Category: Sports

The Nashville Sounds rolled to another big win Tuesday afternoon by crushing three home runs in a 13-4 rout of the Omaha Storm Chasers at Werner Park.

Nashville took three of four against Omaha and have won six consecutive series dating back to May 14. During the six-series stretch, the Sounds have a record of 20-3. Overall, they’re 36-22, the best record in all of Triple-A baseball.

Four big innings and a solid performance from starter Chris Smith contributed to the series-clinching win. The Sounds plated five runs in the third, three runs in the sixth and eighth innings, and another two runs in the ninth.

Omaha held a brief 1-0 lead before the five-run outburst in the third. The big hit came from Andrew Lambo who roped a two-run triple down the right field line to give Nashville a 5-1 lead.

It remained 5-1 until the sixth when four hits brought in three more runs. Matt Olson and Matt McBride singled to put a pair of runners on for Jaycob Brugman who lined a double to right field to score both runners. Moments later, a base hit by Renato Nunez scored Brugman to extend the lead to 8-1.

The Storm Chasers got single tallies in the sixth and seventh against Smith. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. The Sounds have now won five consecutive games in which he has started.

The offense kept on coming for Nashville. The eighth started with McBride being hit by a pitch from Matt Murray.

Three pitches later, Brugman launched a two-run homer to right field to make it a 10-3 game. Murray bounced back by retiring the next two batters, but couldn’t do the same against Ryon Healy. The first baseman drilled a 1-0 pitch from Murray over the left-center wall for a solo blast to build the lead to 11-3.

McBride capped his huge day at the plate with the Sounds’ third home run of the day, a two-run shot in the top of the ninth to close the scoring at 13-4. The catcher finished 4-for-4 with four runs scored.

Brugman’s two hits brought in four runs, and Healy finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Every Sound in the lineup had a hit or knocked in a run.

The team has an off day Wednesday before beginning a five-game, four-day series in Oklahoma City on Thursday. The two teams will play a doubleheader to start the series with game one set to begin at 4:35 p.m. Thursday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

The Coffee County Lady Raider basketball team got their summer camp schedule underway on Monday as they traveled to Trenton, Georgia to take part in the Dade County team camp. The varsity team got wins over Pickens County and Northwest Whitfield, Georgia. The JV team got wins over Pickens County, Georgia and North Sand Mountain, Alabama.
Coach Herb Horton was happy with his team’s performance on the day. “Our kids played hard and showed great effort all day” said Horton. Horton was pleased with his team’s ball movement on offense and their strong work on defense in both full and half court sets. Due to the unavailability of Aerial Williams due to injury, Coach Horton was pleased with the inside work of some of his younger players.
The Lady Raiders return to Trenton on Tuesday and Wednesday for 8 more games this week. Coffee County will play 2 varsity and 2 JV games each day. Coffee County will resume play on Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time at Dade County. The Lady Raiders travel to Lincoln Memorial University for a team camp next week. Coffee County will also attend team camps at Shelbyville and Cumberland County later this month.

Yangervis Solarte launched a three-run moonshot to the right-field seats in the third inning, while Padres starting pitcher Christian Friedrich made sure Petco Park remained a house of horrors for the Braves.

“He’s got life. He’s just got a lot of energy in the lineup,” said Padres manager Andy Green of Solarte. “You see the passion out on the baseball field, he loves playing baseball. I think it’s infectious in that way, and he’s swinging the bat really well. The home run was big.”
Friedrich tossed 6 2/3 sharp innings, allowing just two runs on six hits, while striking out seven, as the Padres beat Atlanta at home for the 11th straight time, 7-2. San Diego’s winning streak vs. the Braves — which dates back to Aug. 28, 2012 — is its longest against a single opponent in Petco Park history.
“[I’m] grateful for every opportunity, every start,” said Friedrich, who has filled in brilliantly in a banged up Padres rotation. “It’s a blessing that I came over here. They put me back together when I was a little banged up and I couldn’t be happier starting again.”
Atlanta starter Williams Perez made an abrupt exit due to right triceps soreness in the bottom of the fifth inning, after allowing an RBI double to Matt Kemp — Kemp’s second RBI of the night. Perez allowed six earned runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 frames.
Chase d’Arnaud went 3-for-5 for Atlanta with a seventh-inning RBI single ahead of Freddie Freeman. But Carlos Villanueva would whiff Freeman, leaving the tying run in the on-deck circle.
“I remember when I was here [as third base coach] a few years ago, we had a hard time in this ballpark and we had good teams,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We were doing good and fighting for the division and then we’d come in here and for some reason, it was a tough place for us to play.”
Solarte’s third-inning homer had a launch angle of 35 degrees, according to Statcast™ — the third highest launch angle on a Padres homer this season, trailing only a pair of Kemp dingers. He would later add a single, giving him six multi-hit contests in his last 11 games. “He was swinging the bat well for us when he got hurt,” Green said. “It was a big loss for us when he went down. He’s a left-handed bat in the middle of the order we really rely on.”
After surrendering Jon Jay’s leadoff double that led to a first inning run, Perez retired eight of the next nine batters he faced. But his good fortune evaporated in the third inning when Wil Myers’ swinging bunt hugged the infield grass and remained fair, resulting in a two-out infield single. Kemp followed with a single to set the stage for Solarte to drill his decisive shot on a hanging curveball.
“The three-run homer just wasn’t a very good pitch,” Snitker said. “It didn’t break well and didn’t have a lot of teeth in it. It just kind of stayed right there for him to hit.”
Double the fun: Jay roped a leadoff double to right-center field and came around to score on Kemp’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning. Jay leads the National League with 19 doubles this season — including seven in his last 11 games.
“Those first four guys are going to make us go when they’re swinging it well,” Green said. “…I think our lineup is lengthening out right now, and we’re getting good swings up and down the lineup.”
Freeman vomited six times on Monday and he certainly did not look good while enduring his third three-strikeout game of the season. Freeman struck out with two on and no outs in the first inning and then stranded two more runners in the seventh with his third strikeout. The first baseman has hit .122 (6-for-49) with runners in scoring position.
Aaron Blair will attempt to get back on track when this series resumes on Tuesday at 9:10 p.m. CT. Blair worked four scoreless innings before surrendering three two-run homers in the fifth inning of Thursday’s loss to the Giants. .

Eric Surkamp tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 3-1 win over the Omaha Storm Chasers Monday night at Werner Park.

With the win, the Sounds avoided back-to-back losses for the first time since May 5 and 6 and have the best record in the Pacific Coast League at 35-22.

Surkamp has been back-and-forth between Nashville and Oakland for the better part of the 2016 season. The 6 1/3 innings signaled the longest outing against any opponent since he tossed seven frames on April 29 against Round Rock.

The left-hander was staked to a lead before he threw a pitch against the Storm Chasers. Jaycob Brugman started the night with a double to left-center and Chad Pinder followed with a base hit up the middle.

Matt Olson knocked in the first run of the game with an RBI groundout and Renato Nunez followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Sounds a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the first.

Surkamp worked around several base runners in the first three innings, and then settled into a groove. When he retired Hunter Dozier to end the third, it started a streak of 11 Omaha batters retired in a row. With one out in the seventh, he walked Travis Snider before being lifted by Manager Steve Scarsone.

Aaron Kurcz was summoned from the bullpen and worked around an error by shortstop Chad Pinder and an infield single. With two outs and the bases loaded, he got Christian Colon to bounce out to Pinder to end the inning.

Omaha got on the board in the eighth when Hunter Dozier and Irving Falu came up with back-to-back two-out hits. Falu’s RBI single off J.B. Wendelken trimmed the Sounds’ lead to 3-1.

Tucker Healy worked the bottom of the ninth and worked around a one-out walk to earn his third save of the season.

The series finale is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Werner Park. Right-hander Chris Smith (3-5, 4.24) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Jonathan Dziedzic (1-5, 5.43) for the Storm Chasers. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m.

Summer high school baseball got underway on Friday as the Red Raider baseball team split a pair of games in the Tullahoma tournament. In the opener, the varsity Raiders pounded out 10 hits in 5 innings to claim a 9 to 1 win over Warren County. In the nightcap, a team of freshmen and sophomore Raiders saw Tullahoma get a walk-off single to steal a 3 to 2 win from Coffee County.
Against Warren County, Jacob Duncan and Garrett Eldridge combined on a 2 hitter as each stayed under 40 pitches in the 5 inning win. Warren County got a pair of walks and scored on an error in the bottom of the first inning to notch their lone run.
Nathaniel Tate had a single, a home run and 3 RBI to lead the Raider hitting attack. Jacob Langham was 2 for 2 with a walk and 3 runs scored and Noah Anderson had a pair of hits and 2 stolen bases. Zach Morgan added a triple for Coffee County.
Saturday’s games in the tournament were rained out. The Raiders will be back in action on Monday and Tuesday nights. On Monday, the Raiders travel to Fayetteville for a doubleheader against Lincoln County. The Raiders will host their first home game on Tuesday as Lincoln County comes to Powers Field for a doubleheader. First pitch for both contests is set for 5 PM.

The Coffee County Lady Raider softball team will be conducting 3 days of camps June 6-7-8. The cost for the camp is $20.00 per day or $50.00 for all 3 days. Groups will split by grade level. The younger group will be going into grades 3-5. The older group will be going into grades 6-8. Emphasis will be on hitting/slapping, defense, pitching, and most of all, what it takes to be a Lady Raider on and off the field. Water will be provided, but each girl must have their own glove, helmet, and shoes. Some bats will be available, but not the smaller sizes. Camp times are 9AM to 12 Noon. Pre register by June 1 to receive a t shirt. Instructors will be current Lady Raiders and coaches and possibly a few surprises!! To pre-register, please text or email Jackie Graham Wilder or Coach Steve Wilder at 731-445-4897, 731-445-4896. Wilders@k12coffee.net or wilderj@k12coffee.net

Two home runs from Corey Seager and one each from Kiké Hernandez and Yasmani Grandal keyed a wave of offense that the Dodgers rode to a 12-6 win over the Braves and their third series sweep of the season.

Every starter from the Dodgers had a hit, including pitcher Scott Kazmir, who recorded the first multi-hit game of his career. Seager’s star shined brightest, as he went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs. It was his second multi-homer game of the series and the third of his career. He went deep three times in Friday’s opener.
“Corey’s doing what Corey’s doing, but there were a lot of productive at-bats and you see Trayce [Thompson] on base three times,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Some big hits throughout. It was good to see us open up a little bit.”
Braves starting pitcher Matt Wisler had his worst start of the season, allowing a career-high eight earned runs, at least one in each of his four innings. That snapped the right-hander’s streak of six straight quality starts and raised his ERA from 3.16 to 3.98.
“It was a pretty bad effort from me today,” Wisler said. “I think I cost this team pretty bad. I got the first two outs quick and after that I fell behind. They really made me pay today.”
Two days after his first three-homer game, Seager went deep in the fourth and seventh innings and added an RBI single in the fifth. Seager’s five home runs in the series were two more than any Braves player other than Freddie Freeman has hit this season.
“Some more good pitches to handle. Put some good swings on them, just one of those days,” Seager said. “That’s what you look for, those moments that you want to enjoy when they’re happening and try to ride it as long as you can.”
Staked to a 2-0 lead, Wisler surrendered three consecutive hits during the Dodgers’ two-run first inning and allowed Hernandez to open the second with a homer. But the bottom truly fell out in the four-run third inning, when he issued a leadoff walk and then surrendered four consecutive hits, including Grandal’s three-run homer. The Braves right-hander produced a 2.91 ERA in the 15 starts he had made since last allowing as many as seven earned runs on Sept. 2.
“I didn’t have great command of my secondary stuff early in the game,” Wisler said. “I think I just took it from the bullpen and was thinking too much about it. That’s one thing I’ve got to work on this week, just stop thinking and just throw my offspeed pitches.”
Kazmir was chugging along through five innings, allowing just one hit since the Braves’ two-run first. But back-to-back hits in the sixth prompted a visit from the trainer, who then pulled Kazmir from the game because of cramping in his left quad.
The Braves gained their 2-0 first-inning lead when Nick Markakis began his three-hit performance with the first of his two RBI singles. Jeff Francoeur notched his second double when Atlanta dented the scoreboard again the sixth. But by the time Adonis Garcia concluded his two-hit game with an RBI double during a two-run eighth inning, the visitors had already positioned themselves to fall to 11-4 in games in which they’ve scored at least five runs.
“We finally scored some runs,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We can’t get it together, where we get a little offense going and get one of those hot [all-around] games.”
Williams Perez will take the mound when Atlanta begins a three-game series in San Diego on Monday at 9:10 p.m. CT. The Braves have lost 10 straight and 12 of the past 13 games played at Petco Park.  Thunder Radio will bring you that broadcast on the Braves Radio Network beginning at 8 PM with the pregame show.

The Omaha Storm Chasers held off a late surge from the Nashville Sounds in a sloppy 6-4 win Sunday afternoon at Werner Park.

In a game that featured 12 walks, 3 hit batters and 2 errors, Omaha hung on to even the series after Nashville scored three runs in the ninth inning.

Trailing 6-1 going into the ninth, Renato Nunez started the rally with a solo homer to right-center field – his 11th blast of the season.

Ryon Healy followed with a double and was quickly brought in when Rangel Ravelo launched the second home run of the inning – this time a two-run shot to trim the deficit to 6-4.

That’s where it would end as Omaha hurler Andrew Edwards shut it down the rest of the way. He got Joey Wendle to bounce out to first and Matt McBride to pop out to end the game.

It was a slow moving game early as pitchers struggled to find any rhythm. Nashville’s Daniel Mengden labored through five innings and allowed two runs. The Sounds would end up using five pitchers while Omaha used four after starter Brian Flynn was finished after 2 2/3 innings.

It was 0-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Mengden clipped the jersey of Christian Colon with a pitch. Words were exchanged between the two before things settled. Moments later, Jorge Bonifacio hit a two-out, two-run homer to give the Storm Chasers a 2-0 lead.

Eduard Santos relieved Mengden after five and promptly issued three walks in the seventh. An RBI single by Ramon Torres and bases-clearing double by Colon busted the game open and gave Omaha a 6-1 lead.

The Sounds had a number of chances to put runs on the board but couldn’t cash in the opportunities. They left 13 runners on base and went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

In his 11th start of the season between Double-A Midland and Nashville, Mengden suffered his first loss. Matt Murray picked up the win in relief for Omaha.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Monday night at Werner Park. Left-hander Eric Surkamp (2-1, 3.91) starts for Nashville against right-hander Dillon Gee (0-0, 0.00) for Omaha. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Clayton Kershaw, the National League Pitcher of the Month for May, started June by battling through six shutout innings and scoring a run as the Dodgers blanked the Braves, 4-0, on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw allowed three hits, struck out a season-low four, walked one, was called for a balk and hit the opposing pitcher (emergency starter Bud Norris) with a pitch for the first time in his career. But the Dodgers’ ace also raised his record to 8-1, lowered his ERA to 1.46 and escaped three innings in which the Braves had runners in scoring position.
“I wasn’t great tonight,” said Kershaw. “Physically I felt fine, but the ball just wasn’t coming out. One of those days where it was a grind. Thankfully, I made it through six.”
The 27-pitch sixth inning started with Kershaw hitting Norris near the left shoulder.
“The ball was cutting all over the place. I just didn’t have a great feel,” said Kershaw. “I would have been mad, too. It doesn’t feel good, especially when not expecting it.”
Kershaw said the decision to lift him after 96 pitches, and season-low six innings, was manager Dave Roberts’.
“He obviously saw the sixth and it wasn’t very good, fatigue or not,” said Kershaw. “I’m sure he saw enough. I guess it’s something to take solace in, but six innings isn’t why we’re here, it’s not acceptable. I’ll take it for tonight but I don’t ever want to leave three innings for the bullpen.”
“After 25ish pitches in that inning. I felt six was good,” said Roberts. “The start prior [six days earlier in New York], 114 pitches, so that was good for him and it was good for our ‘pen to step up and give him three innings.”
Joe Blanton, Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen followed Kershaw with one scoreless inning each.
Kershaw scored the first run of the game after his one-out infield single and a two-out walk by Corey Seager in the third inning. Justin Turner singled up the middle, and Kershaw scored from second despite Seager’s risky attempt to go from first to third, barely eluding third baseman Adonis Garcia’s tag with a headfirst slide before Kershaw touched home.
Norris, subbing for the injured Mike Foltynewicz, allowed one run in five innings but slipped to 1-7, as the Dodgers added three insurance runs against the Braves’ bullpen in the eighth on Joc Pederson’s RBI bunt single, an A.J. Ellis sacrifice fly and pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal’s RBI single.
“It was a great start,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Norris.”He said I’ll give you all the bullets I have. He used them all and then some.”
Trayce Thompson, who homered and doubled Friday night, became the first Dodgers player to walk three times and steal three bases in the same game since Roberts in 2004, and the first Dodgers rookie with three steals in a game since Dee Gordon in 2011. Thompson’s third swipe came on a double-steal in the eighth inning that put runners at second and third with one out, allowing him to score the third run of the game on Ellis’ sac fly. The Dodgers had a season-high five stolen bases.
“The game is continuing to slow down for Trayce,” said Roberts. “Whether it’s a right-hander or a left-hander, it doesn’t matter. The athleticism shows on the bases and out in the field. He’s showing a lot of his skills. Every night it seems like he does something to help us win games.”
Norris had not started since he was removed from the Braves’ rotation with a 8.74 ERA in late April, and he had thrown more than 30 pitches just twice within the past 37 days. But the veteran who seems to thrive in the underdog role managed to minimize damage throughout this 91-pitch effort. He stranded two runners with Adrian Gonzalez’s groundout to end third inning and pitched around each of the three walks issued during his final two innings.
“I just wanted to go out there and give it everything I had,” Norris said. “Talking to [Snitker and pitching coach Roger McDowell], they said just give us as many pitches as you can and go as deep as you can. That was kind of the focus. I didn’t have a lot of added pressure. I just wanted to go out there and pitch.”
Missed opportunities : Francoeur had three hits in the four previous at-bats recorded against Kershaw this year before he followed Freddie Freeman’s fourth-inning leadoff single with a strikeout. The Braves also put two on with just one out in the sixth inning, but Kershaw escaped again when Freeman flied out to left field and Francoeur produced a sharp grounder that found shortstop Seager’s glove.
“We put up some good at-bats,” Francoeur said. “That [at-bat in the sixth inning], I just wish it would have found a hole.”
Atlanta will send Matt Wisler to the mound for Sunday’s series finale, which is set to begin at 3:10 p.m. CT. Wisler limited the Dodgers to four hits and one unearned run over 6 2/3 innings on April 21. He has produced a 2.80 ERA and limited opponents to a .205 batting average over his past eight starts.  Thunder Radio will bring you that broadcast on the Braves Radio Network beginning at 2 PM with the pregame show.

The Nashville Sounds clubbed three home runs including a grand slam from Joey Wendle on their way to a 13-5 win over the Omaha Storm Chasers Saturday night at Werner Park.

The scoring was fast and furious for the Sounds who won for the 18th time in their last 20 games. They’re 34-21 overall and lead the American South Division by 4.5 games.

A base hit from Chad Pinder and walks issued to Renato Nunez and Andrew Lambo loaded the bases in the first for Rangel Ravelo. The first baseman made the walks hurt when he rifled a base hit up the middle to plate the first two runs of the game.

They weren’t finished in the opening frame as Matt Olson drew a walk and Wendle plated his first run of the night on a base hit to right field. A throwing error on the play allowed Ravelo to score to make it 4-0 after a half inning.

Sounds’ starter Dillon Overton faced the minimum in the first before he ran into a problem in the second. Catcher Parker Morin cleared the bases with a two-out triple to the gap in right-center to cut the Sounds lead down to 4-3.

Wendle and the offense didn’t waste any time getting the runs back. Singles from Ryon Healy, Ravelo and Olson set the table for Wendle who launched a 2-0 pitch from John Lannan over the right field wall for a grand slam.

Matt McBride followed with a blast of his own to give the Sounds their second set of back-to-back home runs on the season.

Overton went back to work with a 9-3 lead and went into cruise control. He retired 13 of the next 15 hitters and tossed seven strong innings to pick up his fifth win of the season.

Andrew Lambo got in on the home run derby with a solo shot of his own in the fourth. It was Lambo’s fourth homer of the season and the third time the Sounds have hit three home runs in a game this year.

Nashville finished with 14 hits – their seventh consecutive game collecting at least 10 hits. Wendle led the charge with a 3-for-5 night, including five RBI and a pair of runs scored. Ravelo also collected three hits and scored twice.

Game two of the four-game series is set for Sunday afternoon at Werner Park. Right-hander Daniel Mengden (3-0, 1.12) starts for Nashville against left-hander Brian Flynn (2-1, 4.08) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.