Category: Sports

The first-place Nashville Sounds begin the final homestand of the regular season Monday when they welcome the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs – the Iowa Cubs – to First Tennessee Park for a four-game series.

Below is a preview for each game of the homestand:

Monday, August 29 vs. Iowa – 7:05 p.m.
• Gates open at 6:00 p.m.
• Major League Monday with special guest appearance by Barry Zito presented by 650 AM WSM. The former Cy Young Award winner, World Series champion and 2015 Sounds pitcher returns to First Tennessee Park. Zito will sign autographs from 6:15-6:35 and throw a ceremonial first pitch.
• Barry Zito Bobblehead Giveaway – The first 2,000 fans in attendance receive the bobblehead of Zito in Sounds gear.
• FOX17 post-game fireworks presented by Koorsen Fire & Security.
• Kroger Plus Monday – Buy a “Family 4-Pack” that includes 4 Select section tickets, 4 hot dogs & 4 fountain sodas for $44. This offer is only available at participating Ticketmaster locations inside Kroger stores and is not available at First Tennessee Park.

Tuesday, August 30 vs. Iowa – 7:05 p.m.
• Gates open at 6:00 p.m.
• “Live from Nashville, it’s Tuesday Night” – The final Tuesday of the season brings the Sounds Choice Awards (award show theme night) presented by The Tennessean. As voted on by the fans during the month of August, select Sounds players and special fans will receive season awards throughout the game in the form of a golden bobblehead.
• Special guest appearance by Rickey Henderson. The Hall of Famer will meet with fans and sign autographs (flat objects only) before the game from 6:15-6:35.
• FOX17 post-game fireworks presented by Koorsen Fire & Security.

Wednesday, August 31 vs. Iowa – 12:05 p.m.
• Gates open at 11:00 a.m.
• Noon Bash in Nash presented by ESPN 102.5 The Game – catch Sounds baseball at high noon!
• Senior Discount – Fans 60 and older may purchase a Corner Section ticket for just $8. Discount is based on availability – one ticket per I.D.

Thursday, September 1 vs. Iowa – 6:35 p.m.
• Gates open at 5:30 p.m.
• First Tennessee Park’s Regular Season Finale Celebration – Fan Appreciation Night – The first 3,000 fans in attendance receive the stadium replica giveaway presented by First Tennessee.
• Post-game fireworks show presented by First Tennessee.
• The Sounds will honor the Team MVP, Most Popular Player and Community Service Award in a pre-game, on-field ceremony.
• Nashville Sounds Silent Auction – Throughout the game, fans can bid on special items such as autographed bats, baseballs and other player-signed items. All proceeds will support the Nashville Sounds Foundation and Pros for Playworks – a charity Sounds Manager Steve Scarsone proudly supports.
• Throwback Thursday presented by iHeartMedia – the Sounds will wear throwback jerseys to commemorate the team’s original uniform style from 1978. Fans can purchase Coca-Cola fountain soda, domestic draft beers and 12oz. cans for $2 each. Bud and Bud Light 16oz. cans and import and craft draft beer can be purchased for $3 each.

Fans who attend the team’s final homestand will be treated to an exclusive mobile digital experience presented by BKON. Fans who download the Sounds Gameday app will see special in-game content, stadium trivia, images from inside the dugout, as well as exclusive ticket and ballpark experience offers.
Tickets for the 2016 Pacific Coast League playoff dates at First Tennessee Park are now available for purchase at the Nashville Sounds box office and online at www.nashvillesounds.com. The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate.

Another strong performance by starter Dillon Overton led the Nashville Sounds to a 2-1 win over the Memphis Redbirds Saturday night at AutoZone Park.

The win was the 46th on the road for the American Southern Division champions. It matches the franchise record for most road wins in a season set by the 1980 Sounds club that also won 46 away from Nashville. The Sounds have five more road games left in the regular season.

Overton limited the Redbirds to one run on five hits in six innings. He issued one walk and struck out four in his 13th win of the season. The left-hander has 13 quality starts and the Sounds are 14-6 in games he starts.

Matt Olson and Joey Wendle gave Nashville (79-56) an early lead in the second inning. Olson started the inning with a double to left-center and Wendle drove him in with his 30th double of the season two batters later.

The lone run Overton allowed came in the third when Memphis third baseman Patrick Wisdom hit a solo homer to even the game at 1-1.

It stayed that way until Olson and Wendle were at the center of another rally in the sixth. Olson sent his third hit of the night into left field to put the lead-off man on. Renato Nunez singled to put runners on the corners for Wendle who sent a soft single into right field to score Olson giving the Sounds a 2-1 lead.

Overton worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth before handing the game over to the bullpen. Sean Doolittle worked around a one-out double with a pair of strikeouts to turn in a scoreless seventh.

Carlos Navas entered in the eighth and got a line drive double play in the scoreless frame.

With a 2-1 lead, Navas retired the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth before issuing a walk to Nick Martini. Wisdom was the next batter and sent a hard ground ball down the third base line. It was gloved on a diving stop by third baseman Matt Chapman who jumped up and fired to first in time to get Wisdom.

The save for Navas is his first at the Triple-A level. Olson finished the night 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles to up his total to 34 on the season.

Wendle, B.J. Boyd and Josh Rodriguez added multi-hit games for the Sounds.

The fifth and final game of the series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Memphis. Right-hander Daniel Mengden (7-2, 1.66) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Matt Pearce (0-0, 0.00) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.

Tickets for the 2016 Pacific Coast League playoff dates at First Tennessee Park are now available for purchase at the Nashville Sounds box office and online at www.nashvillesounds.com. The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate.

Creating offense in the first inning has been a particularly difficult task for the Giants this year. That changed Friday, as Brandon Belt and Joe Panik tallied a pair of run-scoring base hits in the bottom of the first that set the stage for a 7-0 win over the Atlanta Braves at AT&T Park.

San Francisco entered the series opener with the fewest runs (44) in the first inning in the Majors this season. But after Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford hit consecutive infield singles with two outs, the Giants finally came through. Belt launched a base hit to center field to score Posey, and Panik lined a ball down the left-field line to score two more. Angel Pagan then added a two-run home run in the second, and thanks to seven scoreless frames from Jeff Samardzija, the Giants cruised to just their third series-opening victory since the All-Star break.
The Braves offense had plenty of opportunities to match the Giants’ offensive production in the first two innings. But the batters went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and scored zero runs despite loading the bases with nobody out in the second. San Francisco fared much better against Joel De La Cruz, and the Braves rookie exited after allowing six runs (three earned) in four innings.
Samardzija initially appeared to be missing the command that allowed him to take a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his last start. But after working his way out of multiple jams in the first two innings, the right-hander proved to be dominant. Samardzija pitched seven shutout innings Friday and held an opponent scoreless for just the second time this season. He also turned in his third consecutive quality start while recording just his second win since the All-Star break.
The Braves squandered two doubles in the first inning and did not capitalize after each of their first three batters reached safely in the second. Ender Inciarte began the game with a double, but then made a mental mistake that resulted in him being thrown out at third base on Adonis Garcia’s grounder to shortstop Crawford. Inciarte also accounted for the second out in Atlanta’s once-promising second inning.
Mike Foltynewicz will be on the mound when Atlanta and San Francisco resume this three-game series Saturday at 8:05 p.m. CT. Foltynewicz limited the Giants to one run over six innings on May 30. He has posted a 5.48 ERA over eight starts since the All-Star break.

The Nashville Sounds were crowned American Southern Division champions when they defeated the Memphis Redbirds, 5-3, Friday night at AutoZone Park.

For the first time since 2007, the Sounds are heading to the Pacific Coast League Playoffs. With the best record in the PCL (78-56), Nashville will look for its first league championship since the 2005 season.

It’s the fifth division title for the Sounds since joining the PCL in 1998. The franchise won the American East Division in 2003 and the American North Division in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The club has been in first place for 94 consecutive days dating back to May 24. The Sounds will play the winner of the American Northern Division in the first round of the playoffs set to begin on Wednesday, September 7.

The Redbirds scored the first two runs of the game when they hopped on the board in the first inning. An RBI groundout by Efren Navarro and run-scoring single by Jose Martinez made it 2-0 after one.

As they’ve done all season, the Sounds came storming back with authority. Two walks in the top of the fourth put a pair of runners on for Renato Nunez who hit a soft single into right field to score Jaycob Brugman with Nashville’s first run.

Moments later, catcher Matt McBride cracked a three-run homer to left field to give the Sounds a 4-2 lead.

The offense was at it again when hot-hitting Josh Rodriguez launched a solo homer into the Memphis bullpen to start the top of the fifth. It was the fourth home run of the road trip for Rodriguez who has driven in 13 runs over his last seven games.

While the Sounds’ offense was putting up runs, starting pitcher Jharel Cotton was settling into a groove. The right-hander retired 17 of the final 18 batters he faced. He allowed two runs over seven innings and picked up his 11th win of the season.

Eduard Santos relieved Cotton and worked a perfect eighth inning before handing off to Bobby Wahl with a 5-2 lead.

The Redbirds tacked on a run in the bottom of the ninth to cut the deficit to 5-3, but Wahl struck out the side to notch his fourth save of the season and start the celebration.

Game four of the five-game series is scheduled for Saturday night in Memphis. Left-hander Dillon Overton (12-5, 3.38) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Kurt Heyer (2-3, 5.92) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Tickets for the 2016 Pacific Coast League playoff dates at First Tennessee Park are now available for purchase at the Nashville Sounds box office and online at www.nashvillesounds.com. The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate.

Maddy Jones(in black) of CCMS dribbles the ball past a Tullahoma defender on Monday night.

After spotting the Harris Middle School soccer team a goal in the 4th minute of Thursday night’s contest, the CCMS soccer team dominated the time of possession the rest of the match to capture the 3 to 1 conference win. Harris netted a goal on a breakaway early but the Lady Raiders tied it before the half. A pair of 2nd half goals made the difference for Coffee County.
Coffee County outshot Harris 13 to 6 on the match with a 7 to 2 advantage in the second half. Pamela Solis of Harris started the scoring as she drilled a long through pass from Ashleigh Pridemore into the net to give Harris a 1 to 0 lead in the 4th minute. Coffee County squandered a few scoring chances in the next 6 minutes before Maddy Jones tied it, unassisted, on a beautiful play in the box in the 12th minute.
In the 2nd half, Coffee County attacked the box and grabbed the lead in the 40th minute as Jones got her 2nd goal coming off an assist from Kyleigh Harner. Ellie Fann notched the Raiders 3rd goal in the 52nd minute unassisted as she kept a ball alive before popping it past the Eaglettes keeper. With a 3 to 1 lead, Coach Travis O’Kelley was content to move his alignment around and let his defense work. The tactic kept Harris bottled up and allowed the Lady Raiders to capture the win.
The win improves Coffee County to 2-0-1 on the season. The Lady Raiders are back in action on Tuesday when they welcome Algood to the home pitch at Coffee County Middle. That non-conference match is set to kick off at 5:30 PM.

Reynaldo Ramirez of Westwood football

A pair of big plays in the first quarter lifted the Westwood football team to a 12 to 0 win over their arch rival Liberty on Thursday night at Dyer-Bouldin Field. The Rockets scored on a 69 yard touchdown run from Trenton Thompson and a 39 yard touchdown run from Reynaldo Ramirez to salt away the win. Ramirez’ touchdown was set up by an interception from the Rocket’s Caiden Mullican.
Coach Chad Dyer used his running game to pound the football against Liberty as the Rockets racked up 220 total yards in the first half. The win improves Westwood’s record to 2 and 2 on the season. Westwood will travel to Unionville next Thursday for a 6:30 game with Community.

Amalia Prater prepares to serve match point for Coffee County Middle School on Thursday

Trailing 13 to 12 in the final set, the Coffee County Lady Raider volleyball team got a side out and a pair of excellent serves from Amalia Prater to capture a thrilling come from behind win over Harris on Thursday night. After dropping 3 heartbreaking matches to open the season, the Lady Raiders saw Harris roar back from a 12 to 9 deficit in the 3rd and final set that ends at 15. Not to be denied, the Lady Raiders scraped together the courage to capture their first win on the year in their home opener.
Harris captured the last 8 points of the 1st set to win that set 25 to 20. Coffee County returned the favor in the 2nd set capturing the last 6 points to knot the match at a set apiece with a 25 to 17 set win. Prater, who finished the night with 1 ace and 5 assists, calmly led the Lady Raiders from the sericve line to the 15 to 13 win in the 3rd set.
Maci Head led Coffee County in aces with 4 and added 3 kills. Kiya Ferrell had 4 kills, a dig and a block while Lauren Brandt added 3 assists and a dig. Coffee County is back home on Tuesday when they welcome South Lincoln to the CCMS gym. That match is set to get underway at 5 PM.

Rachel Henley of CHS Volleyball

Service and hitting errors were once again the story on Thursday for the Coffee County Central High School volleyball team as they lost their first district match of the year 3 sets to 1 to Lincoln County. The Lady Flacons grabbed the 1st two sets 25-22 and 25-21 before Coffee County rallied to capture set #3 25-16. Lincoln County put the Lady Raiders away 25 to 22 in the 4th set to capture the win.
Ten service errors and 26 hitting errors put Coffee County at a disadvantage to the talented Lincoln County squad. Coffee County did get 12 aces and 37 kills but it was not enough to claw out the win. Rachel Henley led the team in aces with 5 while adding 12 assists and 3 digs. Aerial Williams had 10 kills and 6 blocks up front. Sister Alliyah Williams added 7 blocks and 8 kills in the match. Bailey Morgan led the team in assists with 14 while adding 7 digs and 4 kills. Tyana Fenton collected 22 digs from her libero position.
Coffee County will be back at home on Tuesday night when they welcome Columbia to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series. First serve is set for 6 PM, we begin our coverage with the pregame show at 5:50 here on Thunder Radio.

Jenna Garretson of CHS Soccer

After capturing a pair of non-district wins last week, the CHS soccer team made the trek up to Cookeville on Thursday night knowing they would have their hands full against the talented Lady Cavaliers.  Coffee County was outshot on the night 24 to 7 as Cookeville dropped the Lady Raiders 6 to 1.  Adjustments at the half proved to be effective for Coffee County but all the damage was done in the 1^st half as Cookeville built a 6 to 1 halftime lead.

Freshman Jenna Garretson once again had a great night for Coffee County as she drilled home a first half penalty kick to tally the Lady Raiders lone goal.  The kick was awarded after a Cookeville foul in the 18 yard box in the 28^th minute.  Garretson’s goal made it a 3 to 1 game, but 3 Cookeville goals in the final 12 minutes of the 1^st half proved to be the back breaker.  Senior Holli Smithson stopped 18 shots between the pipes as she was bombarded all night long.

Coffee County will travel to McMinnville on Tuesday night for a 7 PM match with Warren County.  Coffee County returns home on Thursday to take on Tullahoma in a 7 PM game at the Raider Soccer Field behind the Raider Academy.