Maren Morris’ “The Bones” ascended to the top of both the Billboard Country Airplay chart and Mediabase chart this week. Maren co-penned the tune, which is featured on her 2019 album, Girl, with Laura Veltz and Jimmy Robbins.
“The bones are good,” said Maren via Twitter. “Thank you so much for my third number 1 song. And I will be having the party for it after I have this baby so I can drink all the margaritas.”
“The Bones” follows Maren’s previous No. 1 hits, “I Could Use a Love Song” (January 2018) and “Girl” (July 2019), as well as Thomas Rhett’s “Craving You” (July 2017), which featured Maren.
Directed by Alex Ferrari, the video for “The Bones” features footage of Maren vacationing on the beach with husband Ryan Hurd. The lovebirds share plenty of hugs and kisses in the clip as Maren croons the chorus: “When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter / Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter / Let it break ’cause you and I remain the same / When there ain’t a crack in the foundation / Baby, I know any storm we’re facing / Will blow right over while we stay put / The house don’t fall when the bones are good.”
After Vince Gill invited him to join the Grand Ole Opry on Jan. 17, Gene Watson was inducted into the esteemed organization by Opry member Steve Wariner on Feb. 7.
“I remember my induction night as humbling and overwhelming,” said Steve. “But tonight, it’s about Gene who is a great ambassador for country music and one of the best interpreters of a country song that ever lived.”
Gene, who made his Opry debut 55 years ago at the age of 21, scored a number of Top 10 hits in the 1970s and ’80s, including “Love in the Hot Afternoon,” “Paper Rosie,” “Fourteen Carat Mind,” “You’re Out Doing What I’m Here Doing Without” and more.
“It’s hard to find the words to say, so I guess better than talking I ought to sing,” said Gene. “So many people contributed to this wonderful night, and I make a promise to everyone to keep up the tradition of country music.”
Gene’s induction into the Opry follows recent inductees Luke Combs (July 2019), Kelsea Ballerini (April 2019), Mark Wills (January 2019), Dustin Lynch (September 2018) and Chris Janson (March 2018).
TEMPE, Ariz. – Despite keeping No. 5/5 Arizona scoreless through three innings, No.12/11 Tennessee was unable to recover from a lopsided opening inning to give up its first game of the season 8-0 at the Kajikawa Classic.
Plagued by early errors and the woes of a youthful pitching staff, the Lady Vols (2-1) were unable to recover from a five-run deficit in the bottom of the first. The Wildcats (5-0) first two runs came on a pair of costly infield errors and things went awry from there.
Despite all of the first-inning runs being unearned, freshman Callie Turner picked up her first loss giving up one hit and five walks.
Redshirt sophomore Samantha Bender came in with loaded bases in the bottom of the first and escaped the inning on a ground out to give the UT defense a breather. The Lady Vols couldn’t put much together by way of offense but Bender commanded the circle and only gave up one walk in 4.0 innings.
Things were nearly even through 3.5 innings, with the Wildcats outhitting the Lady Vols 6-5 on the night.
Unfortunately, the defensive momentum could not sustain and in the bottom of the fifth Arizona was able to put together a late effort and tack on three scores to seal the run-rule.
Next Up
Tennessee concludes its opening weekend on Monday against host-team No. 22/22 Arizona State at 9 p.m. (ET). The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks. UT will then continue on to Mexico for the Puerto Vallarta Collegiate Challenge on Feb. 13-15.
TEMPE, Ariz. – A back-and-forth scoring bout, turned into a battle of the bats between No. 12/11 Tennessee (2-0) and Western Michigan (1-3) to open Sunday at the Kajikawa Classic.
Unfortunately, the exciting 13-6 UT-leading result will not be counted as an official game because NCAA ruling requires the umpire “to declare ‘no game’ if play is terminated before each team has completed five innings or if a halted game of less than five innings is not resumed.” The teams were still in the bottom of the fourth, when the game reached the hard-stop time of 1:30 p.m. (ET) to accommodate Western Michigan’s travel schedule.
Even still, UT used the “scrimmage” to let their bats talk, but it was not a one-sided conversation as Tennessee just edged WMU 13-12 in hits.
The Lady Vols were quickly put on their heels as the Broncos, the designated home team, scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first after keeping UT off the board in its first at bat.
Tennessee wasn’t down for long and tacked on three scores in the top of the second to take a 3-2 lead on runs from sophomore Kaili Phillips (3-for-4) and freshmen Anna Fox and Madison Webber (1-for-1). Webber, who recorded her first hit of her collegiate career, showcased her base-running acumen as she led the day with three runs.
After WMU took a 4-3 lead to follow, the Lady Vols regrouped and churned out 10 runs across the next two frames. Ten different Lady Vols scored in the outing, while four recorded at least two hits and two RBIs.
The Orange and White ripped 11 hits across the third and fourth frames, which proved to be detrimental as far as the game clock went, but was an impressive offensive display in real time. Junior Amanda Ayala led off with a single and then was brought home on an RBI double from Phillips to jumpstart the offense.
Phillips and Ayala (3-for-4) co-led UT with three hits apiece, while Phillips added two runs to the ledger.
Phillips was brought home on a single from fellow sophomore Ally Shipman and then Webber was walked. Senior outfielder Cailin Hannon singled to jam the bases with one out and junior Ashley Morgan, who stepped in to pinch hit for left fielder Jenna Holcomb, brought in Shipman on an RBI ground out.
Freshman Kiki Milloy and senior Chelsea Seggern drew back-to-back walks, and Seggern picked up an RBI as Webber got an easy trip back to the plate. Ayala punctuated the third half scoring frenzy with an RBI single to bring Hannon home and move things to 8-4.
Things looked put away as the Lady Vols entered the bottom of the fourth ahead 13-4, but the Broncos hoped to exact some revenge after UT’s redshirt sophomore pitcher Samantha Bender retired the side the inning before. WMU recorded four hits, interrupted up by a double play, to add another two runs to the board and move out of run-rule territory.
As UT was about to make another pitching change – freshman Anna Hazlewood started – with two outs and two Broncos aboard, the game was called and the outing was nullified.
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols will face their highest ranked opponent of the weekend at 6:30 p.m. (ET) as they take on powerhouse No.5/5 Arizona at Farrington Field. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
TEMPE, Ariz. – After knotting the game twice in the first 4.5 innings, Tennessee sophomore Kaili Phillips belted a three-run go-ahead dinger to give the No. 12/11 Lady Vols (1-0) the insurance runs they needed to pull away and pick up their first win of 2020 over No. 14/15 Northwestern (1-2) with a 6-3 victory.
Phillips recorded 10 homers last season, the most of any of UTs returners, and stepped up big on Saturday afternoon in the bottom of the fifth with two outs on the board to bring in junior Amanda Ayala and senior Treasuary Poindexter. Phillips bomb broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Lady Vols the lead the remainder of the game. The Ooltewah, Tenn., native went 1-of-4 on the day.
The Lady Vols’ bats talked throughout the season opener as they recorded 10 hits and six RBI, collectively. Ayala (3-for-4) led with a game-high three hits.
After giving up an early run in the top of the first, UT tied things up with a monstrous display from freshman and leadoff hitter Kiki Milloy, who went yard in her first collegiate at-bat, shelling one high through left center. Milloy finished the day with two hits and a game-leading two runs.
Sophomore Kaitlin Parsons moved things to 2-1 after leading off the bottom of the second with a single. The Long Beach, Calif., native stole second and found the plate on an RBI single from senior Jenna Holcomb.
The Wildcats were able to knot things one more time at 2-2 in the top of the fifth, but the payout was short-lived after Phillips’ bomb.
The freshmen class was impressive on both sides of the ball, as first-year pitcher Callie Turner got the starting nod, with sophomore ace Ashley Rogers out temporarily with an injury and Tennessee’s number two Samantha Bender’s status day-to-day.
In a complete game effort, Turner picked up her first win fanning four batters. The Land O’Lakes, Fla., native gave up five hits, two earned runs and five walks. A member of the U.S. Junior National Team, Turner’s stuff was on display in spirts, highlighted by retiring three batters on the swing in the top of the sixth to keep NU scoreless for four frames.
Up next:
The Lady Vols conclude the doubleheader day in a bout with Big 12 foe Kansas (0-2) at 8:30 p.m. (ET) at Tempe Sports Complex.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee had no answer for 15th-ranked Kentucky Saturday, falling to the Wildcats, 77-64, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
In his first-ever taste of the heated border rivalry, freshman Santiago Vescovi led the Vols offensively, tying his career-high for points with 18. Senior Jordan Bowden and junior John Fulkerson both added 16 points for the Big Orange, as Bowden finished with a team-high nine rebounds.
Immanuel Quickley led Kentucky (18-5, 8-2 SEC) with 18 points.
In the first half, UK went on an 8-0 run to build an 11-point lead. The Vols (13-10, 5-5 SEC) responded with their own 5-0 scoring streak to make it a six-point game, 26-20.
The Wildcats hung tough and built on their lead, but Fulkerson closed out the first half with a pair of free throws to cut Kentucky’s halftime lead to seven, 37-30.
At the break, Fulkerson led the Vols with 12 points, eight of which came at the foul line. The junior also recorded four rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Coming out of the break, Fulkerson scored Tennessee’s first three points of the second half, and Vescovi followed with one of his four 3-pointers of the afternoon.
With just more than nine minutes left in the contest, Vescovi hit his third triple of the half to bring the Vols within four points, but Kentucky had an answer for every charge Tennessee attempted to mount down the stretch.
Le Streak Extends to 23: Tennessee juniorYves Pons finished the game with four blocks, extending his streak of consecutive games with at least one block to 23.
Up Next: Tennessee hosts Arkansas Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena, and tickets remain available at AllVols.com.
