The Nationals took advantage of a struggling Braves’ bullpen as they erupted for six runs in the eighth inning of a 7-3 victory on Wednesday at SunTrust Park. The Nationals are now within 3 1/2 games of the Dodgers for home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Nationals patiently watched the Braves’ bullpen implode as they worked four straight walks in the eighth inning. Adam Lind and Michael A. Taylor capped the frame with back-to-back RBI singles to secure starter Gio Gonzalez’s 15th win of the season. Gonzalez allowed two runs over seven innings of work, striking out eight batters....

The Westwood football team closed out their season on Tuesday when they traveled to Woodbury to take on Cannon County.  The Rockets ended the season on a high note as they walloped the Lions 40 to 0. Will Partin got the scoring started in the first quarter on a quarterback sneak.  Konor Heaton got Westwood’s 2nd touchdown with 30 seconds left in the half.  Trenton Thompson added the 2 point conversions after both scores to give Westwood a 16 to 0 halftime lead. Westwood opened the 2nd half by recovering an onside kick.  Thompson scored 70 seconds later and...

The Coffee County Middle School football team hosted Warren County on Tuesday night in their final home game of the year.  Playing their best football of the year, the Red Raiders roared back from a halftime deficit to beat the Pioneers 22 to 12. Trailing 12 to 8 at the half, Coffee County rallied for a pair of touchdowns in the second half.  The Red Raiders got a touchdown to go up 16 to 12 with 1:30 left in the 3rd quarter before icing the game in the final 2 minutes with their 3rd touchdown of the night.  The...

Lady Raider soccer team of CHS traveled to Winchester on Tuesday night for a district match with Franklin County.  Playing their 3rd match in 4 nights, the Lady Raiders showed no signs of fatique as they blanked the Rebelettes 3 to 0. Jessica Barrera got the Lady Raiders on the board first in the 39th minute with a goal off an assist from Allie Amado.  That remained the score into the halftime break and halfway through the 2nd half.  Reyna Flores got a goal in the 63rd minute to give Coffee County some breathing room.  Maddy Jones had the...

The Temple volleyball team took on Madison Baptist Academy on Tuesday afternoon in Madison, Alabama.  Coming off a tournament championship last week where the Lady Eagles beat Madison, the home standing Lady Mustangs were looking for some revenge.   The Lady Eagles JV(middle school) team captured a 3 set win over Madison by scores of 25 to 16, 24 to 26 and 15 to 6.  The varsity/high school team won in straight sets by set scores of 20, 18 and 17. In the JV match, Grace Butler was the leading server for Temple while Lauren Davis led the team in...

The Coffee County CHS volleyball team welcomed District 8AAA rival Lincoln County to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym on Tuesday night.  In a match you heard here on Thunder Radio, the young Lady Raider team wanted to build on the momentum of Monday’s strong performance.   Despite having leads in both the 4th and 5th sets, Coffee County dropped the 5 set thriller to the Lady Falcons 3 sets to 2.  Coffee County fell by set scores of 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 23-25 and 12-15. Coffee County was led in aces and kills by Odalis Garcia.  The senior finished with...

Ryan Zimmerman reached 100 RBIs for the first time since 2009 as the Nationals continued to tune up for the postseason with a 4-2 win over the Braves on Tuesday night at SunTrust Park. The Nationals moved within five games of the Dodgers for home-field advantage in the playoffs, pending the outcome of the Dodgers game on Tuesday night. Zimmerman went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and capped a two-run third inning with an RBI single against Braves rookie Luiz Gohara. Trea Turner also had an RBI single in the inning and scored on Zimmerman’s knock.. Nationals starter Max Scherzer...