Category: Sports

Kelby Tomlinson drove in three runs and Matt Duffy delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning to give Madison Bumgarner some cushion as he guided the Giants to a 6-1 win over the Braves on Wednesday night at Turner Field.

As Bumgarner was surrendering just one run over 7 1/3 innings, Braves starting pitcher Williams Perez was allowing 10 hits over six-plus innings. Three of the six runs (five earned) charged to the Atlanta right-hander came courtesy of two-out singles recorded by Tomlinson, who was making his first career start in place of injured second baseman Joe Panik. The Giants, who have won 16 of their past 21 games, chased Perez during a three-run seventh that was highlighted by Duffy’s two-run double. Atlanta did not dent the scoreboard until the bottom half of the seventh, when Jace Peterson singled and scored from first base on Ryan Lavarnway’s opposite-field double.

Since joining Atlanta’s rotation in May, Perez has shown a knack for using his sinker to escape trouble. But the rookie was unable to do so after a Eury Perez error in center field put runners at second and third with two outs in the second inning. Instead of walking Tomlinson to get to Bumgarner, Perez challenged the rookie and paid the price. The three runs tallied by the Giants in the seventh inning might have been a product of fatigue as Perez was making just his second start since missing a month with a bruised left foot.

Before surrendering Lavarnway’s RBI double, Bumgarner had not allowed an earned run over his previous 21 innings at Turner Field. Nick Markakis extended his hit streak to 12 games with a first-inning single and later capped his 35th multi-hit game with a one-out double in the sixth. Markakis advanced to third base on a Jonny Gomes single, but was left stranded when Chris Johnson struck out to end the sixth inning.

Matt Wisler will take the mound as Atlanta begins a four-game series against the Marlins on Thursday at 6:05 p.m. CT. The Braves have won seven of nine against the Marlins this year. Wisler has a 2.33 ERA over his only three previous starts at Turner Field. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast beginning at 6:00 PM.

Wednesday night’s game between the Nashville Sounds and Memphis Redbirds at First Tennessee Park has been suspended due to rain. The game will be made up on Thursday as part of a doubleheader that will begin at 6:05 p.m. The second game will follow approximately 30 minutes from the end of the first game and will be a seven-inning contest. The Redbirds will turn to top prospect Marco Gonzalez (0-2, 6.13) in the latter game, while the Sounds will give the ball to Barry Zito (7-7, 3.64).

Hunter Pence’s three-run homer highlighted a four-run, eighth-inning outburst by the San Francisco Giants, who cruised to an 8-3 victory Tuesday night over the Atlanta Braves.

Trailing, 3-2, the Giants pulled even as Gregor Blanco and Matt Duffy doubled to open the eighth. The Braves intentionally walked Buster Posey, who owned a .431 batting average in an 18-game stretch. Up came Pence, who lined David Aardsma’s 1-2 fastball over the left-center-field barrier.
“With Hunter up there, I always have a good feeling,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s why he’s hitting there [behind Posey].”
Atlanta starter Shelby Miller again pitched effectively but to no avail as his winless streak reached 14 games. The right-hander surrendered two runs and four hits in seven innings.

Giants starter Jake Peavy struck out a season-high eight in six innings, which helped him limit Atlanta to one run. Peavy fanned four consecutive Braves during one stretch, which included striking out the side in the fourth inning. He has compiled a 2.00 ERA in his last four outings against Atlanta and, more importantly, a 2.63 ERA in six starts since returning from the disabled list.
With one out and the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning, Miller appeared to get the ground ball he needed to get out of a tight spot. But when Pence hit a sharp ball to Chris Johnson at first base, Johnson — who lost track of the number of outs — jogged to the bag for the forceout instead of trying for a double play or a throw to the plate. Blanco scored from third on the play and gave the Giants a 2-1 lead.

Unlike Monday, when they squandered a 6-0 lead partly due to wasted scoring opportunities, the Giants maintained their surge after the big eighth inning. They scored twice in the ninth as Nori Aoki homered and Posey bounced a run-scoring single through the left side. Posey’s on pace to drive in 113 runs, which would eclipse his career high of 103 in 2012.

Miller continued his excellent 2015 campaign and settled in against the Giants after allowing a run in the first inning. After the first, Miller held San Francisco to two hits and one run over his final six innings, which included retiring 13 straight batters from the first inning into the fifth. Miller has now held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in 17 of his 22 starts this season.

Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco’s starter in Wednesday’s 6:10 p.m. CT series finale, has worked at least seven innings in seven of his last 10 starts. But he has allowed six homers in his last six outings after yielding 10 long balls in his first 15 starts.  Atlanta counters with Williams Perez, who is coming off his worst outing of the season — nine hits and nine earned runs to the Phillies in 4 1/3 innings — after recovering from an ankle injury that required a three-start rehab stint in Triple-A Gwinnett. Perez will try to get back to the form that saw him post a 2.29 ERA through eight starts and one emergency relief appearance.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast beginning at 6:00 PM

A pair of middle school scrimmage play days on Saturday highlight the prep action this weekend in Manchester. At Coffee County Middle School, the CCMS Lady Raider soccer team will host 7 varsity and 5 Junior Varsity squads in a round robin scrimmage beginning at 9:00 AM. Teams from 6 counties and 3 conferences will be represented in the all day affair to be held at the CCMS field. The CCMS varsity team will take on Dekalb County at 9:00 AM and Warren County at 1:00 PM. The CCMS junior varsity will play Siegel at 11:00 AM and Harris at 3:00 PM

The Coffee County Middle School volleyball team will participate in the CHS Middle School Volleyball play day being held at Coffee County Central High’s Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. Eight teams will make up the field representing 6 schools from 5 different counties. The Coffee County Middle School will field 2 teams in the tournament and BOTH teams open play at 9:00 AM. Each team will play 3 pool games before entering a single elimination tournament at 3:00 PM. The CCMS Team #1 will play at 9 AM, 11 AM and 1:00 PM. The CCMS Team #2 will play at 9:00 AM, 12 PM and 1 PM.

Interim Motlow Atletic Director Dan McShea

McShea will fill the position following the resignation of Tori Raby-Gentry, who served as athletic director for 18 months after a year as interim. Motlow is currently accepting applications to fill the head softball coach vacancy left by Raby-Gentry’s departure.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity,” said McShea. “When I was approached about the possibility of filling the role of interim athletic director I was eager to get to work.

“Motlow College has a rich tradition of quality athletic programs and I hope to continue and improve upon that tradition. We have great coaches and a fantastic group of talented young student-athletes so I will be excited to see how we perform on and off the field and the court. I am very excited about this new challenge.”

McShea has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics with a minor in coaching from the University of Mississippi, where he played collegiate baseball. He is currently fifth all-time in appearances for the perennial SEC powerhouse. He earned two master’s degrees from William Carey University, one in education and one in business administration, while he served as assistant baseball coach and taught at a local high school. He has worked previously in banking and investments and has been in college coaching for over a decade.

McShea will set up his office in Nisbett Center, putting all four Motlow head coaches in the same building for the first time in a decade. He sees a lot of positives coming from just that seemingly small step.

“My main office will be in Nisbett Center,” he added. “I think that will help the communication between not only the athletic director and the coaches but between all four coaches in general. We can easily share ideas and discuss ways to improve all of our programs, facilities, and most of all our student-athletes.”

Motlow has undertaken significant improvements to its baseball and softball facilities during the summer, including adding new irrigation and drainage systems, new fencing, and new dugout upgrades. McShea is very happy about the developments and already has his sights set on additional possibilities.

“I am excited to sit down with our administration and discuss Motlow’s vision to continue to improve facilities,” he added. “Right now only three schools in our conference can host baseball and softball tournaments. Maybe there is a way Motlow could put itself in position to join them. We want to continue to excel in all sports and continue to improve our facilities as well.”

Joe Daves was head men’s basketball coach and the first athletic director at Motlow when the college opened in 1969. John Stanford, Jackie Reavis, Carr McCalla, Don Rhoton, Gary Barfield and Jerry Nichols are among those who have also worn the athletic director hat while being a head coach at Motlow.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics at and .

Ryan Roberts had a big day at Werner Park on Tuesday afternoon, blasting his second home run of the game to lead off the 12th inning and helping propel Nashville to an 8-6 win over Omaha.

The victory allowed the Sounds to take three of four from Omaha, marking their first series win since the end of June. The four hour and 10 minute game was Nashville’s sixth win in 13 extra-inning contests this season.

Roberts played hero for the Sounds with his solo shot to start the 12th. It was the designated hitter’s fourth home run of the series and his fourth RBI of the game. He finished 3-for-5 in the game and added his 26th double as well. Roberts joined Joey Wendle (April 12 at Colorado Springs) and Jason Pridie (July 20 at Colorado Springs) as Sounds who have posted multi-homer games this season.

The fun all started in the first two innings of the series finale, as Nashville had a 5-1 lead after two. Craig Gentry walked to open the game and stole second base two batters later. After Pridie worked a two-out walk, the runners executed a double steal to move up another base. Nate Freiman executed the next step perfectly, lining a double into the left field corner to score the pair. The first baseman extended his RBI total to 13 in the last 15 games.

Gentry collected a RBI and scored another run in the second inning as well. His double allowed Carson Blair, who walked to open the frame, to score. After Wendle grounded into a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat of the inning, Roberts smacked a double that scored Gentry from third and Wendle all the way from first. The five-run cushion came in support of Brad Mills.

The left-hander entered with a 2.02 ERA in his last three starts prior to Tuesday’s contest, but labored over 4 1/3 innings of work. Omaha scored in four consecutive innings off Mills, who allowed six runs on eight hits. The starter also walked two and struck out a pair.

Christian Colon cut into the Nashville lead with his first homer of the season in the second inning. It started the string of runs for Omaha, who evened the score after five innings. The Storm Chases put up a three spot in the fourth, capped by a two-run single from J.C. Boscan.

The Sounds got to six runs when Roberts slammed his first home run of the game. The ball landed on the grass berm in left field at Werner Park and upped the designated hitter’s season total to seven.

Pitching got better for both teams when the starters took their exit. Ryan Dull worked his way out of a couple of jams, including a bases-loaded, one out situation in the fifth. Then in the sixth, the right-hander had a runner on third with no outs, but retired the next three in a row. Pat Venditte breezed through the seventh and eighth innings, striking out a batter in front of his hometown crowd. Angel Castro entered and retired six straight over two frames, while Brock Huntzinger kept Omaha off the scoreboard in the 11th and 12th innings to bump his record to 2-2 on the season.

The Sounds head back to First Tennessee Park on Wednesday for a five-game showdown with their cross-state rivals, as Memphis currently leads The Tennessee Lottery I-40 Cup Series, 6-5. Nashville is slated to hand the ball to Nate Long (2-4, 5.89) in the series opener, while the Redbirds will go with John Gast (5-8, 5.08). Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Austin Farris putts from the fringe of the green on Monday at WIllowbrook

The Red Raider golf team battled Cookeville stroke for stroke through the first 8 holes on Monday at WIllowbrook.  The top 4 boys golfers for each team were within 3 strokes of each other as they neared the turn promising an exiciting back 9.  On the pivotal back 9, all 4 Cookeville golfers stayed within 4 strokes of par to capture the 297 to 325 win.  Cookeville’s Benton Williams led all golfers with a 1 under par 71 for the day as the top 5 Cavaliers all shot less than 78.  Freshman Austin Farris led the Raiders as he carded a 77 while junior Jon Parigger shot an 80.  Hayden Proffitt, Samuel Prater, Reid Lawrence and Matt Hale all shot 84 for the Raiders.

Savannah Quick lines up a putt for Coffee County on Monday at WIllowbrook

For the Lady Raiders, Savannah Quick and Sophie Vinson took control of their match in the first 3 holes as they led Coffee County to a 153 to 172 win over the Lady Cavaliers.  Quick shot a 75 on the round while Vinson carded a 78 to lead the Lady Raiders.  Teagan Perry got around in 87 and Jordan Green finished at 100 for Coffee County.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders will be back on the course on Thursday as they compete in the Murfreesboro Invitational at Champions Run.  The Lady Raiders are looking to defend their title from last season.  The match is set to get underway at 8 AM.

Beginning on Wednesday August 5, the Nashville Sounds will commence a five-game homestand with cross-state rival Memphis (Triple-A Cardinals). The Redbirds currently lead the Tennessee Lottery I-40 Cup Series, 6-5. The Sounds have some exciting events coming up, including a Back-to-School Backpack giveaway, Girls Scout Night, Faith Night Concert and Fox 17 Friday Night Firework show.

Wednesday, August 5 vs. Memphis Redbirds @ 7:05 p.m. (Gates Open at 6:05 p.m.)
• Belle of the Ballpark: After being narrowed down to five finalists via an online vote at www.hippieradio945.com, the “Belle of the Ballpark” will be crowned at First Tennessee Park. The lucky winner will receive a prize package valued at $2,000, presented by Hippie Radio.
• Kroger Plus Wednesday: The Sounds and Kroger are teaming up to offer fans the chance to purchase a “Family 4-Pack” of four (4) Bullpen section tickets for $36 when they show their Kroger Plus Card and purchase tickets at participating Kroger Ticketmaster outlets
• Senior Discount: All seniors over the age of 60 can purchase tickets in selected areas for $8 presented by Hippie Radio 94.5. Limit one ticket per I.D.

Thursday, August 6 vs. Memphis Redbirds @ 7:05 p.m. (Gates Open at 6:05 p.m.)
• Throwback Thursday: Everyone’s favorite day is back! Every Thursday the Sounds are reaching back into the rich baseball history at Sulphur Dell to honor the 1940 Nashville Vols as this season’s uniform style. Fans are also able to purchase select beer and soft drinks for $2 all night, presented by iHeart Media
• Vols Vintage Bobblehead Night: Make sure to get to the park early, as the Sounds and Brauer will hand out Vintage Vols Bobbleheads to the first 3,000 fans. In addition, a limited number of golden bobbleheads will be randomly given away for the chance to secure a bonus prize

Friday, August 7 vs. Memphis Redbirds @ 7:05 p.m. (Gates Open at 6:05 p.m.)
• Back-to-School Backpack: With school right around the corner, fans can save some cash and come snag a Sounds backpack giveaway, presented by Hunt Brothers Pizza for the first 1,000 fans 12 years of age and younger
• Fox 17 Friday Night Fireworks: After the final out is recorded, the fun has just begun. Following the game, fans can enjoy the 12th of 13 firework shows presented by Fox 17

Saturday, August 8 vs. Memphis Redbirds @ 6:35 p.m. (Gates Open at 5:35 p.m.)
• Bone Marrow Drive: The Sounds and Delete Blood Cancer are teaming up to host a bone marrow drive at First Tennessee Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday morning. The donor drive is to support local U.S. Army Ranger Karl Seiter
• Girl Scout Night: The Girl Scouts of America will participate in “baseball 101” with the Sounds players and coaches before the game on the field and will receive a commemorative patch upon completion. Those interested in purchasing tickets should call 615-515-1144

Sunday, August 9 vs. Memphis Redbirds @ 6:35 p.m. (Gates Open at 5:05 p.m.)
• Faith Night – Joseph Bobblehead: Enjoy a great night of baseball, music, friends and fellowship, as Citizen Way performs a concert before the Sounds game. The first 2,000 fans can build off last year’s start to the nativity scene with a Joseph bobblehead giveaway, presented by Trevecca Nazarene University
• Autograph Day: Fans can stop by the First Tennessee Park concourse before the game to snap a picture and grab an autograph from their favorite Sounds players
• Piedmont Natural Gas Military Sunday: The Sounds will don camouflage jerseys every Sunday home game and offer special military discounts for Military Sundays presented by Tennessee 811 and WSMV Channel 4. Active and veteran military men, women and families can purchase tickets as low as $6 in select seating areas with a valid military I.D.
• Kids Run The Bases: Kids 12 and under can take a lap around the bases following every Sunday home game, presented by First Tennessee Bank

Following the homestand, the Sounds will have an off day before they travel to Principal Park to play the Iowa Cubs. Beginning Saturday, August 15, the final eight-game homestand of the season will feature the El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A Padres) and Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A Rockies) in their only appearances at First Tennessee Park.

Ticket packages are currently on sale. Fans can visit First Tennessee Park, open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., call (615) 690-HITS, or visit www.nashvillesounds.com for information.

McKenzie Anderson of the Lady Raider soccer team prepares to deliver a corner kick in Saturday’s scrimmage play day.

Controlling the ball for 80% of the scrimmage was not enough as the Westwood Rockets football team fell 14 to 6 to Mt. Pleasant on Friday night in the Cascade Jamboree. The Rockets used their ball control offense to perfection, but a pair of big play by the Tigers spelled doom for the Boys in Blue. Head coach Chad Dyer came out of the scrimmage pleased with his team’s progress as the team played error free as they did not hurt themselves with penalties or turnovers. The Rockets open the regular season on Thursday night as they travel to Lynchburg to take on Moore County in a 6:30 PM contest. Coach Dyer was a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show and you can hear the podcast of his interview by visiting the Coffee Coaches Show Facebook page.
Brock Freeze and a pair of Coffee County Middle School Raider football players were also guests on Saturday’s Show. The Raiders dropped a scrimmage to Rock Springs on Friday but his young squad showed signs of improvement. The Raiders will take part in a 4 team scrimmage day on Saturday morning at Grundy County beginning at 9 AM at the OLD Grundy County High School field in Tracy City.
The CHS Red Raider football team closed out their first week in pads with an intersquad scrimmage game on Saturday. The Raiders will travel to Grundy County on Friday evening for a 6:00 PM scrimmage with Grundy County. The Raiders finish the preseason on Friday, August 14th when they take on Spring Hill in the Forrest Jamboree.
The CHS volleyball team traveled to Chattanooga for a scrimmage play day on Saturday. The young Lady Raider team finished the 5 contest day with a split with Signal Mountain and a straight set win over Red Bank against much taller competition. Coach Andrew Taylor was pleased with the poise, unity and composure shown by his young squad all day long. He was pleased with the Lady Raiders service game as the preseason portion of his schedule ends on Thursday. The Lady Raiders travel to Crossville to take on Cumberland County for a 5 PM scrimmage on Thursday as Coach Taylor looks to settle starting positions for a pair of outside hitters prior to the start of the regular season.
The CHS soccer team got a pair of victories at their 14th annual scrimmage play day on Saturday. The Lady Raiders got excellent play from seniors Izzy Huddleston and Maclay Brandon as Coach David Amado had nothing but praise for their effort and leadership. Coach Amado also praised the play of his freshmen and sophomore classes as he looks for several of them to push for starting positions. The Lady Raiders will host Oakland on Thursday night at the Raider Soccer Field for a scrimmage as the Lady Raiders look to improve their defense and work on closing out contests strong.
The Coffee County golf teams will host their first home match of the year on Monday at Willowbrook. The Raiders and Lady Raiders will play host to Cookeville in a match set to tee off at 1:00 PM.

Jace Peterson’s three-run home run in the fifth inning gave the Braves the lead and they never looked back in Sunday’s 6-2 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, preventing the sweep and ending Atlanta’s six-game losing streak.

Peterson’s home run came two at-bats after Chris Johnson tied the score, 1-1, with a single that scored Cameron Maybin. The four runs in the fifth inning provided enough cushion for starting pitcher Julio Teheran to silence the hot offense of the Phillies. Teheran allowed two runs in seven innings, striking out seven and walking none. The effort was good enough to provide him his first road win since Opening Day.

“He pitched in to both sides of the plate and all of his secondary pitches were working,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “His command was really good and he wiggled out of a couple situations, especially in the seventh inning. He did a nice job. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Phillies and was just the team’s third loss since the All-Star break. Cody Asche and Odubel Herrera provided the offense with RBI singles in the second and fifth innings, but the team couldn’t muster much offense beyond that and didn’t get much help from starting pitcher Adam Morgan or the bullpen.

“The story was Teheran was good and Morgan wasn’t sharp,” Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. “He didn’t have real good command of his fastball. He got hurt. Teheran, he’s been tough on us for the past two years. He changes speeds, he mixed his pitches well. He had a real good slider. He always has a good changeup. He just pitched very well. We got some hits, but didn’t string a lot together.”

Teheran stumbled as he surrendered three consecutive two-out hits, including Herrera’s RBI single in the fifth. But he stranded two runners with a Ryan Howard groundout and escaped unscathed after the Phillies began the bottom of the seventh with consecutive singles. With this performance, the former All-Star hurler lowered his road ERA from 7.24 to 6.75.

After making one of the best starts of his young career the last time he faced the Braves, Morgan wasn’t able to replicate the same level of success on Sunday afternoon. Most of his struggles can be attributed to a lack of control. Morgan walked three batters, with two of them coming around to score. A leadoff walk to Maybin in the fifth, was followed by a balk that sent Maybin to second and he eventually scored later in the inning.

Peterson highlighted his third three-hit game of the season with his three-run homer in the fifth. The Braves’ second baseman, who entered Sunday with a .170 (9-for-53) batting average since the All-Star break, added a single in the two-run seventh that provided some unfamiliar cushion for the Braves. Atlanta, which went 2-8 on this road trip, had scored three or fewer runs in each of its previous 10 games.  “I felt good up there,” Peterson said. “Baseball is a funny game, so you’ve just got to keep going, keep swinging and eventually it will turn. It was a good team win. We didn’t want to get swept here in Philly. So it’s good to get that win on the last day and go home with a win.”
Men left behind: The Phillies stranded almost as many men on base as they had hits on Sunday. The Phillies managed 10 hits, hitting double digits for the fourth consecutive game. They weren’t able to do much with those hits though, leaving eight men on base and going just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Multiple runners were stranded in the second, fifth and seventh innings.

With a win, the Braves prevented a four-game sweep at the hands of their NL East rivals, something they’ve been quite skilled at over the years. The Phillies haven’t swept a four-game series against the Braves since May 5-8 1995, and haven’t swept a four-game series in Philadelphia since Sept. 2-4 of 1949, at Shibe Park.

Mike Foltynewicz will take the mound when Atlanta begins a three-game series against San Francisco on Monday at 6:05 p.m. CT at Turner Field. Foltynewicz returned to the Majors last week and limited the Orioles to two runs over six innings.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game beginning at 6:00 PM.