Faith Willoughby races past a Huntland defender on Thursday night. (Photo by Rob Clutter)
The Westwood soccer team was blanked at Huntland on Thursday night 4 to 0. The Lady Hornets scored twice in each half to grab the conference win. Alana Coker had 8 stops in goal for the Lady Rockets. The loss drops Westwood to 1 and 1 on the year.
Westwood travels to Franklin on Tuesday to take on Franklin Middle School. Start time for that match has not been announced.
Matt Kemp might never again be the MVP-caliber player he was just a few years ago with the Dodgers, but as he continues to acquaint himself to a new environment, the veteran outfielder has allowed the Braves to remain confident they were wise to gamble on his remaining capabilities.
After the Braves stranded runners at a frustratingly alarming pace through the first seven innings at Chase Field on Tuesday night, Kemp delivered the decisive bases-clearing double with two outs in the eighth in a 7-4 win over the D-backs.
“Those are the situations you want to be in,” Kemp said. “I’d rather hit with runners on base than with no runners on base. To get in those situations, they don’t always work out the way you want, but that’s one of the reasons we play baseball, that challenge to get those big hits and put your team on top.”
On the way to winning for just the third time in their past 13 games, the Braves stranded eight runners through three innings and 10 through seven innings. Kemp had just four hits in his past 22 at-bats with runners in scoring position when he strolled to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth.
But none of this mattered when Kemp laced Jake Barrett’s 1-1 fastball down the right-field line. The two-run double capped a productive evening for the outfielder, who has batted .269/.344/.436 over 21 games with the Braves.
“The situation doesn’t seem to faze [Kemp],” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s been there and done that. He’s an RBI guy. That’s an understatement to say that [hit] was huge.”
Just 31 and in the midst of his seventh 20-homer season, Kemp finds himself constantly trying to quiet his doubters. The Padres’ intense desire to rid themselves of Kemp’s contract led them to send him to the Braves in exchange for Hector Olivera, who was released before playing a game in the organization.
The Braves did not want any part of Olivera after he returned from his domestic violence suspension and were willing to spend an additional $8.5 million over each of the next three years on Kemp, who has certainly proved he still has value as he has tallied 25 home runs and compiled a .776 OPS.
Kemp did not appreciate Atlanta general manager John Coppolella’s choice to publicly address concerns about the outfielder’s current weight earlier this week. But at the same time, he has repeatedly said he is looking forward to the chance to better himself while living out his childhood dream to play for the Braves.
“The guys here are good,” Kemp said. “They treat me well. We’re having as much fun here as we can in the situation we are in. We want to play good baseball and finish the season strong to go into next season. Where we are in the standings and the way we’ve been playing, we know we can play better.
The Memphis Redbirds scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the Nashville Sounds to a heart-breaking 7-6 loss Thursday night at AutoZone Park.
Armed with a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, the Sounds were three outs away from clinching the American Southern Division title after Round Rock defeated New Orleans.
The celebration was put on hold when Memphis center fielder Harrison Bader drilled a game-tying solo home run off Sounds reliever Aaron Kurcz to level the score at 6-6.
Kurcz retired Matt Williams on a fly out before allowing a double to Breyvic Valera on a ball that glanced off the glove of right fielder Rangel Ravelo. Nick Martini drew a walk, but Kurcz came back to strike out Efren Navarro for the second out.
With two outs and runners at first and second, Jose Martinez hit a hard ground ball up the middle. Joey Wendle made a diving stop, popped up and fired to first. The throw was low and kicked past first baseman Matt Olson allowing Valera to score the winning run from second.
It was a back-and-forth game as the Redbirds jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings.
The Sounds battled back when Olson crushed a two-run homer in the third. In the sixth, Josh Rodriguez drew a bases loaded walk to even the game at 3-3. One batter later, Jaycob Brugman lifted a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Ravelo.
With a 4-3 lead, Olson’s big night continued with a double in the seventh. Matt Chapman followed with an opposite-field two-run blast to give the Sounds a 6-3 lead. Olson and Chapman combined for four extra-base hits, four RBI and four runs scored.
Memphis didn’t go away and scored a run in the seventh, a run in the eighth and the pair of runs in the ninth to win it.
Matt Williams drilled a solo homer off Angel Castro in the seventh, and Navarro plated a run with a base hit up the middle in the eighth.
The Sounds can clinch the American Southern Division with a win in Friday night’s game or a New Orleans loss to Round Rock.
Game three of the five-game series is scheduled for Friday night at AutoZone Park. Right-hander Jharel Cotton (10-6, 4.61) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Mike Mayers (4-6, 3.20) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 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.
The Westwood Cross Country teams traveled to Unionville on Monday afternoon for their season opener with Community, Fayetteville and Harris. The Rocket and Lady Rocket thinclads opened the 2016 season in the same dominating fashion they finished the 2015 season as both the boys’ and girls’ teams came out on top in the meet. Both the Rockets and Lady Rockets had the top overall finisher for each race as Brady Nugent crossed the line first in the boys’ race and Patricia Barrera broke the tape first for the girls.
In the boys’ race, Westwood had the top 6 finishers and 7 of the top 10 racers to easily win the meet. The Rockets ended the day with 13 runners in the top 20 finishers to win the boys team title. Finishing in the top 20 for Westwood were:
1st – Brady Nugent (Time of 10:19)
2nd – Lukas Workman (10:20)
3rd – Bodey Todd (10:20)
4th – Luke Beachboard (11:03)
5th – John Dobson (11:08)
6th – Louie Frazier (11:10)
10th – Wyatt Nugent (11:49)
14th – Jackson Warren
16th- Jeremiah Johnson
17th – Jacob Sherrill
18th – Eli McKamey
19th – Gavin Benson
20th – Ryan Gravely
The Lady Rockets placed 5 young ladies in the top 6 finishers and 9 in the top 17 to win the girls team title as well. Finishing in the top 20 for the Lady Rockets were:
1st – Patricia Barrera (Time of 11:42)
3rd – Sunshine Mai (13:02)
4th – Lizabeth Martinez (14:09)
5th – Alaya “Honey” Barnes (14:10)
6th – Kasen Holt (14:29)
12th – Zoe Mills (15:12)
13th – Marisol Moreno (15:31)
14th – Chloe Martin
15th – Kennedy Young
17th – Gracie Morris
The Westwood Cross Country teams are back in action on Tuesday, August 30th when they head to McMinnville for a meet at Warren County High School.
Bailey Morgan(#4 – far left) and Aliyah Williams(#12) go up for a block against Eaglevile on Wednesday (photo by John StClair – JohnStClairPhoto.com)
The Coffee County Central High School volleyball team took their first loss of the year on Wednesday when they were swept in straight sets at Eagleville. Playing before the Eagleville student body, Coffee County saw 25 hitting errors and 13 service errors doom any chance they had to getting a win against the traditionally tough Lady Eagles. After dropping the first set 25 to 23, Coffee County saw the Lady Eagles close out the match with scores of 25-12 and 25-14 in the final 2 sets.
Rachel Henley led the Lady Raiders in aces with 4 and assists with 5. Bailey Morgan also added 5 assists for Coffee County. Tyana Fenton led Coffee County in digs with 10 while Aerial Williams had 3 of the Lady Raiders 13 kills in the match.
The loss drops the Lady Raiders record to 6 and 1 on the season. The Lady Raiders must now face one of the top teams in the district on Thursday at the Joe Frank Patch Gymnasium when Lincoln County comes to Manchester. First serve is set for 6 PM in that important district match. The Lady Raiders are back at home on Tuesday when Columbia visits “The Patch” for another battle of top district teams. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1st National Bank Hometown Sports Series on Tuesday, beginning at 5:50 PM
After blowing a four-run lead in the ninth inning, the D-backs came back to beat the Braves in the 11th, as Brandon Drury drove in the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly in a 10-9 win on Wednesday night at Chase Field. Jake Lamb hit a one-out double to center, advanced to third on a wild pitch, then came home to score the winning run on Drury’s bases-loaded sac fly off Braves reliever Jose Ramirez (1-1).
“We had it all the way,” D-backs manager Chip Hale joked. “Very proud of the guys for battling.”
Trailing 9-5, Adonis Garcia started Atlanta’s ninth-inning rally with a leadoff home run. Nick Markakis hit an RBI single and Tyler Flowers stroked an RBI double to cut Arizona’s lead to 9-8. Chase d’Arnaud tied it at 9 with a sacrifice fly off Dominic Leone. Arizona’s Enrique Burgos was charged with all four runs in the ninth without recording an out.
Patrick Corbin (5-13) earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief in extras. Jean Segura, Lamb and Paul Goldschmidt homered, as Arizona improved to 5-1 against Atlanta this season, winning for the eighth time in the last 12 matchups between the two clubs.
“This is not an easy game and they did a really good job of battling,” Hale said. “Give them credit for scoring those runs in the ninth, they did not give in.”
Both teams started their aces, but it wasn’t much of a pitching duel. D-backs right-hander Zack Greinke allowed four earned runs in six innings, giving up six hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Braves right-hander Julio Teheran allowed six earned runs on 11 hits in six innings, walking none and striking out four.
Ender Inciarte recorded four hits, including a two-run double off Greinke in the fifth inning. But the former D-back also struck out looking with two out to end the top of the eighth and ninth innings.
“We had a legit chance to win,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It was against one of the better pitchers in baseball. That’s a tough one to lose because it was right there in front of us. It felt like with what we did there in the ninth, we were going to pull it off.”
Greinke recorded the 2,000th strikeout of his career when he fanned Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman to open the fourth. He is the sixth-fastest active pitcher to reach the milestone, according to STATS, LLC, doing so in 385 games. Greinke is the 78th pitcher in MLB history to achieve the feat.
“I guess I don’t really think about it at the moment, but it is a pretty big number,” Greinke said.
Between recording a RBI in both the sixth and ninth innings, Markakis fueled his three-hit night when he doubled and scored in the eighth. The veteran outfielder also shined with the glove racing down the long drives hit by Mitch Haniger and Drury off of Mauricio Cabrera with a runner on first base in the ninth.
“[Markakis] is a leader on this team,” Braves utility man Jace Peterson said. “He doesn’t say much, but he’s a leader on this team, just by the way he plays and the way he handles himself every day. To save the game two plays in a row and then come up with those big hits and keep the line moving was big.”
Even though Teheran says he feels fine physically, he simply hasn’t been the same since he tweaked his right lat muscle on July 22. His fastball velocity has been down a tick and in this latest outing he was unable to command his fastball on the glove side of the plate. The All-Star hurler has allowed at least five earned runs three times as his ERA has gone from 2.46 to 3.15 ERA over his past seven starts.
“I don’t think I did my job,” Teheran said. “I feel good, but it was just a bad game for me.”
In the third, Goldschmidt stole second base, his 20th of the season and Arizona’s 31st steal of August, setting a franchise record for steals in a month. Goldschmidt later hit his 20th homer of the year, becoming just the third first baseman since 1974 to post 20 homers, 20 doubles and 20 stolen bases in consecutive seasons, joining Jeff Bagwell and Ryan Klesko.
Matt Wisler will be on the mound when Atlanta and Arizona conclude this four-game series on Thursday at 8:40 p.m. CT. This will be Wisler’s first appearance since he was demoted to Triple-A Gwinnett earlier this month. Thunder Radio will bring you that broadcast beginning with the pregame show at 7:30 on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.
The Nashville Sounds recorded their 10th shutout victory of the season in a 3-0 win Wednesday night over the Memphis Redbirds at AutoZone Park.
With the Sounds win and the New Orleans win over Round Rock Wednesday night, the Sounds magic number for clinching the American Southern Division now sits at two games. The Sounds can clinch their fifth division championship since joining the Pacific Coast League in 2003 with a win Thursday night and a New Orleans loss.
Four Sounds pitchers combined for a six hit shutout of the Memphis Redbirds in the 3-0 win. Raul Alcantara, Eduard Santos, Ryan Brasier and Bobby Wahl all combined for the shutout victory. Alcantara picked up his fourth win and Wahl recorded his third save in as many opportunities.
It is the second consecutive shutout win for the Sounds who shutout the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-0 in the series finale Tuesday afternoon.
The Sounds took the early 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning as Jaycob Brugman roped a one-out RBI double scoring Rangel Ravelo from first. The RBI was Brugman’s 11th in his last six games.
On the mound for the Sounds to start the game was Raul Alcantara who pitched five shutout innings allowing four hits while striking out a pair. The right-hander has only allowed four earned runs in 40.2 innings pitched in seven Triple-A starts. The five scoreless innings for Alcantara lowered his ERA from 1.01 to 0.89 on the season for the Sounds.
The Sounds added a run in the seventh and eighth innings to extend their lead to 3-0 over the Redbirds.
In the seventh, Matt McBride’s RBI double to left plated Joey Wendle from first to stretch the Sounds lead to 2-0.
Renato Nunez then launched a solo home run for the second consecutive game with his 23 home run of the season to give the Sounds a 3-0 lead in the top of the eighth inning.
Bobby Wahl then came on to pitch the ninth inning for the Sounds to try for his third save as a Sound. Wahl struck out Breyvic Valera to begin the frame before surrendering a base hit to Efren Navarro. Wahl then got the final two batters in Nick Martini and Jose Martinez to pop out to Sounds third baseman Matt Chapman to end the game and secure the Sounds 3-0 win.
The five-game series continues Thursday night with game two against the Redbirds at AutoZone Park. Right-hander Chris Jensen (2-6, 4.50) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Jeremy Hefner (3-6, 5.20) for the Redbirds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 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.
CHS golfer Austin Farris(Photo provided)
The Coffee County Central High School golf teams captured a pair of convincing wins on Tuesday over Grundy County at the historic Sewanee Golf Course. The 9 hole match between the 2 teams saw Coffee County score handily in the win.
The Red Raiders raced past Grundy County 161 to 178. Senior John Parigger led Coffee County with a 2 over par 38. Reid Lawrence was right on his heels at 39. Samuel Prater carded a 41 and Austin Farris got around in 43. The win improves the Red Raiders record to 31 and 6 on the season.
The Lady Raiders crushed Grundy County by a final score of 75 to 120. Ashley Gilliam blistered the course with a 37 while senior Savannah Quick carded a 38. The win improves the Lady Raiders record to 26 and 3 on the season.
Coffee County returns home on Monday for an 18 hole match with Cookeville. That match will tee off at 1 PM at Willowbrook Golf Club.
CCMS running back Marshall Haney(#12 in red) (Photo by John StClair – www.JohnStClairPhoto.com)
Three turnovers in the 4th quarter and a ferocious Tullahoma Middle School defense combined to drop the Coffee County Middle School football team on Tuesday night 20 to 0 in Tullahoma. The Wildcats capitalized on a 4th down conversion in each of their first half scoring drives and added a final touchdown in the last 2 minutes set up by a Red Raider fumble.
After swapping fumbles to begin the game, Tullahoma put together an 8 play drive highlighted by a 4th and 13 conversion with a 36 yard pass completion. That drive culminated in a touchdown with 1:48 left in the opening quarter. On their 2nd drive, Tullahoma converted a 4th and 3 with a 17 yard run and one play later connecting on a 30 yard touchdown pass. The ensuing 2 point conversion was good to make the score 14 to 0 at intermission.
The Tullahoma defense but huge pressure on the Raiders beginning in the 2nd quarter and at one point Coffee County ran 9 straight plays that did not generate positive yardage. The Red Raiders made some improvement in the 2nd half, but the turnovers kept Coffee County off the scoreboard.
Marshall Haney led Coffee County in rushing with 38 yards on 11 attempts. Quarterback Conner Shemwell was harassed all night in the pocket as he was sacked 3 times and knocked twice as much. Shemwell was 4 of 11 on the night with no interceptions. Each of the Raider completions were behind the line of scrimmage and each resulted in a loss of yardage due to the blitzing defense of the Wildcats.
The Red Raiders travel to Shelbyville on Tuesday night to take on Harris Middle School. That game will be played at Shelbyville Central High School. Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM.
The Coffee County Middle School volleyball dropped a straight set decision to White County on Tuesday night in Sparta. The Lady Raiders fell in a pair of hard fought sets 25-23 and 25-23. Coffee County had 5 aces on the match but it was not enough to lift the Lady Raiders to their first win of the year.
The Lady Raiders will host their first home match of the year on Thursday as they welcome Harris to the Coffee County Middle School. That match is set to get underway at 5 PM.