BRIEFS: Locals help Express Softball 16U team
Youth Sports
Express Softball 16U team wins three in national tourney
Jackson-based Express Softball 16U won three games Thursday to stay alive in the ASA 16U National Championship tournament in Chattanooga. It is one of 64 teams left out of 185.
Thursday, the team beat Chattanooga Fear Factor 7-1 as Huntingdon’s SaraBeth Hayes pitched well. South Side’s Caitlin Scott hit well and Lexington’s Hannah Bassham hit an inside-the-park home run.
Lexington’s Natalie Cogdell allowed two hits in a 3-1 win over Sugarland, Texas in the afternoon. Scott and Lexington’s Kinley Alexander were both 2-for-3, and Westview’s Bunny Jones was 1-for-2 with a stolen base.
At night, Hayes pitched well again and the team beat the Eastern Michigan Batbusters 2-1. Scott and Alexander were 2-for-3, Lexington’s Kollin Douglas drove in a run and Milan catcher Kendall Westbrook threw out two baserunners. South Side’s Chloe Matthews and Brighton’s Gracie Poier also had multiple hits Wednesday.
The team, coached by Bubba Cummings and David Wade, plays the first of as many as three games Friday at 9 a.m. Central time. They can’t lose again, as a Wednesday loss put them in the loser’s bracket.
Tryouts for next year’s 14U or 16U teams are at 9 a.m. Aug 15 at Chester County High School. Call or text 731-616-0650 for info.
College Football
Tennessee tight end leaving team
(Knoxville News Sentinel) — Tennessee freshman tight end Kyle Oliver is leaving the football program because of unspecified off-field issues, a source not authorized to comment on the departure confirmed to the News Sentinel on Thursday. Oliver will seek a transfer.
Oliver did not return a phone call or text message to his mobile phone, and a call to his parents’ home in La Vergne was not returned.
According to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report, Oliver was in the car when redshirt freshman lineman Charles Mosley was pulled over last week and charged with driving under the influence of marijuana and speeding. Mosley has a hearing scheduled for Oct. 15. Oliver was not cited or charged even though he was named in the report.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones said in Nashville on Wednesday that Mosley’s situation would be handled “internally” and that it is “ongoing.” It is unknown whether Oliver’s presence contributed to his departure.
Oliver was a three-star recruit in the 2015 recruiting class. He starred at Oakland High School in Murfreesboro, catching 40 passes for 574 yards as a senior.
SOUTHERN LEAGUE
Generals game postponed
Thursday’s scheduled Jackson Generals game in Biloxi was postponed. The teams will play a doubleheader starting at 6:10 p.m. tonight in Biloxi.
MLB
Cardinals acquire Moss from Cleveland
CLEVELAND (AP) — Outfielder Brandon Moss was dealt Thursday to the St. Louis Cardinals, who were in the market for an outfielder after seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday re-injured his right quadriceps on Wednesday.
In exchange for Moss, who was in his first season with the Indians, the Indians received minor league pitcher Rob Kaminsky, a first-round pick in 2013.
The Cardinals will hope to get some pop from Moss, who signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland during the offseason and hit 15 homers, 50 RBIs in 94 games.
Seattle trades Ackley to Yankees
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The New York Yankees have acquired utility player Dustin Ackley from the Seattle Mariners for a pair of minor leaguers.
Ackley played for the West Tenn DiamondJaxx, as the city’s minor-league team was then known, in 82 games during the 2010 season.
New York sent right-hander Jose Ramirez and outfielder Ramon Flores to the Mariners, who will report to Triple-A Tacoma.
Ackley is hitting .215 with six home runs and 19 RBIs in 85 games for the Mariners this season. The second overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft, Ackley is a .243 career hitter.
Braves involved in three-way deal
ATLANTA (AP) — The first-place Los Angeles Dodgers have bolstered their pitching staff, acquiring Mat Latos from the Miami Marlins and Alex Wood, Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan from the Atlanta Braves in a 13-player deal.
The rebuilding Braves also gave up top infield prospect Jose Peraza in Thursday’s trade, paying a hefty price largely to land 30-year-old Cuban infielder Hector Olivera at a steep discount. Atlanta also got left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez and minor league pitcher Zachary Bird from Los Angeles.
Vandy grad Price traded to Blue Jays
DETROIT (AP) — Toronto has acquired All-Star left-hander and Vanderbilt product David Price from the Detroit Tigers, the second major move in less than a week by the Blue Jays as they chase their first postseason appearance since 1993.
The Blue Jays sent left-handers Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt to the Tigers in the deal, which was announced by both teams Thursday. Price can become a free agent after this season.