Category: Sports

What in the world has gotten into the Phillies’ offense?

They continued to hit the ball in Tuesday night’s 5-1 victory over the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Peter Bourjos, Cody Asche, Maikel Franco and Tommy Joseph each homered as the Phillies’ offense has been one of the best in baseball the past couple weeks, averaging 5.93 runs per game in their last 14 after averaging 3.11 runs in their first 71. The Phillies, who have won nine of their last 12 games, can sweep the Braves with a victory on Wednesday afternoon.
Braves right-hander Mike Foltynewicz allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings as Ender Inciarte homered in the seventh. Atlanta has lost 10 of its last 14.
The Phillies have hit 22 home runs in their last 14 games after knocking 60 in their first 71. Their 0.85 home runs per game average through June 20 ranked 28th, while their 1.57 homers per game average since then ranks fourth.
Eflin earns ‘W’: Rookie Zach Eflin has been earning his paycheck since his big league debut in Toronto on June 14, when he allowed nine runs in just 2 2/3 innings. He threw the first complete game of his career, just the Phillies’ second of the season. Eflin has a 2.03 ERA in his last four starts, including his strong effort against the Braves. Eflin allowed one run on six hits and struck out six to earn his first big league win. He is the first Phillies’ starter to throw a complete game for his first big league win since Mike Williams in 1992.
After missing the last three games with a right groin injury, Ender Inciarte returned the Braves’ lineup, hitting second and playing center field. Although he grounded into a double play in the first inning, he more than made up for it with a shot to right in the seventh. It was his first home run on the season in 206 at-bats, joining Erick Aybar as Braves to hit their first home runs of the year over the last two nights.
The Braves’ starter had his original return from the disabled list cut short because of rain. Over those three innings against Miami, Foltynewicz allowed a three-run homer. His long-ball problem did not go away in his first full start back, either. Instead of one three-run shot, Foltynewicz allowed four solo shots, ranging from the second batter he faced (Bourjos) to the second-to-last (Joseph) hitter.
Tyrell Jenkins (0-1, 5.79 ERA) will make his first Major League start in place of Julio Teheran, who is receiving treatment in Atlanta for an infection on his right thigh. MLBPipeline.com ranks Jenkins as the Braves’ No. 7 prospect. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. CT on Wednesday.

The Nashville Sounds ended their five game losing streak in fashion by clubbing three home runs to take an 8-2 win over the Memphis Redbirds Tuesday night from AutoZone Park.

Chad Pinder, Ryon Healy, and Bruce Maxwell each homered to pace the Sounds to the win. Healy would finish a triple away from the cycle as the Sounds designated hitter went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and an RBI double to plate half of the Sounds eight runs.

Sounds starter Dillon Overton was brilliant in his return to the club as he went six innings allowing just two runs on seven hits. He picked up his eighth straight win as a Sound and his ninth of the season.

Memphis would take an early 1-0 lead in the second inning on a close play at the plate. After Breyvic Valera hit a two-out single, Dean Anna followed with an RBI single to right to score Valera. Valera barely got in under the Bruce Maxwell tag for the games first run.

Pinder then gave the Sounds a 2-1 lead when he launched his 10th home run of the season in the third inning. Pinder knocked in himself and Rangel Ravelo who singled to left to lead off the inning to put the Sounds on top.

Ryon Healy then blasted a three-run shot to left to put the Sounds up 5-1 in the fifth.

Memphis then answered with an RBI single by Michael McKenry scoring Alberto Rosario to make the score 5-2 Sounds after five.

Bruce Maxwell then launched a two-out solo home run to right-center field to put the Sounds up 6-2 after six.

After a lead-off double from Max Muncy, Healy hot a one-out double to center field to plate Muncy for his fourth RBI of the night. Two batters later Colin Walsh singled to center and Healy scored to put the Sounds up 8-2 after seven.

Ryan Doolittle pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Overton, and Aaron Kurcz pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve an 8-2 Sounds win.

The Sounds wrap up their quick three-game series with the Memphis Redbirds Wednesday night at AutoZone Park. Right-hander Nick Tepesch (7-3, 3.91) gets the start for the Sounds and right-hander Mike Mayers (3-2, 2.41) will start for Memphis. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

As Julio Teheran neared the completion of his strong 115-pitch effort against the Red Sox on April 25, he reacted to the botched defense of a sacrifice bunt attempt by snapping his glove in an agitated manner after receiving the ball back from catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

This one simple reaction signaled Teheran may have indeed regained that same aggressive attitude he had possessed before enduring a frustration-filled 2015 season.
More importantly, Teheran has consistently produced results that provide tangible proof he has indeed distanced himself from last year’s miseries and restored his status as one of baseball’s most productive starting pitchers. His ability to rebound in an impressive manner was awarded on Tuesday night, when he was the only Braves player selected to participate in this year’s All-Star Game.

Teheran’s selection was announced just a few hours after the Braves announced he would miss Wednesday afternoon’s start because of an infection on his right thigh. But given that he may still start during this weekend’s series against the White Sox, he could be available to pitch in the All-Star Game, which will be played on July 12 at San Diego’s Petco Park.
After earning his only previous All-Star selection in 2014, Teheran struggled the majority of the 2015 season and provided reason to wonder if he was capable of regaining his previous promise. But through this season’s first 17 starts, the 25-year-old hurler has posted a 2.72 ERA. He has limited opponents to a .197 batting average and .251 on base percentage — the National League’s second-best mark. His 3-7 record has been influenced by a MLB-low 2.88 run-support average.
As Teheran has produced a 2.07 ERA over his past 14 starts, he has avoided the struggles he encountered against left-handed hitters last year. He has thrown his two-seam fastball less frequently than he did in the past and has shown the ability to consistently command each of his secondary pitches — curveball, slider and changeup.
Fans can vote for the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote until 4 p.m. ET on Friday. The winners, as chosen exclusively by online fan voting totals, will be announced during a Final Vote-themed telecast of “MLB Now” featuring commentary from political analyst Jeff Greenfield, live on MLB Network and MLB.com from 4-5 p.m. ET. MLB Network will provide extensive coverage across all of its studio programming during the Final Vote, including interviews with the candidates, frequent updates, heat maps indicating the cities where votes are being cast for each candidate, news on player and club campaigns and a running countdown clock leading up to the announcement.
Baseball fans have cast nearly 600 million online votes for Final Vote candidates since the program’s inception in 2002. In addition to MLB.com and the official club websites, fans can use their mobile devices to cast votes at MLB.com/vote or via text message. To receive the ballot, text the word “VOTE” to 89269. To vote for a specific player, fans can text their choice to 89269. EXAMPLE: Text “A3” to vote for AL Player 3 or “N3” to vote for NL Player 3. Message and data rates may apply. Text “STOP” to end and “HELP” for information. Mobile voting in Canada also is available and fans should text their choices to 101010.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Final Vote will include social balloting, as Twitter support for the 10 candidates over the last six hours of balloting will count toward their vote totals. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ET on Friday, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated as part of the official vote total used to determine the winners.
On Tuesday, July 12, watch the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 87th All-Star Game, in San Diego, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International’s independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.

The Phillies seem to have finally unlocked the secrets to their own ballpark.

After struggling offensively at Citizens Bank Park for most of the season, they have been hitting the ball much better on their current six-game homestand. That included Monday’s 8-2 victory over the Braves on Independence Day. The Phillies pounded out eight extra-base hits, including home runs from Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera, as Jerad Eickhoff pitched superbly through 7 2/3 innings.
Maikel Franco sends a home run to left center field, breaking the game open for the Phillies and making it 7-1
Braves shortstop Erick Aybar hit a solo homer in the first inning to give the Braves the lead, but they got little going after that.
The Phillies scored a season-high seven runs in the second inning. It included six extra-base hits, with doubles from Cameron Rupp, Tommy Joseph and Peter Bourjos, a triple from Cesar Hernandez and home runs from Herrera and Franco. Franco’s homer in the second travelled a projected 448 feet, making it the Phillies’ longest of the season. He swung hard and missed on the first pitch in the at-bat, before calming down and crushing the second.
“On that first swing, yes,” Franco said with a laugh, acknowledging he wanted to go deep. “But on the second one, I just tried to see the ball and put good contact on it.”
The Phillies teed off on Joel De La Cruz, who was making his second Major League start. After working around a leadoff double by Herrera in the first, there was no holding the Phillies back in the second. Five runs had crossed the plate by the time De La Cruz recorded the second out of the inning. To his credit, De La Cruz limited the damage — albeit a lot of it — to that frame. He got the third out on the 10th batter of the inning, the first in a stretch of retiring 13 of the final 15 Phillies he faced.
“Coming into the dugout after the second inning, I just told myself, ‘Man, I was missing some pitches out there,’ so I kind of recollected myself to go out there and just keep the ball low, get really aggressive with these at-bats and make the adjustments that you had to,” De La Cruz said through an interpreter. “I think that helped me out the remainder of the game, with obviously more of the results I was looking for.”
Phillies right-hander Eickhoff has been cruising since the end of May. He is 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA in his last seven starts, including this dominant effort against the Braves. He allowed two runs on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. It marked the first time a Phillies starter pitched more than seven innings since Vince Velasquez’s complete game on April 14 against the Padres.
“I feel good,” Eickhoff said. “I feel good mechanically and mentally. I’m just going to try and stay right where I want — not too high and not too low. I’m going to try and help this game any way I can.”
Things looked a lot different before the Phillies’ second inning. The Braves got off to a quick 1-0 lead when Aybar put the first pitch he saw from Eickhoff over the right-field wall. It was Aybar’s first blast of the season and his first as a Brave. The last home run for Aybar came on Oct. 3, 2015, as a member of the Angels.
Since returning from the DL on June 12, Aybar has hit .319 (22-for-69) and posted an .821 OPS.
De La Cruz became the first pitcher to allow eight or more extra-base hits to the Phillies in a game since the Cardinals’ Dizzy Dean gave up eight in 14 innings on May 26, 1933, at Sportsman’s Park. It was the first time the Phillies had eight extra-base hits in a game since July 26, 2015, against the Cubs. It was also the first time the Phillies began a game with eight consecutive extra-base hits since June 5, 1988, against the Cardinals.
Eickhoff has 18 quality starts in his first 25 career outings, which ties Hall of Fame right-hander Robin Roberts and right-hander Art Mahaffey for the most quality starts through the first 25 starts of a Phillies’ career (since 1913). The last two pitchers to have at least 18 in their first 25 starts were the Mets’ Jacob deGrom (20) and the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka (19).
Mike Foltynewicz (2-2, 3.72 ERA) gets to make a proper return from the disabled list in the second of the three-game series at 6:05 p.m. CT on Tuesday against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast beginning at 6 PM on the Braves Radio Network.

The Nashville Sounds lost their season-high fifth straight game in an 11 inning pitcher’s duel 2-1 against the Memphis Redbirds Monday night from AutoZone Park.

Alberto Rosario hit the game winning RBI single to right field to score Dean Anna to give the Redbirds the 2-1 series opening win. Carlos Peguero led off the inning with an infield single. Sounds reliever Eduard Santos then lost his command and issued a walk to Dean Anna to have runners on first and second with no outs. Breyvic Valeria then got the free pass from Santos to load the bases for Matt Williams. Williams grounded out to Renato Nunez who threw out Peguero at home to extend the game. Rosario then stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and hit the game-winner over Matt Olson’s head to give the Redbirds the 2-1 win.

The game was sent into extra innings when Tucker Healy blew his third save of the season in the bottom of the ninth inning. After striking out Randal Grichuk to start the frame, Healy then walked David Washington to put the tying run on base. Healy then struck out Peguero, and the Redbirds were down to their final out. Anna then singled to right to put the tying run at second. Healy then had the Redbirds down to their final strike until Valeria singled home Washington to tie the game and send it to extras.

Max Muncy played hero in the bottom of the 10th inning as he threw out Rosario at home on Grichuk’s single to left.

The Sounds plated the game’s first run in the bottom of the fifth inning off of back-to-back doubles from Chad Pinder and Matt Olson to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead.

The Sounds lost despite an excellent performance from starter Chris Smith. Smith retired the first 11 batters he faced before giving up his first hit of the evening to Redbirds center fielder Randal Grichuk on a two-out double in the fourth inning.

Smith’s night was done after seven scoreless innings in his eighth quality start of the season. The veteran right-hander struck out nine and gave up just three hits in the no decision.

Smith gave way to J.B. Wendelken who pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out one and he walked a batter.

The Sounds will look to rebound in game two of the three-game series Tuesday night at AutoZone Park. Left-hander Dillon Overton (8-4, 3.01) will start for the Sounds in his first game back from the Athletics and the Redbirds will counter with right-hander Deck McGuire (6-6, 4.15). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

J.T. Realmuto homered and drove in two runs, Adam Conley pitched six strong innings and the Miami Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 on Sunday night in a game played on a U.S. Army post.

Christian Yelich also finished with two RBIs. He and Realmuto had run-scoring singles during a two-run fifth.

Martin Prado added an RBI single in the seventh to help the wild card-contending Marlins earn a split of the four-game series and win the first regular-season game — in any sport — held at an active military installation.

This game was played at a ballpark built from scratch in less than four months at the sprawling Army post that’s home to 55,000 service members, including the famed paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division.

Conley (5-5) allowed four hits in the Marlins’ best outing by a starter in a week. In Miami’s previous five games, each starter allowed at least four earned runs and none finished the sixth.

Matt Wisler (3-8) had six strikeouts for the Braves, giving him 15 in his last two starts, but he allowed three earned runs in six-plus innings.

Realmuto led off the ninth with a towering homer to center field off reliever Tyrell Jenkins to put the Marlins up 5-0.

They pulled within 1½ games of the NL’s second wild card and improved to 4-8 against the last-place Braves — a mark that’s still their worst against an NL East opponent. Two of those wins belong to Conley, who threw eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over Atlanta on June 22 in Miami.

The Braves scored two runs in the ninth off A.J. Ramos on Erick Aybar’s RBI double and A.J. Pierzynski’s sacrifice fly before Ramos struck out Jace Peterson to end it.

In a joint effort from Major League Baseball and the players’ association, an overgrown golf course was cleared out and transformed into a major league-caliber field surrounded by temporary stands that were packed by 12,582 service members — most of whom cheered and chopped for the local favorite Braves.

Looking rather comfortable in such a setting, Wisler breezed through the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth.

Adeiny Hechavarria led off with a triple off the fence in center, then scored two batters later on Realmuto’s single to right that fell in front of a diving Nick Markakis. Prado then singled to center and Yelich followed with his RBI single to right that scored Realmuto.

Prado made it 3-0 with his RBI single in the seventh and Yelich added a run-scoring sacrifice fly off Jenkins an inning later.

RHP Joel De La Cruz (0-1, 4.50 ERA) makes his second career start in the first game of a three-game series at Philadelphia. He gave up three runs in seven innings of a 3-0 loss to Cleveland on June 29.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game beginning at 3 PM as part of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.

The largest crowd in First Tennessee Park history of 11,759 fans watched the Oklahoma City Dodgers finish off a four-game sweep of the Nashville Sounds with a 4-1 win Sunday night.

It’s the first time the Sounds (47-37) have been swept in nearly a calendar year. The last time was August 15-18 of last season when the El Paso Chihuahuas came into First Tennessee Park and won four straight.

Both starters were locked in early and didn’t allow any runs. Zach Neal, working in his first game since being optioned from Oakland, worked four shutout innings after being used primarily out of the bullpen by the A’s.

Ross Striping, who is making his way back from injury for the Dodgers, went 3 2/3 scoreless innings of his own. Neither starter factored into the decision.

The game changed when Neal was lifted after four. Oklahoma City quickly put a pair of runs on the board in the fifth against Chris Jensen. Cole Figeroa plated the first run with a triple to the gap in right-center. With Figeroa leading off third, Jensen balked to force him in with the second run of the game.

Nashville got one run back in the sixth but could have had more if not for a running catch by Andrew Toles in right field.

Carson Blair led off the frame with a walk and moved to second on Jaycob Brugman’s single to right-center. After Arismendy Alcantara moved both runners up 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt, Oklahoma City turned to reliever Sam LeCure.

Max Muncy sent a line drive to the gap in right-center that Toles ran down to save a run and extra bases. The sacrifice fly scored Blair to trim the deficit in half at 2-1.

It stayed 2-1 until the Dodgers (46-36) got two big insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Corey Brown drilled the right field foul pole for a solo home run, and Micah Johnson drove in the other run with a double to left-center.

Jacob Rhame came in for the ninth and retired the Sounds in order to notch his fifth save of the season.

Carlos Frias earned the win in relief and Jensen was tagged with the loss.

The Sounds head to Memphis for a three-game series set to begin Monday night. Right-hander Chris Smith (5-6, 4.18) starts for Nashville against right-hander Alex Reyes (2-1, 4.93) for Memphis. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The Braves were determined not to let Jose Fernandez beat them twice in two days. They pounced on the hard-throwing right-hander in the first inning on Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer, but the big damage came in a seven-run sixth inning that powered the way to a 9-1 win over the Marlins on Saturday at Turner Field.

Jace Peterson put an exclamation point on the inning with a three-run homer on Fernandez’s 100th and final pitch. The night before, it was Fernandez who was celebrating at second base with a flexed biceps pose after collecting the go-ahead two-run double in the 12th inning of Miami’s 7-5 win.
“I don’t think last night has to do with anything with the results today,” Fernandez said. “I felt I was throwing the ball well. They played better. That simple.”
Right-hander Lucas Harrell, who made his first big league start since April 15, 2014, kept Miami in check with one run over six innings with five strikeouts. Ichiro Suzuki drove in Miami’s lone run with a triple in the third inning, which at the time trimmed the Braves’ lead to 2-1.
“I thought he carved us up pretty good, honestly,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We didn’t do much with them. He cut the ball to both sides of the plate, and he used a breaking ball and changeup and does a number of things. We just didn’t do a whole lot with him.”
Atlanta has now taken two of three in the series and eight of 11 on the season. These teams will conclude their four-game set on Sunday at Fort Bragg, in the first game in any professional sport to be played on an active U.S. military base.
“We came out, faced a good pitcher, battled and were able to get to him late,” Peterson said. “It’s a great win, a great way to kind of start the month, and we’re looking forward to going to Fort Bragg tomorrow and trying to do it again.”
Peterson quickly extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games with his leadoff double in the first inning and would go on to score the first run on Freeman’s two-run homer. In the sixth, the second baseman put the finishing touches on Atlanta’s seven-run inning when he sent a three-run shot over the right-field wall. During his hitting streak, Peterson is batting .358 (19-for-53) with all three of his home runs.
“It’s something,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said about Peterson’s success at the plate. “Ever since he’s come back [from Triple-A Gwinnett], he’s kind of been our catalyst and just getting things going. I’m happy as I can be for him.”
A day after delivering his first pinch-hit, Fernandez gave up seven runs, which is the most he has ever allowed in an inning. Four were earned because Emilio Bonifacio reached on first baseman Chris Johnson’s error. Fernandez was lifted after Peterson’s three-run homer. Fernandez’s previous high for runs in an inning was six during his rookie season. On May 27, 2013, the right-hander gave up six runs in the second at Tampa Bay.
“Rough day, man,” Fernandez said. “It’s so funny because baseball is so fantastic. It gets you back on your toes and get ready for your next start. It’s that simple.”
With the Braves’ starting rotation depleted due to injuries, regression and the recent Bud Norris trade, Harrell excelled in his spot start for Atlanta. The right-hander, who was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday, struck out four of the first six batters he faced before giving up Ichiro’s RBI triple in the third. But Harrell surrendered only one more hit across his next three innings en route to his first Major League win since defeating the Athletics on Aug. 14, 2013, while pitching for the Astros.
“Today was huge. Lucas was really good,” Snitker said. “I had heard sinkers, sliders, keeps the ball on the ground, and he went out on the attack. [It was a] big, big start. We needed that for the bullpen, especially after last night.”
The quest for 3,000 MLB hits isn’t the only milestone Ichiro has been pursuing. Another storyline being followed by the Japanese media that covers the 42-year-old is the triples mark. With his RBI triple in the third inning, Ichiro now has 92 three-base hits in the Majors and 115 total, when you combine his Japanese numbers. The Japanese record for triples is 115, held by Yutaka Fukumoto. In terms of 3,000 hits, Ichiro is at 2,989, just 11 away.
Derek Dietrich matched a single-season record before the All-Star break when he was plunked by a pitch in the ninth inning by Dario Alvarez. It marked the 17th time he has been hit by a pitch this year. That’s the most ever by a Marlins player in an entire season. Carlos Delgado was also hit 17 times in 2005.
The Marlins and the Braves will be making history on Sunday when they play their series finale at 7:05 p.m. CT at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It will mark the first regular-season game for any professional sport at an active U.S. military base. Left-hander Adam Conley (4-5, 3.90 ERA) gets the start for Miami.  Atlanta will counter with Matt Wisler, who has recorded three straight quality starts after surrendering 13 total runs in his first two June starts. The right-hander’s lone appearance against the Marlins this year came on April 17, when he pitched one inning of scoreless relief and earned the save in the Braves’ 6-5, 10-inning win.  Thunder Radio will bring you the action as we join the Atlanta Braves Radio Network broadcast in progress at 8 PM.

The Oklahoma City Dodgers got another strong performance from a starting pitcher in a 5-1 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 8,754 fans Saturday night at First Tennessee Park.

Right-hander Trevor Oaks allowed one run over eight innings and earned his first Triple-A win. Dodger starters have allowed only two earned runs in 19 innings over the first three games of the series.

Oaks struck out five and didn’t allow a run until Bruce Maxwell hit a solo homer in the fifth inning.

By that time, Oklahoma City built a 4-0 lead thanks to Micah Johnson’s RBI single in the second and a three-run fourth.

Sounds starter Jesse Hahn issued a one-out walk to Cole Figeroa in the fourth, then allowed a two-run homer to Zach Walters to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

Oaks had retired eight of the last nine batters he faced when Maxwell launched the first pitch he saw from him into The Band Box in deep right field to get Nashville on the board. It was the fourth home run of the season for Maxwell.

After the homer, Oaks went right back into a groove and set down the next nine batters he faced in order.

Jaycob Brugman lined a triple to the right-center gap with one out in the eighth but he was left stranded. Arismendy Alcantara hit a soft comebacker to Oaks for the second out, and Max Muncy struck out to end the inning.

Oaks started the ninth and was greeted by Renato Nunez who lined a single back up the middle. The right-hander was pulled after eight-plus innings in favor of reliever Matt West who shut down any hope of a late rally.

Hahn allowed four runs (three earned) in four innings of work and was hit with the loss. Brugman was the lone Sounds player to post a multi-hit game.

The series finale is set for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Zach Neal (6-1, 2.83) starts for Nashville against right-hander Ross Stripling (0-1, 3.38) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The Coffee County Middle School softball team was presented a pair of checks totaling $8000 on Saturday at Al White Ford/Lincoln. The checks were their reward for their participation in the Lincoln “Driven to Give” event earlier this spring. The Lady Raiders lined up 400 test drives of new Lincoln vehicles for the event coordinated through Al White Ford/Lincoln and funded by the Lincoln Motor Company.
CCMS Softball coach Lana Creek was effusive in her praise for the folks that made the event such a huge success. “Big thanks to Al White Motors for giving us this opportunity” said Creek. “I also want to thank the parents for all their hard work that day in leading up to the event.” “We plan to use that money towards the expansion of the facilities at the CCMS softball field and we also hope to buy new uniforms and hitting equipment” added Creek when asked about the plans for the money.
Al White’s “Driven to Give” event coordinator Baxter White said that the checks were part of the $38,000 given to local teams and parent organizations during the spring semester through the Al White dealership. Al White Ford/Lincoln, at 2002 Hillsboro Boulevard, also helped local organizations raise $38,000 in the fall semester too through the community outreach programs sponsored by Ford and Lincoln. According to White, future local test drive fund raising events have been scheduled into 2017.