Category: Sports

Faith Willoughby

The Westwood Lady Rockets were held to 1 hit and 3 walks on Friday as the Viqueens of Community defeated Westwood 15 to 0 in middle school softball action. Faith Willoughby had the lone hit for the Lady Rockets. Hallie Wimberley, Talia Dillard and Madison Hershman all got on base via the walk. Hershman added a stolen base for Westwood. The Lady Rockets will host their final home game of the season on Tuesday when they welcome Cannon County to Lady Rocket Field. First pitch will take place at 4:30 PM.

Jeremy Hazelbaker and Stephen Piscotty recorded consecutive RBI singles to cap the two-out, eighth-inning rally the Cardinals produced before piling on in the ninth inning to complete a three-game sweep of the winless Braves with a 12-7 victory on Sunday afternoon at Turner Field.

Right-handed reliever Jim Johnson retired the first two batters he faced in the eighth, and then he allowed each of the next four hitters to reach safely. After Matt Carpenter was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second, Hazelbaker and Piscotty snuck their consecutive singles through the infield to extend the woes of the Braves, who have blown a lead in the seventh inning or later in four of their first five games.
En route to falling to 0-5 for the first time since 1988, the Braves did not take advantage of Nick Markakis’ three doubles or the game-tying, three-run homer Drew Stubbs hit off Adam Wainwright, who issued five walks and surrendered five runs over five innings. Stubbs’ shot to deep center erased the lead St. Louis gained with a four-run third inning that was highlighted by Brandon Moss’ three-run homer off Williams Perez.
Moss, starting in left field in place of Matt Holliday, blasted his first home run of the season to put the Cardinals ahead, 4-1, in the third. The three-run blast, which was deposited just beyond the outstretched glove of Stubbs in center, was Moss’ first career home run against Atlanta. With it, he has now homered against every Major League club.
Before looking at a questionable called third strike with runners at the corners and one out in the eighth inning, Markakis recorded three doubles for the second time in his career and each of the two-baggers proved pivotal. Markakis delivered a first-inning RBI double and began the fourth inning with a double that positioned him to score on Hector Olivera’s sacrifice fly. His third double — a sixth-inning opposite-field drive off Kevin Siegrist — gave the Braves a one-run lead until the eighth inning.
Staked to an eighth-inning lead, the Cardinals turned to Jonathan Broxton and Trevor Rosenthal to hold it. Broxton got into trouble, allowing a one-out walk to Gordon Beckham, who scooted to third on Erick Aybar’s single. But after Markakis worked the count full against him, Broxton froze Markakis with a generous strike-three call. Rosenthal then stranded that potential tying run on third by striking out pinch-hitter Jeff Francoeur.
Making his first appearance in nearly two years, Chris Withrow surrendered Greg Garcia’s game-tying single and retired just two of the six batters he faced before exiting the sixth inning with the bases loaded. Daniel Winkler escaped the inherited mess unscathed and was one out away from completing a scoreless seventh before he fractured his right elbow while throwing a pitch. This prompted an earlier-than-expected entry from Johnson, who retired three of the four batters he faced before the Cardinals began their two-out, eighth-inning rally and then added five more ninth-inning runs off Jose Ramirez.
Bud Norris will take the mound and center fielder Mallex Smith is expected to be in the lineup when Atlanta opens a four-game series at Nationals Park on Monday at 67:05 p.m. CT. Norris did not allow a run until the Nationals took advantage of some defensive miscues during a three-run seventh inning on Wednesday.

Another late rally by the Nashville Sounds came up short in a 3-1 loss to the Oklahoma City Dodgers Sunday afternoon in front of 4,877 fans at First Tennessee Park.
Oklahoma City (3-1) started the scoring when a pair of infield singles turned into a run in the third inning. Drew Maggi led off the inning with a slow-rolling single past the mound and quickly moved to second on a stolen base. A bunt single by Elian Herrera moved Maggi to third, and Yasmani Grandal plated the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly.
Nashville (1-3) starter Zach Neal worked five efficient innings and kept the game within reach. On just 58 pitches, Neal allowed just the one run on four hits. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out three.
Dodgers starter Jeremy Khert kept the Sounds off the board for the first six innings. In his six frames he allowed only three Nashville hits.
Relievers Jacob Rhame, Luis Avalan and Lisalverto Bonilla pitched the final three innings and finished what Kehrt started.
Nashville made noise in the ninth when Joey Wendle started the inning with a lead-off walk and came around to score after Andrew Lambo singled and Chad Pinder knocked him in with a fielder’s choice.
Pinder stood at third and Matt Olson drew a walk to put runners at the corners but Renato Nunez flied out to center field to end the rally.
Nashville bounced into three double plays with two coming after singles by Tyler Ladendorf and Nunez.
The Sounds welcome the Colorado Springs Sky Sox for a four-game series scheduled to begin Monday night. Left-hander Sean Manaea makes his Sounds debut against right-hander Hiram Burgos for Sky Sox. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

The Cardinals sent Julio Teheran to an early exit and took advantage of multiple defensive miscues while providing Carlos Martinez with ample support in Saturday night’s 12-2 win over the Braves at Turner Field.

Kolten Wong’s three-hit performance paced the Cardinals, who tallied a pair of runs in three of the first five innings to back Martinez’s determined six-inning effort. The St. Louis right-hander surrendered three straight hits to begin Atlanta’s two-run third inning and then allowed just one more hit over the remainder of his 99-pitch outing.
“We understand the type of team we have and know that we can hit,” said Wong, whose team has scored 19 runs in two days after tallying seven while being swept by the Pirates. “Hitting is contagious, and once a couple guys start getting on, it’s usually the whole team starts hitting. We have some young guys stepping in and doing some big things for us, and kicking our butt to get us going.”
As the Braves opened the season with a fourth straight loss, they saw Teheran allow five runs — four earned — over a four innings plagued by four walks, two wild pitches, a passed ball and a three-base error in the third, when Nick Markakis lost Wong’s two-out fly ball that scored Stephen Piscotty from first base.
Though each team committed three errors, the most costly ones were committed by the Braves, who recorded just one hit over the final six innings.
“We didn’t make some plays behind Julio, and he just struggled,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “There’s no pitching staff alive that survives when a starting pitcher only goes four innings. You start going into the middle relievers, and we didn’t catch the ball behind those guys either.”
Williams Perez will make his first start Sunday at 12:35 p.m. CT in the finale of this three-game series. Perez took some confidence into the offseason after posting a 2.35 ERA over his final five starts of the 2015 season.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.  We begin our coverage at Noon.

The Predators concluded the regular season Saturday in a 3-2 loss to the Stars. Now they turn their attention to the upcoming playoffs.

“I was really happy with our effort,” said Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis, who scored Nashville’s first goal 19 seconds into the first period. “We were obviously missing some guys, but a lot of guys stepped up, played really well. That’s a team that just won our conference and we had them right down to the wire, so I’m really proud of the guys.”

Playing without five regulars — captain Shea Weber, defenseman Roman Josi, goaltender Pekka Rinne and forwards Mike Fisher and Mike Ribeiro — the Predators capably challenged the full-strength Stars, who won the Central Division and clinched the top seed in the Western Conference, awarding them home-ice advantage throughout the Western portion of the playoffs.

Nashville led 2-0 midway through the second period, but Stars forward Jason Spezza scored two of his three goals within a three-minute span to tie the game entering the third period. With one minute left, Spezza completed the hat trick, scoring the game-winning goal with a shot from the high slot.

“I thought we played a real strong game, so that was good,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. “I thought it was good games down the stretch here that (we) played well and played the game the way it needs to be played. We did a lot of good things tonight. Unfortunate at the end, it’s a real tough ending, but if you’re looking at the performance right now, which I think is important going into the playoffs, I thought guys played really hard tonight, did some good things.”

Who will the Predators play? The Kings had a chance to win the Pacific Division Saturday and set up a first-round matchup with Nashville, but they blew a three-goal lead and lost 4-3 to Winnipeg in a shootout.

The regular season ends on Sunday. If Anaheim beats Washington, the Predators will play the Ducks in the first round. Any other result means the Predators will play the Kings.

To field a full roster for Saturday’s game, the Predators recalled goaltender Marek Mazanec from the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League to back up Carter Hutton and defenseman Corey Potter, who made his Predators debut by playing 14:44 after being acquired from the Coyotes at the trade deadline in February.

“I really like the way we played,” Laviolette said. “Chances were in our favor, shots were in our favor, did a lot of good things out there tonight. Scoreboard not in our favor, so that’s the disappointing thing about it. But as far as effort goes and what the guys brought to the ice tonight, I really liked it.”

The Predators had four players appear in all 82 games this season: forwards Filip Forsberg, James Neal and Craig Smith and defenseman Mattias Ekholm. Josi and Ribeiro would’ve joined them if they hadn’t been held out Saturday. Forsberg and Smith also played in all 82 games last season.

Forsberg finished this season with a team-high 33 goals, tied with forward Jason Arnott for the most in a single season in Predators history.

The Nashville Sounds put together a small rally in the bottom of the ninth inning only to see it fall short in a 2-1 loss to the Oklahoma City Dodgers in front of 5,122 fans at First Tennessee Park Saturday night.
Trailing 2-0 and without a hit, Sounds (1-2) third baseman Renato Nunez started the home half of the ninth with a double down the right field line. Catcher Bruce Maxwell followed with a sharp single up the middle to score Nunez and trim the lead to 2-1.
A sacrifice bunt by Tyler Ladendorf moved pinch-runner Matt McBride to second, but the rally stopped there when Joey Wendle and Andrew Lambo struck out.
Three Dodgers (2-1) pitchers kept the Sounds out of the hit column for the first eight innings.
Sam LeCure worked the first four innings and retired all 12 batters he faced. Ian Thomas took over in the fifth and retired the first five batters he faced before issuing a walk to Maxwell.
Thomas tossed a 1-2-3 seventh before giving way to Adam Liberatore who struck out a pair in a perfect bottom of the eighth. Chin-hui Tsao took over in the ninth and allowed the double to Nunez to break up the no-hit bid.
The scoring for the Dodgers started in the first. Jose Tabata lined a one-out single back up the middle to score Elian Herrera who started the game with a base hit. They added another in the third on a throwing error by Wendle.
It stayed a 2-0 game until the rally in the ninth by Nashville.
Game three of the series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Left-hander Dillon Overton starts for the Sounds against right-hander Sam LeCure for the Dodgers. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Aledmys Diaz notched one of an MLB-record three pinch-hit home runs the Cardinals produced en route to Friday’s night’s 7-4 win over the Braves, who remain winless despite holding a lead in the seventh inning or later in each of their first three games.

“Obviously, we needed a spark,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, after watching Jeremy Hazelbaker, Diaz and Greg Garcia each hit solo homers off the bench. “We talked kind of going through the winter about our bench and how there was a little more thump. I don’t think those were the three guys we were talking about, though.”
The Cardinals were staring at the possibility of opening the season with four straight losses when the Braves tallied four third-inning runs off Jaime Garcia. But Garcia found a groove over his final three frames and St. Louis began its comeback during a three-run fourth against Matt Wisler, whose 6 2/3-inning effort was tarnished by Hazelbaker’s game-tying pinch-hit dinger in the seventh.
Diaz’s eighth-inning solo shot off lefty Eric O’Flaherty accounted for his first career dinger. The Braves had gained a comfortable early lead courtesy of three consecutive two-out RBI singles by Nick Markakis, Hector Olivera and Tyler Flowers off Garcia.
Cardinals reliever Seung Hwan Oh, making his third big league apperance, notched his sixth — and biggest — strikeout yet this season by getting cleanup hitter Adonis Garcia to swing through three sliders with one out and the potential go-ahead run on third in the seventh. Oh then handed the ball to Kevin Siegrist, who stranded the pair of runners by inducing an inning-ending forceout. It was the first of three scoreless innings by the Cardinals’ bullpen.
“Just following Yadi’s call pretty much,” Oh said, deflecting the credit to his catcher, Yadier Molina.
“We’ve got to start swinging the bats. I’m really confident we’re going to win a game [soon]. We’re playing good baseball. It just seems like it’s one inning or one play that has kind of gotten us these last three games.” — Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez
Julio Teheran will make his second start of the season when Atlanta resumes its three-game series against St. Louis at 6:10 p.m. CT. Teheran did not get a decision after limiting the Nationals to two solo homers over six innings on Opening Day.

Renato Nunez hit a line drive into the right-center gap to score Max Muncy all the way from first to give the Nashville Sounds a 2-1 walk-off win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers Friday night in front of 5,441 fans at First Tennessee Park.
Muncy started the bottom of the 11th with a sharp single to right to set up Nunez who hit the second pitch he saw from Oklahoma City reliever Grant Dayton.
The Sounds (1-1) held a 1-0 lead for the majority of the game. That was until Dodgers (1-1) catcher Yasmani Grandal belted a solo homer off Angel Castro in the top of the ninth. Both teams were quiet in extra innings until the big hit from Nunez.
Nashville starter Jesse Hahn blanked Oklahoma City over six innings and limited them to just two hits. The right-hander walked three and struck out five before handing it over to the bullpen.
Southpaw Patrick Schuster was first out of the ‘pen for the Sounds. He worked two perfect innings and struck out four. Castro took over in the ninth looking for a save before Grandal evened the score.
Relievers Daniel Coulombe struck out the side in the 10th and Andrew Triggs worked around a two-out walk in the 11th. The Nashville native and Montgomery Bell Academy picked up the win in his first game in a Sounds uniform.
Game three of the series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Left-hander Dillon Overton starts for the Sounds against right-hander Sam LeCure for the Dodgers. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

Ethan Abplanalp

The much anticipated rematch of the 2015 District 8 AAA soccer title game between Columbia and Coffee County did not disappoint on Thursday night as Coffee County got a 1 nil win in extra time in Manchester. Ethan Abplanalp scored on a great pass from Paco Barrera in the 99th minute to notch the lone goal of the contest. The goal, which came 19 minutes into the extra period came 1 minute before the 2 teams would have gone to penalty kicks to decide a winner. Coach Robert Harper praised the sophomore saying: “(That was a) great spot for his first career varsity goal.” The goal was the first for Coffee County against senior goalkeeper Luke Wilson who has signed to play college soccer at Lipscomb. “Five and a half hours of soccer in the last 3 years against the best keeper these guys are ever gonna see before we finally scored on him” laughed Harper following the game. The win moves Coffee County into first place in the district with a record of 2 and 0 with a pair of critical district contests coming up in the next 2 weeks with Tullahoma and Shelbyville.

Karson Young (Photo by John StClair – JohnStClairPhoto.com)

Building a huge lead in the field events, and dominating the scoring in the hurdle races, the Lady Raider track team won the King of the Mountain Track Meet on Tuesday held in Crossville.  The Lady Raiders outdistanced the host Panthers of Stone Memorial 151 to 128 as they finished in first place out of 9 teams.  The highlight of the meet was the 1-2-3 finish in the high jump by Karson Young, Sarah Pearson and Diana Davis respectively.  Young and Pearson also went 1-2 in the long jump.  The Red Raiders got a 3^rd place finish in the shot put from Reece Pratt along with 5^th place finishes in the 4x200M and the 4x800M relay teams.   The Raider track teams will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Tullahoma for the District 8AAA Meet.  The field events will get underway at 2 PM.   Coffee County results are: