Category: Sports

Aaron Harang and Shelby Miller came into Thursday night’s Braves-Phillies game a combined 0-14 since May 17. Harang broke his streak. Miller didn’t. Harang threw five innings in his first start since July 1 — when he went on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis — in the Phillies’ 4-1 win at Citizens Bank Park. The winning decision for Harang ended a streak of eight straight starts in which he registered the losing decision and nine straight winless starts in total. He allowed just one run despite the nine hits he surrendered and struck out three. “All of his pitches were sharp,” Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. “He threw strikes. He just had a higher pitch count than we like. That’s why we took him out of the game. But he certainly looked like a different guy than he was while he was pitching with that foot injury. We were real pleased with his performance.”

The loss for the Braves was their fourth in a row and seventh in eight games. Phillies bats found Miller’s pitches early as he worked up to 59 pitches through the first three innings, but it wasn’t until the fourth — when four Phillies in a row singled — that Philadelphia was able to break through against the right-hander. Limited run support has led Miller to go winless while posting a 3.19 ERA over his past 13 starts.
“It was definitely hot, but I don’t think that was the reason at all,” said Miller, who changed his jersey multiple times while sweating profusely throughout the outing. “You play the game in humidity. Atlanta is hot and here is hot. You’ve got to get used to that. There is no excuse for that.”

Miller entered this game with 15 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings against the Phillies and a 2.03 ERA in six career starts against them. But Atlanta’s All-Star hurler started to waver after he allowed four consecutive one-out singles in the fourth and then three consecutive one-out singles in the fifth. The 11 hits he surrendered matched the career high he allowed on July 10 at Coors Field vs. the Rockies.

The Braves have scored three runs or fewer in eight straight games and in 10 of 13 games since the All-Star break. They loaded the bases with three straight singles to begin the third inning. But after Freddie Freeman struck out, A.J. Pierzynski’s two-out infield single accounted for the only run produced with with that threat against Harang, who has allowed one run in 19 innings against his former Atlanta teammates this year. “[Freeman] is the guy you want there and it didn’t happen,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I’ll take my chances there with him every single time in that situation.”

This game was just the fifth the Braves have played, dating back to 2000, during which they scored one run or less while recording at least 12 hits.

Williams Perez will make his first start in more than a month when Atlanta and Philadelphia resume their four-game series on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. CT. Perez has been sidelined since a liner struck his left foot during a June 26 start in Pittsburgh. Thunder Radio will bring you that broadcast beginning at 6:00 PM

After 12 innings of back-and-forth play, the Nashville Sounds fell 5-4 to the Iowa Cubs at First Tennessee Park on Thursday night.

The Sounds scored twice in the third inning to start the scoring. Craig Gentry keyed the attack, stealing his team-leading 18th base to get into scoring position with two outs. Jason Pridie and Nate Freiman then strung together a pair of back-to-back hits to give the Sounds a 2-0 lead.

Newest Sound, Brent Morel, got in on the act in the fifth, doubling in Joey Wendle to extend the lead to 3-0. Morel was signed as a minor league free agent by Oakland today. The third baseman was granted free agency from the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 28.

The Cubs finally got to Sounds starter Brad Mills in the seventh. Javier Baez led off the frame with a double and scored via consecutive groundouts. For Mills, it was another great outing as he hurled his third straight quality start. The southpaw surrendered just four hits on the night, striking out five in his seven innings of work. Unfortunately for him and the Sounds he would not factor into the decision.

First man out of the pen, Brock Huntzinger, gave up a double to Adron Chambers, sending the tying man to the plate with one out in the eighth. Wendle then accidentally, kicked a bouncing ball that allowed Chambers to score. After Huntzinger forced a Junior Lake flyout that Matt Szczur tagged up on, Sounds manager Steve Scarsone went to his closer, Ryan Cook. Cook induced a grounder, but Morel misplayed it and the Cubs tied the game.

Cook and the Cubs Frank Batista threw scoreless ninths and the game headed to extras. Batista was marvelous for Iowa on this night, pitching four scoreless innings, while the Sounds Arnold Leon tossed two scoreless innings.

Phil Coke threw hard for the Sounds, touching the mid-90s with his fastball, but struggling with his control, hitting Baez in addition to delivering two wild pitches. Christian Villanueva and John Andreoli both would belt clutch two-out RBI singles to give the Cubs a 5-3 lead.

The Sounds would not go down fighting however. The first three batters in the 12th Morel, Pridie and Freiman all reached base. Andy Parrino then grounded into a double play, scoring Morel. The Sounds would once again load the bases, but Bryan Anderson struck out and the Sounds fell 5-4.

The two teams will complete their series Friday night at First Tennessee Park. The Sounds are expected to send Nate Long (2-3, 5.40) to the bump. He will be opposed by Drake Britton (6-5, 5.01). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Friday night football returns as the Westwood Rockets and Coffee County Middle School Raiders will take part in scrimmages on the road on Friday evening.
The Raiders of Coffee County Middle School will travel to Smyrna on Friday afternoon for a scrimmage with Rock Spring Middle School. The Raiders are also looking to take part in a jamboree next weekend at Grundy County. Head coach Brock Freeze will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to recap Friday’s scrimmage and preview the upcoming season. The Raiders open the season at home on Tuesday, August 11th against Whitwell. That game kicks off at 6:30 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of “Hometown Tuesday”
The Rockets, coming off of Thursday night’s Blue/White game, will travel to Wartrace to take part in the Cascade Jamboree. The Rockets will take on Mt. Pleasant at 6:30 PM. Head coach Chad Dyer will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to recap Friday’s jamboree and preview the upcoming season. The Rockets open the season at Moore County on Thursday, August 6th. The first home game for Westwood will be Thursday, August 13th against Fayetteville. That game kicks off at 6:30 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of “Hometown Tuesday”
Not to be outdone, the Coffee County Central High School Red Raiders will hold an inter-squad scrimmage on Saturday morning at 9 AM on the CHS practice field. The Raiders are scheduled to take on Grundy County in a scrimmage game on Friday, August 7th at 6:00 PM at Coalmont. The Raiders open the regular season on Friday, August 21st against Tullahoma. Thunder Radio will continue to bring you EVERY Coffee County game this season as Lucky Knott, the voice of the Red Raiders, brings you the action.

The Coffee County CHS volleyball team has a busy weekend planned as they continue their preseason preparations. The Lady Raiders will host their Alumni Game on Friday night at 6:00 PM at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. The public is invited to come out and watch the new crop of Lady Raider volleyball players as they take on some familiar faces from the past. Former volleyball players are invited to attend and participate. The CHS volleyballers will also be taking signups for the Volleyball Youth League beginning at 5:00 PM. The Coffee County Volleyball Youth League is for girls in grades 4th thru 6th.
On Saturday, the Lady Raiders travel to Chattanooga to compete in the Choo Choo Classic Play Day held at Red Bank. The Lady Raiders open play at 10 AM EDT against Oak Mountain. They follow that up with games against Cookeville at noon, Sale Creek at 1, Signal Mountain at 3 and the host Red Bank Lions at 4:00 PM EDT.

The Coffee County High School Lady Raider soccer team will host the annual preseason play day on Saturday at the Raider Soccer Field and Carden-Jarrell Field, both behind the Raider Academy. Both the Lady Raider varsity and junior varsity teams will be in action beginning at 9 AM. The varsity will play 3 games at Carden-Jarrell Field as they take on Warren County at 9 AM, Franklin County at 10:20 AM and Wilson Central at 2:20 PM. The Lady Raiders will also take on Smith County at 1:00 PM on the soccer field. The JV Lady Raiders will have 3 games on the soccer field beginning at 10:20 AM. The JV team will take on the Warren County JV at 10:20, the Shelbyville JV at 11:40 AM and the Franklin County JV at 1:40 PM.

Orioles Opening Day starter Chris Tillman continued his dominant second half, pitching 8 2/3 scoreless innings as Baltimore completed the sweep with a 2-0 win over Atlanta Wednesday night.
The O’s, winners of their last five, recorded their first three-game series sweep since June 26-28 against Cleveland as they find themselves 51-49, just one game out for the second spot in the American League Wild Card.
“We’ve gone through a pretty good stretch here where our guys have been pretty good,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of a staff that has gone 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA over the last six games. “It goes without saying it’s something we’re going to need while we try to figure out a way to get better offensively, which we have on a given night. But pitching like we’ve been pitching keeps you in every game. I’ll take my chances with that.”
Tillman, who has allowed one earned run in 23 2/3 innings since the All-Star Break, used solo homers from Jonathan Schoop and J.J. Hardy to record his eighth win of the year. Braves righty Mike Foltynewicz turned in a quality start despite the loss, striking out eight and allowing two runs over six innings.
The righty held Atlanta to four hits in an outstanding effort that marked Baltimore’s longest start of the season. At just 90 pitches through eight innings, Tillman took the mound to a rousing ovation, and exited it the same way after a two-out double from Cameron Maybin.
“I felt my command was good from the get-go,” said Tillman, who is 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA over his last six games. “Better arm side than glove side. My changeup is what got me through that start. I made some good pitches early and late, when need be.”
“You have to tip your cap to those guys, but … I would rather give up solo shots than a couple two or three-run home runs there, which I could have given up,” Foltynewicz said.
Atlanta ran into a red-hot Tillman, picking up just four hits during Wednesday night’s shutout. The Braves were held to just four runs for the series, and collected just five runs in their last series against the Cardinals.
Shelby Miller (5-7, 2.27 ERA) will take the mound Thursday at 6:05 p.m. CT when Atlanta begins a four-game series against the Phillies. Miller has taken the loss in his last three outings, and he’ll aim to pick up his first win since May 17 against the Marlins. He’s coming off a 7 1/3 inning performance where he gave up one run on two hits in a loss to the Cardinals. THunder Radio will have the broadcast of the game beginning at 6:00 PM

The Sounds entered the bottom of the eighth inning down by two runs but rattled off four runs and evened the series against the Cubs on Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park with a 6-4 victory.

Nashville’s largest output in the eighth inning this season had been three runs, but they surpassed that by plating four, all with two outs. Niuman Romero singled to lead off and Bryan Anderson followed with a walk. After having the next two batters record outs, the inning rested on Ryan Roberts, who drove in Romero by singling to right. With runners on the corners, Jason Pridie grounded a ball to third baseman Christian Villanueva, who delivered an errant throw that helped the tying run cross the plate.

As both runners sat in scoring position, Nate Freiman stepped to the dish and powered a ground ball back up the middle for a two-run single. With the RBI, the first baseman has driven a run in during four of his last five games.

The come-from-behind win was Nashville’s seventh this season. The drama was saved for the later innings due to the terrific pitching matchup earlier in the game.

Cody Martin boasted the upper hand on the I-Cubs’ offense through the first four innings on Wednesday night. He struck out three and was perfect in the opening frames before allowing a leadoff double in the fifth. After Iowa exploded for nine runs in Tuesday’s opener, the right-hander limited them to three runs, two earned, on four hits over 6 1/3 innings. It was his second consecutive start to pitch into the seventh inning and he finished with five strikeouts.

Unfortunately for Martin, the Nashville offense ran into a live arm that featured pinpoint location. Felipe Paulino had a 2-6 record entering the evening, but pitched like a man on a mission. He fanned two batters in each of the first five frames, capping the streak off by sitting down the side in the fifth all via the strikeout. The power right-hander concluded his night without allowing a walk in six plus innings. He surrendered two runs in the seventh prior to his exit but set a career high with 12 strikeouts. Paulino became just the third pitcher in the PCL to record 12 strikeouts in a game this season.

The Cubs got a run in four straight innings. Rubi Silva and John Andreoli helped push the game’s first run in, smacking back-to-back doubles in the fifth. The Cubs kept the hits rolling when Javy Baez scored on an error in the sixth, Junior Lake drew a bases loaded walk in the seventh and John Andreoli highlighted the barrage with a solo shot in the eighth.

Aaron Kurcz allowed a run in the eighth, but got the win by throwing 1 2/3 innings. All five outs were acquired by the strikeout. Angel Castro notched his second save of the season, striking out Javy Baez with a runner on first to give Nashville the win.

The Sounds gave the First Tennessee Park crowd a reason to cheer by scratching out a pair of runs in the seventh. Craig Gentry led off with a well-placed bunt down the third base line for a single and Joey Wendle followed by lining a single to center. The third hit in a row came when Roberts lifted a double that landed shy of the 403 marker in centerfield. The run-scoring extra-base hit pulled Nashville within one before Freiman’s big hit in the eighth.

Romero was the lone hitter in the Sounds lineup without a strikeout and Roberts led the way offensively for Nashville, driving in three with two base hits.

The Sounds and Cubs are back at it on Thursday night at First Tennessee Park. The 7:05 game will feature lefty Brad Mills (4-10, 3.94) in search of his first win at home. Iowa is scheduled to counter with Carlos Pimentel (7-5, 3.71) in the third game of the series. Nashville will celebrate Throwback Thursday tomorrow night with $2 soft drink and beer specials presented by iHeart Media.

Thunder Radio’s commitment to “Live & Local” is more than just a slogan, it is prevalent in ALL of our programming! From local coverage of news and politics, local interest in professional sports with coverage of the Atlanta Braves, Nashville Predators and Tennessee Titans to our unparalleled coverage of high school sports. Well the commitment continues with the renewal of Hometown Tuesday, our fall broadcast coverage of middle school football, soccer and volleyball; along with high school soccer and volleyball broadcasts. The series is set to begin on Tuesday August 11th at 6:30 PM as the Coffee County Middle School football team hosts Whitwell. Over the 11 week series, we will bring you coverage of 13 different events every Tuesday night, with a couple of Thursdays thrown in for good measure. You have voted Thunder Radio your favorite radio station for the last 5 years and we want to continue to earn that honor in the years to come. “Live and Local” is more than lip service at Thunder Radio.

Complete Hometown Tuesday Schedule
Tuesday, August 11 – CCMS football vs. Whitwell – 6:30 PM
Thursday, August 13 – Westwood football vs. Fayetteville – 6:30 PM
Tuesday, August 18 – CCMS volleyball vs. Warren County – 4:30 PM
Tuesday, August 25 – CCMS soccer(girls) vs. White County – 5:30 PM
Thursday, August 27 – Westwood football vs. Forrest – 6:30
Tuesday, September 1 – Westwood soccer(girls) vs. Huntland – 5:30 PM
Tuesday, September 8 – CHS soccer(girls) vs. Warren County – 7:00 PM
Tuesday, September 15 – CHS volleyball vs. Tullahoma – 6:00 PM
Tuesday, September 22 – CCMS football vs. Warren County – 6:30 PM
Tuesday, September 29 – CHS volleyball vs. Franklin County – 6:00 PM
Tuesday, October 6 – CHS volleyball – District Tournament – TBA
Tuesday, October 13 – CHS soccer(girls) – District Tournament – TBA
Tuesday, October 20 – CHS soccer(girls) – Region Tournament – TBA

The Titans are scheduled to begin training camp this week at Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville. Rookies and veterans report to camp on Thursday, July 30, and will practice for the first time the next day under the direction of head coach Ken Whisenhunt.

Fans of the Titans are invited to watch nine total training camp practices free of charge, beginning with the July 31 workout at 9:20 a.m. CDT. The remaining practices that are open to the public are scheduled for Aug. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12 and 16. Training camp is the only time of the year that practices are open to the general public.

Free parking for training camp is available directly across the street from Saint Thomas Sports Park (460 Great Circle Road) at the CVS/Caremark corporate offices. Security is present to assist in crossing the street before, during and after practice.

Once inside the gates of the Titans complex, visitors can observe from the perimeter of the practice field, but onlookers should be prepared to stand in typical Middle Tennessee summer heat for the duration of their visit, as shade and seating are very limited.

A Titans Locker Room merchandise trailer is set up next to the practice field selling a wide selection of Titans apparel and even game-issued items. Cold non-alcoholic beverages also will be available to purchase.

On Monday, Aug. 3, fans are invited to the annual Academy Sports + Outdoors Night at Titans Training Camp. Spectators should arrive early for the scheduled 6:50 p.m. practice for giveaways and chances to win special prizes.

For an up-to-date camp schedule, fans can call the team’s training camp hotline at (615) 565-4190, or they can go to the team’s official website, TitansOnline.com/TrainingCamp. As always, you will be able to hear all Titans football games here on Thunder Radio.

The Coffee County CHS golf teams got their season off in winning fashion on Tuesday as they swept their match play in Fayetteville. The boys got a 15 stroke win over second place Fayetteville while Lincoln County came in a distant 3rd. Coffee County bested the Tigers 162 to 177 led by John Parriger and Austin Farris who each shot a 38 over the 9 hole match. Matt Hale carded a 41 while Josh Perry and Reid Lawrence each got around in 43 strokes. The Lady Raiders easily outdistanced Lincoln County 82 to 112. Sophie Vinson was low scorer for the Coffee County with a 39. Teagan Perry shot a 43 and Jordan Green carded a 48. The Raiders and Lady Raiders will be back in action on Monday as they host their first home match of the year. Coffee County will entertain Cookeville at Willowbrook with the shotgun start going off at 1:00 PM.