{"id":769861,"date":"2026-08-04T15:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/769861\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T15:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:15:14","slug":"sports-briefs-axmen-win-appy-title-in-sudden-death-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/769861\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports briefs: Axmen win Appy title in sudden death | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

PULASKI, Va. \u2014 The Kingsport Axmen are the 2026 Appalachian League champions, following a sudden-death tiebreak win over the East Division champion Pulaski River Turtles on Saturday, Aug. 1 in the season finale.<\/p>\n

Jacob Parr went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs to lead Kingsport. Easton Beach went 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs.<\/p>\n

Tied at 8-8 after nine innings, the championship was forced by league rule into the sudden death playoff. The home team, Pulaski in this case, chooses offense or defense. The River Turtles chose offense, and the Axmen held them for the victory.<\/p>\n

Reliever Jude Favela tossed three scoreless innings, including the tiebreaker half-inning to earn the championship\u2019s most valuable player award. The title marked the sixth Appy League championship for the city of Kingsport and the first since 2022.<\/p>\n

The Kingsport Axmen clinched the Appy League West Division title for the second straight season, then beat Johnson City in the Appalachian League West Division Playoff game to reach Saturday\u2019s league championship at Pulaski.<\/p>\n

Lady Falcons\u2019 Blue\/White Game is Aug. 6<\/p>\n

CHURCH HILL \u2014 The Volunteer volleyball team will host its annual Blue-White intrasquad volleyball game on Thursday, Aug. 6. Both Church Hill and Surgoinsville will also be in action, starting with a JV battle at 4:30 p.m. and a varsity match at 5 p.m. Volunteer\u2019s annual Blue vs. White game will follow at approximately 5:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Price takes over as Bulldogs\u2019 head coach<\/p>\n

BULLS GAP \u2014 Former Cherokee athlete Will Price will take to the sidelines at Bulls Gap this fall as the Bulldogs\u2019 new head football coach. Price, a Rogersville native, graduated from Cherokee in 2023 and went on to study at Walters State and WGU. He will teach third grade and serve as the head football coach, replacing Shawn Bond who has joined the Cherokee High School staff for the 2026 season. Tatem Kennedy, a Bulls Gap native, also returns to serve Hawkins County as a fifth-grade teacher and football coach for the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

Cherokee football tickets go on sale Aug. 4<\/p>\n

ROGERSVILLE \u2014 Cherokee football reserved seats for the 2026 season are on sale from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the main office. Reserved seats are $75 per seat and include all regular season varsity and JV football games. General admission season passes are $65 each. Online tickets for Cherokee games will be available on the Hudl app this season. Fans should download the Hudl app and create a free account. Parking passes can be purchased from the booster club. Cherokee opens the varsity season at home on Aug. 21 against Pigeon Forge. Other home games include Grainger (Sept. 11), Greeneville (Oct. 2), Crockett (Oct. 16) and Northview Academy (Oct. 30).<\/p>\n

SMS Mini Cheer Camp registration due Aug. 7<\/p>\n

SURGOINSVILLE \u2014 Anyone interested in participating in the Surgoinsville Middle School Mini Cheer Camp for youth ages 4 and up should register by Aug. 7 to guarantee a T-shirt. The camp will be held Aug. 15 from 9-11 a.m. in the SMS gym. All participants should wear tennis shoes and comfortable clothing to camp. The cost is $25 per person (includes T-shirt and certificate). Participants will cheer with the SMS cheerleaders during the second quarter of the Eagles\u2019 Aug. 18 football game, being played at Volunteer High School. Send questions to janet.holcomb@hck12.net<\/a> or call 423-345-2252 for more details.<\/p>\n

Mac McClung Camps return Aug. 14-15<\/p>\n

GATE CITY, Va. \u2014 The sixth annual Mac McClung camps will be held Aug. 14-15 at Gate City Middle School. The camp offers limited-edition camp shirt, skill development and autograph souvenir. The first camp for grades 8-12 is Aug. 14 from 7-9 p.m. The camp for grades K-3 is Aug. 15 from 10 a.m. until noon. The camp for grades 4-7 is Aug. 15 from 2-4 p.m. The registration fee is $80 per player. Limited space available. Visit tinyurl.com\/mcclungcamp26<\/a> for more details or to register. Email {span}macmcclungbasketballcamp3@gmail.com with questions.{\/span}<\/p>\n

Thorbjornsen wins 1st PGA Tour title<\/p>\n

DETROIT (AP) \u2014 Michael Thorbjornsen made a 26-foot putt for birdie on his last hole to shoot 7-under 63 and reach 18 under to win his first PGA Tour title by two strokes on Sunday at the Rocket Classic. The 24-year-old Thorbjornsen sealed his spot in the FedEx Cup playoff after rolling into the Motor City No. 69 in the standings. The top 70 advance to the postseason after next week\u2019s Wyndham Championship. Thorbjornsen started Sunday three shots behind leader Davis Riley, whose rough start opened opportunities for the field. Thorbjornsen took advantage, taking the lead with four birdies in a six-hole stretch.<\/p>\n

Swain named new Vol Network football analyst<\/p>\n

KNOXVILLE \u2014 Tennessee VFL Jayson Swain has been named the Vol Network\u2019s new football game-day booth analyst alongside the \u201cVoice of the Vols\u201d Mike Keith, it was announced by Tennessee Athletics and Learfield Thursday.<\/p>\n

Keith made an in-person appearance on WNML 99.1 FM The Sports Animal\u2019s \u201cJosh and Swain\u201d show to surprise the former UT wide receiver with the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think back to the moment that I decided to be a Tennessee Volunteer,\u201d Swain said. \u201cIt was the second week of December 2002. They tell you it\u2019s a 40-year decision and not a four-year decision, and they did not lie. That decision changed my life forever for the good. There\u2019s nothing I love more than my family and the University of Tennessee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely honored to be the color analyst for the place I love, and I look forward to sharing that passion on the air with Vol Nation on gamedays in the booth next to Mike. We had a lot of fun last year, and I can\u2019t wait for the season ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swain will join Keith, sideline reporter Brent Hubbs and game day host Larry Stone during the 2026 season. The 78th season of Vol Network football coverage goes live at 1 p.m. ET on Sept. 5 leading up to the season opener against Furman at 3:30 p.m. in Neyland Stadium. The action can be heard on any of the 70-plus stations that carry the broadcasts or on the Tennessee Athletics app.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PULASKI, Va. \u2014 The Kingsport Axmen are the 2026 Appalachian League champions, following a sudden-death tiebreak win over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":769862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2288],"tags":[2510,33662,27624,5,2323,2313,95039,95045,95036,95041,95037,95035,95042,19,2310,2328,2304,2318,2308,2319,95040,95044,4,2305,2303,95038,95046,95047,930,95043],"class_list":["post-769861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb-postseason","tag-american-football","tag-appalachian-league","tag-association-football","tag-baseball","tag-baseball-events","tag-baseball-playoffs-and-champions","tag-bulls-gap","tag-cheerleading","tag-cherokee","tag-jayson-swain","tag-kingsport","tag-kingsport-axmen","tag-mac-mcclung","tag-major-league-baseball","tag-major-league-baseball-competitions","tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","tag-major-league-baseball-seasons","tag-major-league-baseball-teams","tag-major-league-baseball-teams-seasons","tag-michael-thorbjornsen","tag-mike-keith-sportscaster","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-playoffs","tag-mlb-postseason","tag-pulaski-river-turtles","tag-sms","tag-surgoinsville","tag-tennessee","tag-vol-network"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}