KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – As the SEC’s outright regular season champion, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team will be the No. 1 seed in the 2024 SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
The official bracket released by the league office late Saturday night features the Volunteers as the top seed, with second-seeded Kentucky, third-seeded Alabama and fourth-seeded Auburn also earning double-byes. Those three teams tied with fifth-seeded South Carolina for second place in the league, with each going 13-5.
Tennessee, which posted a 14-4 ledger in league action, will open play Friday at 1 p.m. ET, live on ESPN, with a quarterfinal matchup against either eighth-seeded LSU or ninth-seeded Mississippi State. The Tigers tied for seventh in the league with a 9-9 mark, while the Bulldogs—the lone team in the league Tennessee did not defeat in the regular season—finished solely in ninth at 8-10.
The victor of Friday’s quarterfinal contest will play Saturday at the same time on the same network. Sunday’s title game will also be at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Since the SEC Tournament returned from a 26-year hiatus in 1979, this is the first time Tennessee is the lone No. 1 seed. During the divisional format for the tournaments from 1992-2011, the Volunteers earned the East No. 1 seed three times: 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Tennessee has reached the SEC Tournament final in three of the past five events, finishing as the runner-up in 2018 and 2019 before winning the crown in 2022.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team fell to No. 15/13 Kentucky, 85-81, Saturday evening at a sold-out, over-capacity Food City Center in the final game of the 2023-24 regular season.
Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht, in his final home outing, registered a career-best 40 points, the 16th such showing in program history, for fourth-ranked Tennessee (24-7, 14-4 SEC).
The Volunteers started just 3-of-18 from the field through nearly 11 minutes and, late in that stretch, Kentucky (23-8, 13-5 SEC) hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers in just 70 seconds to go ahead, 18-12, with 10:03 on the first-half timer.
The Wildcats extended their edge to 11 with 2:45 left in the frame, but after Tennessee started 5-of-27 from the floor, it got a personal 7-0 run in 1:10 from Knecht, including two 3-pointers, to get the deficit down to four, 31-27, with 1:15 remaining.
The two sides exchanged baskets in the last 16 seconds and Kentucky took a 33-29 advantage into the locker room despite 19 points from Knecht. Tennessee shot just 8-of-32 (25.0 percent) through 20 minutes, including 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) from deep, while the visitors went 13-of-34 (38.2 percent) overall and 6-of-15 (40.0 percent) on 3-pointers. The home team, though, had a 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) clip at the line, while Kentucky went 1-of-2 (50.0 percent).
Tennessee forced a turnover and hit a 3-pointer to open the second half, trimming the margin to one, but Kentucky responded soon thereafter. The Wildcats went on another 9-0 run, this one in just 1:00, to take a 12-point edge, 51-39, with 14:57 to play.
After a personal 7-3 run by Knecht, Kentucky hit back-to-back 3-pointers in 33 seconds to go up by a game-high 14 points, 60-46, with 11:53 to go. The lead held steady at 14 with under nine minutes to go, but Tennessee scored nine straight points in 64 seconds to get it down to five, 68-63, with 7:32 on the clock.
The two teams split the next four points and then the Wildcats went on a 10-4 surge to go back up by 11, 80-69, with just 2:35 left. Kentucky maintained that advantage into the final minute, but junior guard Zakai Zeigler scored six points in three seconds—a 3-pointer, a steal and a three-point play—to make it an 84-79 tally with 47.1 ticks to go.
Tennessee forced another turnover and then got two free throws from fifth-year guard Josiah-Jordan James with 31.4 seconds on the clock, making it an 8-0 run in 19 seconds to cut the deficit to three, 84-81. The Volunteers then forced a 10-second violation, but could not convert at the offensive end. Kentucky freshman guard Rob Dillingham hit a free throw with 5.9 ticks left to ice it, with that shot finishing the scoring.
Knecht’s career-best point total tied for the 14th-most in a game in program history and marked the first 40-point showing since Grant Williams had 43 Jan. 23, 2019, with those the lone two instances by a Volunteer in the last 34 years (1990-2024). The last Tennessee player to score 40-plus in Knoxville was Allan Houston, who had on Feb. 2, 1990.
The Thornton, Colo., native made 14 of his first 27 field-goal attempts and finished 14-of-29 to tie for the most makes by an SEC player this season and tie his career high. He also tied his career best in made 3-pointers with a 6-of-15 ledger.
Additionally, Knecht became the second player in Tennessee history, joining Ernie Grunfeld in 1975-76, to register 35-plus points five times in a single campaign. Four of Knecht’s such outings have come in the last 16 contests.
Zeigler totaled 17 points and a game-best nine assists, while shooting 4-of-11 from 3-point range. Junior forward Jonas Aidoo had 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high-tying five blocks, the latter mark pacing all players. James added eight points and a game-best 10 rebounds in his 81st and game at Food City Center, where he went 68-13 (.840).
Freshman guard Reed Sheppard co-led the Wildcats with 27 points, including 22 in a second half during which he made his first six 3-point attempts. Overall, he finished 7-of-10 from long range, grabbed six rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists.
Fifth-year guard Antonio Reeves also scored 27 points for Kentucky, shooting 8-of-16 overall, 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and 8-of-9 at the line. Freshman guard Justin Edwards had 16 points and went 4-of-7 from deep, while Dillingham tallied 11 points in the decision.
Both teams hit at least a dozen 3-pointers, but Kentucky shot a blistering 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) beyond the arc, including 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) in the second half, while Tennessee was 12-of-36 (33.3 percent). The Volunteers had a 21-10 edge in points off turnovers—they forced 16 and had just seven—along with a 30-18 margin in paint points and a 24-12 tally in fast-break points, but the Wildcats notched a 38-5 ledger in bench points and shot 16-of-18 (88.9 percent) at the line.
With the regular season complete, Tennessee now heads to Nashville, Tenn., where it begins play Friday at 1 p.m. ET as the top seed in the SEC Tournament against a to-be-determined opponent in a quarterfinal matchup, live on ESPN from Bridgestone Arena.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES • Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes fell to 13-12 all-time versus Kentucky head coach John Calipari, including an 11-10 ledger in the regular season. • After going 9-35 (.205) in the 22 seasons (1993-2015) before his arrival, Tennessee is now 11-10 (.524) versus Kentucky in Barnes’ tenure. • The Volunteers dropped to 10-6 (.625) against ranked Kentucky teams since 2015-16 under Barnes, still twice as many such victories as any other team, as Kansas is second with five. • Tennessee fell to 7-5 (.583) versus AP top-15 Kentucky teams under Barnes, as well as 7-3 (.700) in AP top-25 matchups and 4-2 (.667) in AP top-15 showdowns. • The Volunteers are the first team since Auburn in 2018-19 to play Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina—the three winningest programs in college basketball history—in the same season, as well as the first since UCLA in 2015-16 to play all three in the regular season and the first since Georgia Tech in 1999-2000 to play all three away from home in the regular season. • In addition, Tennessee is the second team in the last 24 years (2000-24) to play Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina a total of four times in the regular season while facing each at least once, joining Florida in 2014-15. • The Volunteers finished the regular season with 24 victories, tied with 1999-2000 for the third-most in program history, while trailing only the 28 in 2007-08 and the 27 in 2018-19. • Tennessee logged 14-plus SEC wins for the eighth time ever, with the 1976-77 (16), 2018-19 (15) and 1966-67 (15) the only campaigns in which it tallied more. • In addition, this is just the second time in program history the Volunteers have even faced four straight AP top-25 opponents in a single season, joining a 1-3 stretch from Jan. 20-31, 2004, while this is the first time they have played four consecutive AP top-20 foes. • The Volunteers’ SEC record of 12 straight home wins over AP top-25 teams came to an end after running from Jan. 30, 2021, versus Kansas to Feb. 28, 2023, against Auburn. • Tennessee moved to 27-21 (.563) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 21-14 (.600) with both teams in the top 20 and 12-8 (.600) with each in the top 15. • In its past 18 outings versus AP top-15 teams, dating back to Dec. 22, 2021, against Arizona, Tennessee is now 14-4 (.778). • Over its last 20 games against AP top-20 foes, going back to Jan. 22, 2022, versus LSU, Tennessee now possesses a 15-5 (.750) record. • In the last four seasons (2020-24), Tennessee is now 21-15 (.583) against AP top-25 foes, including 19-10 (.655) versus top-20 opponents and 16-6 (.727) against top-15 teams, with all three win totals still leading all SEC programs. • Tennessee’s six-game winning streak over AP top-25 teams came to end, matching the program record that set from March 5, 1966, to Jan. 22, 1968, with both bookend wins versus Kentucky. • The Volunteers are now 76-23 (.768) as an AP top-10 team under Barnes’ direction, including 35-10 (.778) while in the top five. • Barnes finished 26-8 (.765) in the second leg of regular season rematches over the last seven years (2017-24), including notching a 4-1 mark this year. • Prior to tip-off, Tennessee recognized four senior student-athletes (forward Colin Coyne, guard Dalton Knecht, guard Josiah-Jordan James and guard Santiago Vescovi), as well as two student athletic trainers (Macy Monday and Jacob Powell) and four student managers (Scott Daughtry, Robby Geron, Bryson Hartsell and Blake Sexton). • Saturday marked the eighth sellout of the season at Food City Center, good for a venue record—the prior mark was five—in a single campaign. • Of Tennessee’s four sellouts this year, four had over-capacity crowds, including each of the last three featuring over 22,000 fans. • The Volunteers fell to 32-5 (.865) over the last three seasons (2021-24) when hitting double-digit 3-pointers, including 22-2 (.917) at home. • Aidoo blocked five shots in the first 15 minutes of the contest, already tying his ledger for a full game, recorded twice previously, on both Jan. 13, 2024, at Georgia and on Nov. 30, 2022, against McNeese State. • James grabbed double-digit rebounds for the 14th time in his career, fourth time this season and second straight contest, finishing two points shy of a double-double • Zeigler ended one assist shy of a double-double for the third time, while he was also one point shy in another outing. • Two players in Saturday’s game, Knecht and Reeves (18), are the only two individuals in at least the last 19 seasons to score 13-plus points in 17 consecutive SEC games in a single campaign. • Knecht finished his lone season as a Volunteer with a conference-best 25.5 scoring average in SEC play, the top mark by any player in the league since South Carolina’s Devan Downey put up 26.2 in 2009-10. • Besides Knecht and Downey, only one other player has averaged at least 24.0 points per game in SEC play over the last 22 seasons (2002-24), as Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks tallied 24.9 per contest in 2008-09. • With one day left in the regular season, Knecht’s 25.5 scoring average in SEC play in the best mark in league action of any individual in the country. • Knecht’s 40-point performance broke the career high of 39 he compiled twice this season, on both Jan. 16 against Florida and Feb. 28 versus Auburn. • Just three other SEC players—two in regulation—in the last four seasons (2020-24) have recorded a 40-point performance: Arkansas’ Khalif Battle (42 on Feb. 24, 2024, versus Missouri), Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV (41 on Jan. 16, 2024, at Arkansas) and Alabama’s Brandon Miller (41 on Feb. 22, 2023, in an overtime affair at South Carolina). • The last Volunteer to score 40-plus points was Grant Williams, who had 43 on Jan. 23, 2019, at Vanderbilt, while the last to do so at home was Allan Houston, who posted 43 on Feb. 10, 1990, against LSU. • Williams and Knecht are the only Volunteers to score 40-plus points in a game over the past 34 seasons (1990-2024), since Houston’s performance. • Knecht is the third Volunteer to drop 40-plus points at Food City Center, alongside Allan Houston (43 on Feb. 10, 1990, versus LSU) and Dyron Nix (40 on Nov. 25, 1988, versus Tennessee Tech) • Over the last 34 seasons (1990-2024), Knecht owns three of the four highest single-game point totals by a Volunteer. • After never eclipsing 34 points in his two seasons at Northern Colorado, Knecht has scored 35-plus points five times in 2023-24, including in four of the past 16 games. • The only other Tennessee player ever to record five 35-point games in a single season is Ernie Grunfeld, who did so in 1975-76. • Knecht’s five 35-point performances, in only 31 appearances, put him in sole possession of fourth place in program history for a full career, trailing only the 11 by Bernard King (1974-77), the eight by Ernie Grunfeld (1973-77) and the six by Allan Houston (1989-93). • Knecht is the first player in Tennessee history with four 35-point performances in SEC play in a single season, while only Ernie Grunfeld, Allan Houston and Bernard King even have four such outings in a full career. • Knecht now owns 10 30-point performances in his three-year Division I career, with seven in his lone season as a Volunteer and six in the past 16 affairs. • Knecht’s seven 30-point games this season match Dale Ellis (1982-83), Ernie Grunfeld (1975-76) and Bernard King (1975-76) for the fifth-most in program history, with only King (twice), Allan Houston and Tony White ever notching more. • The seven 30-point outings by Knecht, in just 31 contests at Tennessee, already put him in sole possession of eighth place on the school’s career leaderboard. • Of Knecht’s 19 25-point showings at the Division I level, 11 are in 2023-24, with 10 of them in the past 17 games. • Knecht now possesses 35 20-point outings in as a Division I player, including 16 in his lone season at Tennessee and 13 in the last 17 contests. • The only other SEC players with 14 made field goals in a game this season are South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles on Feb. 10 against Vanderbilt and Rob Dillingham on Feb. 3 versus Tennessee. • Knecht’s prior 14 field-goal performance came on Jan. 21, 2023, during his tenure at Northern Colorado when he went 14-of-21 against Idaho. • The six 3-pointers for Knecht matched the career highs he set on Feb. 10, 2024, at Texas A&M and Jan. 14, 2023, at Portland State while at Northern Colorado. • With 662 points this season, Knecht already ranks No. 11 on the program’s single-season leaderboard, including third in the past 30 years (1994-2024). • Knecht has now scored double-digit points in a half on 12 occasions, including in 10 of the past 16 contests. • Knecht now owns 16 single-half performances of 15-plus points, with seven occurrences of 20-plus points.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 7/8 Tennessee secured another series win with a 24-1 thrashing of Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, recording season highs in runs and hits (20) to run its winning streak to 14 games.
UT scored two or more runs in seven of the eight innings it batted it and five different Vols had multi-hit efforts while eight different players drove in runs on the day for UT, led by a career day from sophomore Reese Chapman, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and six RBIs after hitting his first-ever grand slam in the sixth inning.
Blake Burke also had a great day at the dish with three hits, three runs and four RBIs. All three of his knocks went for extra bases as he had a pair of doubles and a three-run homer.
Asher Bradd drove in the lone run for the Fighting Illini (5-8) with an RBI groundout in the top of the fifth. Starting pitcher Logan Tabeling fell to 0-2 on the year after giving up seven runs on four hits and four walks in just 1.2 innings of work.
UP NEXT: The Vols (15-1) and Illini wrap up their weekend series on Sunday at 1 p.m. on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
STATS OF THE GAME: With his performance on Saturday, Beam recorded his 20th career victory, moving into a tie for 10th on Tennessee’s career wins list with Jeff Glover (1984-86) and Bill Aldridge (1975-78).
With his three-run blast on Saturday, Burke moved into sole possession of seventh on UT’s all-time home runs list and is just five away from tying Luc Lipcius’ program record of 40 homers.
Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | March 09, 2024 | Eric Trainer
GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 5 seed Tennessee overcame a 23-point first-half deficit and took a two-point lead with 24 seconds remaining before South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso banked-in a three-pointer as time expired to give the top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Gamecocks a 74-73 win on Saturday night in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The Lady Vols, who have fallen to the undefeated USC squad by scores of 11, eight and now one over the past 24 days, including two games in the past week, were a last-second heart-breaker away from advancing to their second SEC Tournament championship game in as many years and knocking off their first No. 1 team since 2005.
Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson, who flirted with a triple-double for UT (19-12), finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Senior guard Jewel Spear was right behind her with 21, as the duo put up 20+ points in back-to-back games in the league tourney.
The Gamecocks (31-0) were led by 13 points from Cardoso and reserve guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, while Raven Johnson tossed in 11.
South Carolina opened up a 10-0 lead over the first five-plus minutes with all five starters scoring as Tennessee suffered through a 0-for-8 shooting drought into the 4:18 media timeout. Jackson finally broke the ice for the Lady Vols with a three-pointer with 2:51 remaining in the quarter to make it 13-3 Gamecocks. Spear then connected from long range 17 seconds later to cut the gap to 15-6 with 2:24 to go. USC would hit the final four points of the period to clutch a 19-6 advantage after one.
A 4-0 burst by South Carolina at the outset of the second stanza forced UT to take a quick timeout, trailing 23-6 with 8:32 remaining. Jillian Hollingshead took a lob inside and scored off the glass to make it 23-8 with 8:13 to go. USC scored six more before Spear answered with a layup to make it 29-10 with 5:29 left in the half. After the Gamecocks padded the lead to 23, 35-12, at the 3:11 mark, Tennessee went to work chipping away at the deficit. A pair of inside buckets by Tamari Key and Karoline Striplin cut the gap to 19, 35-16, with 2:07 left. UT would continue an 11-1 half-closing run, getting a pair of free throws from Striplin at the 1:16 mark, a Spear three-pointer with 57 seconds on the clock and two charity tosses from Jasmine Powell with five ticks left to make it a 13-point deficit at the half at 36-23.
Tennessee continued its push at the start of the second half, getting a pair of Jackson jumpers and two Spear free throws to trim the gap to nine, 39-30, with 6:56 to go. Another surge came courtesy of a Jackson jumper, followed by a Sara Puckett corner three to whittle the deficit to seven, 42-35, with 5:57 remaining. Buckets by Cardoso and Chloe Kitts, however, pushed the Gamecock lead back to 11, 46-35, before the teams headed to the 4:54 media timeout. After getting fouled on a three-pointer attempt just before that break, Spear promptly stepped to the line after the media stoppage and nailed all three tries to pull UT back within eight, 46-38. After a four-point Gamecock response set the deficit back to 12, 50-38, a Spear jumper in the lane and a three from Tess Darby on the wing reeled the Gamecocks back within nine, 54-45, at the 1:43 mark. A Jackson jumper on the break cut it to eight, 56-48, with 50 ticks left, but South Carolina got a Kitts bucket and a pair of free throws by Fulwiley just before the buzzer to take a 60-48 lead into the fourth.
The Lady Vols twice cut the margin to six early in the final frame, getting a trio of free throws from Puckett after being fouled on a three-point attempt to make it 60-54 with 8:32 to go. Then a Key bucket in the paint with 7:54 remaining cut it to 62-56. UT wasn’t done, trimming it to three on a Powell three-ball with 6:33 on the clock and whittling it to two on a Jackson layup by the 5:04 mark, 65-63, to force a South Carolina timeout. Key then brought her team all the way back, knotting the score at 65 with a bucket in the paint at the 4:12 mark. Over the next two and a half minutes, the teams exchanged points, with Spear twice tying the game with pairs of free throws with 3:04 and 2:26 remaining. Jackson then gave the Big Orange their fourth tie, 71-71, with 1:33 on the board and lifted Tennessee into the lead, 73-71, with 24 seconds left. After UT fouled Fulwiley with a second left, USC inbounded the ball on the sideline on its end of the court. The pass triggered by Johnson ended up finding Cardoso at the top of the key, and her desperation shot left her hands before the buzzer sounded and found its target.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will return to Knoxville on Sunday and await the NCAA Selection Show. It will be televised next Sunday, March 17, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
JEWEL CONTINUES TO SHINE: With 21 points vs. South Carolina, Jewel Spear tallied her eighth game of the season with 20+ points and the 31st of her career. Additionally, the guard was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line vs. the Gamecocks.
ANOTHER STAT-STUFFING EFFORT FROM KEA: Jackson registered a game-high 22 points, nine rebounds and career-best seven assists against South Carolina, leading the team in all three categories. Her 20+ point effort marked her 11th of the season and her 27th as a Lady Vol. That total ranks fifth all-time at UT. Jackson also tied her season high of three shots from deep.
PRODUCTIVE TRIO IN GREENVILLE: Jewel Spear, Rickea Jackson and Sara Puckett all averaged double-figure scoring at the SEC Tournament this week. Spear finished at 18.3 points per contest, while Jackson put up 17.3 ppg. along with 9.0 rebounds per game and Puckett produced 12.7 ppg.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Solid pitching combined with timely hitting propelled No. 8 Tennessee to a 5-0 shutout win over Ohio State at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Saturday night.
The victory is Tennessee’s ninth shutout of the season and its third straight.
Graduate pitcher Payton Gottshall – a Massillon, Ohio, native – got the start for UT and pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless ball. She shut down Ohio State’s offense, holding it without a hit until the fourth inning.
Gottshall scattered three hits with six strikeouts as she earned her seventh victory of the year.
Sophomore Karlyn Pickens came on in relief with two away in the fifth and finished the final 1.1 frames. She closed the door on the Buckeyes and completed the shutout win. Pickens struck out the final batter of the game.
Taylor Pannell had the clutch hit of the night as she roped an RBI triple off the right-field wall in the bottom of the fifth. The hit scored Katie Taylor and Laura Mealer and added a little insurance to Tennessee’s lead.
An error later in the frame allowed Pannell to come home to score UT’s fifth run of the night.
Tennessee finished with six hits on the night, led by Kiki Milloy and McKenna Gibson who each had two. Gibson opened the scoring in the first as she ripped a single down the left-field line that allowed Milloy to come around and score.
Senior Zaida Puni and Pannell picked up the Lady Vols’ other two hits.
Allison Smith started in the circle for Ohio State and pitched a complete game, allowing five runs on six hits. She walked four and struck out five in the loss and is now 6-4.
Tegan Cortelletti picked up OSU’s first hit in the fourth inning on a bunt single. Taylor Heckman and Jasmyn Burns each singled for the Buckeyes.
UP NEXT The Lady Vols close out the Tennessee Classic Sunday afternoon against Ohio State. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m. ET. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+ or through the WatchESPN app.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Junior newcomer Laura Mealer made a little history Friday night at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium as she powered the No. 8 Lady Vols to a pair of wins over Missouri State and South Dakota – 16-0 and 6-0, respectively.
In game one versus Missouri State, Mealer went 3-for-3 at the plate with three home runs – tying UT’s single-game home run record – and five RBIs. She is only the second player in program history to achieve the feat, joining Lauren Gibson who did so on April 20, 2013, against Ole Miss.
The Chapel Hill, Tennessee, native added another home run in game two versus South Dakota to bring her Friday night tally to four.
On the day, Mealer went 4-for-6 with four home runs and seven RBIs.
GAME ONE – No. 8 Tennessee 16, Missouri State 0 Tennessee pulled away early from Missouri State, scoring four runs in the first and one in the second before exploding for eight runs in the third. The Lady Vols tacked on three more runs in the fourth.
Kiki Milloy, McKenna Gibson, and Mealer all finished with three hits. Gibson drove in four runs, while Milloy came across the plate to score four times.
Senior Zaida Puni also hit a home run against the Bears, finishing the night with a pair of RBIs.
Graduate Payton Gottshall got the start in the circle and tossed four innings. She scattered two hits, walked one and struck out five – earning her sixth victory of the season. Sophomore Charli Orsini relieved her in the fifth and struck out one as she closed out Tennessee’s run-rule win.
GAME TWO – No. 8 Tennessee 6, South Dakota 0 UT earned its eighth shutout win of the season in Friday’s nightcap, with sophomore Karlyn Pickens tossing her fifth complete-game shutout of the season. The right-hander fanned 13 on the night and allowed just one hit and one walk.
Pickens is now 8-2 on the year.
The Lady Vols scored three quick runs in the first inning but were held scoreless until the fifth. Mealer broke the drought with her fourth home run of the day – a two-run shot to left.
Milloy added the lead in the sixth with an RBI double.
Puni closed out game two going 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBIs. She hit her second home run of the day in the game’s first innings.
UP NEXT The Tennessee Invitational continues on Saturday with four games scheduled. The Lady Vols are slated to play Ohio State at 12:30 p.m. ET before the tournament enters bracket play for the final four games of the weekend.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Junior pitcher AJ Causey turned in yet another strong performance on the mound while the Vols got key hits when they needed them to take down Illinois, 6-3, on a rainy Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
After giving up a run in the top of the first, Causey settled in and was dominant for the remainder of his outing, racking up 12 strikeouts to tie a career high. The Alabama native scattered six hits and allowed just the one run on the night to pick up the win and improve to 3-0 on the year.
The Vols (14-1) responded immediately after falling into an early 1-0 hole, tagging Illinois starter Jack Crowder for three runs in the bottom of the first to take a lead that they held for the rest of the game. Christian Moore and Blake Burke opened the inning with back-to-back doubles to tie the game at one before Billy Amick hit his ninth home run of the year one batter later to give UT a 3-1 lead.
Tennessee extended its lead to 4-1 in the second courtesy of a solo homer from Cal Stark, his first of the year, and added runs in the sixth and the eighth to build a 6-1 lead.
Dylan Dreiling had the best night at the plate for the Vols, going 2-for-3 with a solo homer, two runs scored and a walk. Dean Curley also added to his RBI total with a run-scoring double in the sixth inning.
Andrew Behnke posted another impressive relief outing, tossing two shutout innings with three strikeouts while working out of a couple of jams. Sophomore Marcus Phillips earned his first-career save by retiring the final two batters of the game to halt a potential comeback bid after the Fighting Illini plated a pair of runs in the top of the ninth to cut their deficit to three.
Camden Janik led Illinois with three hits and two RBIs while Cal Hejza and Brody Harding also tallied two hits apiece. Crowder suffered the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year after allowing five runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings of work.
UP NEXT: Game two between the Vols and Fighting Illini is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
STAT OF THE GAME: Causey tied a career high with 12 strikeouts in Friday’s victory, marking the third time he’s hit that mark in his career and the first time he’s done so at Tennessee.
Hendersonville, TN (WOKI) Thursday’s search of a Kentucky landfill for evidence related to the disappearance of a Sumner County autistic teen has come up empty.
While the search for 15-year-old Sebastian Rogers continues, the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office says the search at the Hopkins County, Kentucky landfill is over after “exhaustive efforts” to find any evidence that would help find the missing teen.
In a media release issued Friday, authorities said no leads or evidence pertaining to Rogers’ whereabouts were discovered during the operation. The decision to search the landfill was made “in accordance with ongoing investigative efforts and information gathered in the search for Rogers,” the sheriff’s office said.
“While we had hoped for a different outcome, our commitment to finding Sebastian remains unwavering,” said Sumner County Sheriff Sonny Weatherford. “We will continue to explore all available avenues and resources to bring closure to this case and provide answers to Sebastian’s family and loved ones.”
An Amber Alert remains in effect for Rogers who was last seen nearly two weeks ago.
Law enforcement urges anyone with information regarding Rogers’ disappearance to come forward and assist in the investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact 615-451-3838, 1-800-TBI-FIND, or [email protected].
Friendsville, TN (WOKI) A Friendsville woman is facing charges for logging false hours at the Knoxville company for which she worked, racking up more than $100,000 in pay she did not earn.
According to a police report, Brandi Marie McCraine McConniel had been stealing from Goddard Industrial since she was hired in 2020.
The report says McConniel was in charge of processing payroll at the company; police say, using that access, McConniel logged extra hours, paid time off and vacation pay totaling over $100,000 for herself and nearly $9,000.00 for her daughter.
She was charged with computer offense and theft.
McConniel’s daughter was not charged, but could be at a later date by the district attorney.
UPDATE: After two hours of jury deliberations Friday, Robin Howington was found guilty of reckless homicide in the death of her five year old daughter.
FULL STORY:
Day four in the trial of Robin Howington, the Knoxville woman accused of shooting and killing her five year old daughter in 2019, continued Thursday with Howington taking the witness stand in her own defense.
Howington was called to the stand by the prosecution.
An emotional Howington claimed that her 2-year-old son Gavin found the gun, and shot and killed Destiny, Howington’s 5-year-old daughter.
Howington said she went outside for a few minutes to move her car and smoke, and that the gun was fired as she was approaching the house to go back inside.
Howington told the court that she moved the gun outside because she didn’t want any more accidental shots to be fired.
The prosecution cross-examined Howington, and pointed out that Howington said she hadn’t seen the gun in the days prior to the shooting.
“Within the three minutes you were outside, it had to be somewhere pretty readily accessible to him?” the prosecutor asked Howington.
“Correct,” Howington responded. “I had never seen it with my own eyes until the 14th [the night of the shooting],” she said.
“So for two days, you don’t lay eyes on your gun, but within three minutes, your 2-year-old found it?” The prosecutor asked Howington.
“Yes ma’am,” she said.
“You’re loaded, cocked, no safety on the gun,” the prosecutor said.
“Yes ma’am,” Howington said.
Earlier in the day, KPD Officer Brandon Wardlaw was called to the witness stand by the prosecution. Wardlaw was one of the officers who questioned Howington the night of the shooting. Wardlaw also confiscated Howington’s phone that night.
In a contentious exchange between Wardlaw and the defense attorney, the defense attorney argued that Wardlaw took Howington’s phone away too quickly, and did not have a reason to take her phone.
Wardlaw told the court he originally let Howington keep her phone, and only took it away after he found out she tried to give it to someone in a hospital bathroom. Wardlaw said it was suspicious that she was trying to get rid of, or destroy evidence.
