justin Masterson (1-0, 2.25) was masterful on the mound for the Dodgers (4-4). The Sounds (3-5) had no answer for the 32-year-old who gave up just two hits in five innings of work and fanned five batters on just 69 pitches.

The Dodgers opened the scoring in the second inning off Zach Neal (0-1, 4.15) when third baseman, Rob Segedin, led off the inning with a base hit and came around to score on a Brett Eibner sacrifice fly to left field.

Oklahoma City extended its lead in the next inning when Dodgers top prospect, Cody Bellinger launched a ball into the seats in right center field.
In the top half of the fifth inning the Dodgers hitters continued to put bats on balls. Chris Taylor legged out a infield base hit and advanced to second after Renato Nunez’s errant throw. The error also allowed Bobby Wilson to move up to third base after he was walked with one out in the frame. Left fielder, O’Koyea Dickson then scorched a ball past Nunez and down the left field line to double the Dodgers’ lead.

Neal wrapped up his evening after 4.2 innings having surrendered four runs on five hits and passed the ball to Tucker Healy (0-1, 2.08) who stuck out three and walked two in 1.2 innings of work.

The eighth inning rolled around and the Dodgers’ lead swelled to 8-0. Aaron Kurcz (1-1, 5.79) began the inning and allowed back-to-back singles by Segedin and Alex Verdugo before being replaced by Ross Detwiler who immediately allowed an RBI single from Willie Calhoun. Chris Taylor then ripped a two-run double down the left field line.

In the home half of the eighth, Nashville finally plated a run. Andrew Lambo drilled a double into the left center field gap to begin the frame. Kenny Wilson followed that up with a base hit of his own to put runners on the corners. Franklin Barreto drove in his team-leading eighth run of the season with a line drive single to left field.
The Sounds and Dodgers will wrap up their four game series Friday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Cesar Valdez (1-0, 3.60) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Jair Jurrjens (1-0, 1.50) for the Dodgers. 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.

Noah Anderson of CHS baseball

Trailing 4 to 0 after 2 ½ innings of play, Coffee County head baseball coach David Martin met his team coming off the field.  It is safe to say that whatever he said in the huddle was the perfect antidote for the Raiders’ early game woes.  The Red Raiders scored 3 runs in the 3^rd to close the gap to 1, tied the game in the 4^th and drove in the winning run in the 6^th to prevail over Columbia 5 to 4 on Wednesday night at Powers Field.

In a game you heard here on Thunder, Coffee County got a solid 5 inning pitching performance from Grant Sadler.  After surrendering 6 hits in the first 3 innings, Sadler held the Lions to 2 hits over the next 2 innings.  Nathaniel Tate took the bump in the 6^th and pitched 2 hitless innings to earn the decision.  Cade Giles had the big hit in the 3^rd inning rally as he laced a sinking liner to left field.  The ball dropped for an RBI single and got past the Columbia left fielder.  When the merry-go-round stopped, Giles was standing on 3^rd base, 2 runs had scored and Coffee County had new life.  Giles scored one out later on a fielders choice by Sadler.  Three walks and a fielder’s choice drove in the tying run in the 4^th before Noah Anderson drilled an RBI double to right center to give the Raiders the winning margin in the 6th inning.

For his heroics, Anderson was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Coffee County will be back in action this weekend when they travel to Coalmont for the Grundy County tournament.  The Red Raiders open play on Friday at 11 AM against Grundy County before taking on Sequatchie County at 1:15 PM.

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

Braeden(left) and Colby(right) Thurmond show off their scholarship winnings on Saturday at Kentucky Lake.

The team of Braeden and Colby Thurmond captured an 11^th place finish on Saturday at the Tennessee B.A.S.S High School Trail event in Camden, Tennessee on Kentucky Lake.  The Thurmond’s were the lone team from the Coffee County Youth Bass Club competing on Saturday in the field of 92 boats.  For their Top 12 finish, they came home with a scholarship prize of $78.  The brother team landed a stringer of 5 fish weighing in at 10.01 pounds with a big fish weighing in at 2.9 pounds.

Their finish also keeps them in the Top 20 in the Bass Trail event standings as they are in 18^th place with a total of 283 total points.   The team of Issac Turner and Cam Rutledge are the only other Coffee County team in the top 50 as they are in 48^th place with 175 points.

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club is back in action on Saturday, April 22^nd at Normandy Lake for a club fishing tournament.   The next TN BASS Trail event will be held on Chicamauga Lake on April 29th.  For more information about the Coffee County Youth Bass Club, you can check out their FaceBook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/Coffee-County-Youth-Bass-Club-1227052340639230/

Braxton White of CCMS baseball

The Coffee County Middle School baseball team welcomed Lincoln County to CCMS on Wednesday.  Trailing 3 to 0 entering the bottom of the 6^th inning, the Raiders exploded for 6 runs to seemingly put the game on ice with 3 outs left to get.  But Lincoln County erupted for 5 runs in the 7^th to steal a heart-breaking 8 to 7 win over Coffee County.

After entering the bottom of the 7^th trailing by 2, the Raiders scored one run and had the bases loaded before the Falcons coaxed a game ending groundout.  Braxton White led the Raiders in hitting with 3 singles and an RBI.  Hayden Hullett had a pair of singles and Lane Spry had a double, 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.

The Raiders begin the final conference series of the year on Monday when they travel to Tullahoma.  First pitch is set for 5 PM.

John Martinez of Westwood soccer

Attempting to avenge an early season loss to Tullahoma, the Westwood soccer team welcomed Tullahoma to Dyer-Bouldin Field on Wednesday.  After 60 minutes of intense action, the Rockets and the Wildcats had to settle for a 1 to 1 draw.

Westwood got their lone goal from John Martinez.  He was assisted by Angel Gonzales.

The Rockets will travel to Fayetteville on Thursday night for the final regular season game of the year with the Tigers.  The opening kick is set for 4:30 PM.

Jamie Norris of CCMS soccer

Despite playing an even 2^nd half with South Franklin, the Coffee County Middle School soccer team gave up 3 first half goals as they fell to the visiting Trojans 5 to 3 on Wednesday night in Manchester.  The Red Raiders struggled to find an offensive attack in the first half as South led 3 to 0 at the intermission.

In the second half, Aidan Abellana scored on a penalty kick and Jamie Norris added a goal on an assist by Isaiah Campbell.   Coffee County gave up a pair of goals themselves in the 2^nd half in spite of controlling the critical middle of the field.

The Red Raiders return to the pitch on Monday when they travel to Tullahoma for a conference match with the Wildcats.  Kickoff is set for 5 PM at East Middle School.

Brady Nugent of Westwood baseball

The Westwood baseball team traveled to Huntland on Wednesday night attempting to get a season split with the Hornets.  Huntland exploded for 5 runs in the first inning and built a 7 to nothing lead over Westwood before the Rockets could cross the plate.  The Hornets used that advantage to capture the 12 to 7 win.

Westwood banged out 12 hits on the night led by Brady Nugent and Brett Johns who each finished with 3 hits.  Johns finished with a single and a double while Brady Nugent scored twice.  Wyatt Nugent had 2 hits including a triple.

Westwood will play their last game of the regular season on Thursday night when they travel to Cascade for a 5 PM game.

Giancarlo Stanton blistered a pair of two-run homers, and Ender Inciarte matched the power with a two-home run game of his own. But on a night when both clubs combined for five home runs, it was a wild pitch and Tyler Flowers’ two-out single in the ninth that rallied the Braves to a 5-4 win and a two-game split with the Marlins on Wednesday at Marlins Park.

Stanton, who hadn’t gone deep in his first 28 at-bats of the season, belted two home runs off Jaime Garcia, and Inciarte’s second shot in the eighth inning off Junichi Tazawa pulled the Braves even at 4.
In the ninth, Fowlers singled off A.J. Ramos after a wild pitch by the Miami closer allowed Brandon Phillips to advance to second. Phillips scored without a play on Flowers’ decisive single.
The Braves also displayed some power, primarily from Inciarte, who connected on a two-run homer in the third inning off Marlins starter Tom Koehler. Freddie Freeman added a solo shot to open the fourth.
The fourth inning also featured a bizarre 27-minute delay after a power surge dimmed several outfield light strips.
A couple of days ago in New York, Stanton blistered a couple of opposite-field base hits. The slugger joked afterward, “No more homers.” Entering Wednesday night, the three-time All-Star had only one extra-base hit, a double at Washington on Opening Day. Stanton put an abrupt end to his “homer drought” with his pair of two-run shots off Garcia, giving him 19 career multi-homer games. The second one was a thunderous two-run shot into the Clevelander, located behind the wall in left field. A fan jumped into the pool for the blast that put the Marlins in front, 4-3.
Per Statcast™, Stanton’s first home run traveled a projected 397 feet with a 110.1-mph exit velocity. The second blast projected at 396 feet and 116 mph, and it took just 3.7 seconds to leave the park, which is tied with Kansas City’s Salvador Perez as the fifth-fastest hang time on a homer this year.
Inciarte matches might with Stanton: Inciarte may have just 15 career homers, compared to Stanton’s 210. But both of Inciarte’s blasts were just as significant on Wednesday night. It also was his second career multi-homer game, the first coming on Sept. 27, 2015. Atlanta’s leadoff hitter, normally a table setter, had just three homers in 2016.

The Nashville Sounds managed just five hits in a 5-0 loss to the Oklahoma City Dodgers in front of 6,815 fans Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park.
Oklahoma City (3-4) used a four-run first inning against Nashville (3-4) starter Daniel Gossett to take control of the game. Leadoff hitter Chris Taylor walked to start the contest and quickly moved to third on Willie Calhoun’s base hit to right field.
Gossett struck out O’Koyea Dickson, but a fielding error by right fielder Andrew Lambo allowed Taylor to score, and another batter to reach. Alex Verdugo knocked in a run with a double, and former Sound Brett Eibner collected an RBI with a base hit.
Gossett settled in nicely, but the 40-pitch first inning cost him. The right-hander struck out a season-high eight but was tagged with the loss.
Dodgers starter Wilmer Font was brilliant from the start. The right-hander limited the Sounds to three hits and struck out 11. Font struck out six consecutive batters at one point, and recorded nine consecutive outs via strikeout from the first to the fourth inning.
Font handed off to Joe Gunkel who tossed two scoreless frames. Pedro Baez retired all four batters before Adam Liberatore finished the four-man shutout.
The Sounds couldn’t cash in on the rare opportunities they had. They went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.
The last time Nashville was shut out was July 7, 2016 vs. New Orleans.
Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Thursday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Zach Neal (0-0, 0.00) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Justin Masterson (0-0, 6.00) for the Dodgers. 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.