Knoxville, TN (WOKI / WVLT) The lawsuit against the City of Knoxville in the deadly shooting of Austin-East Magnet High School student Anthony Thompson Jr. has been dismissed.
WVLT news reporting Monday afternoon the judge ruling in favor of the city in the lawsuit filed in April of 2022 by the mother of Anthony Thompson, Jr. which also listed the Knoxville Police Department and a number of others as culpable in her son’s death.
Thompson Jr. was an Austin-East Magnet High School student who was shot and killed at the school by Knoxville police officers in April of 2021 after he brought a gun into the school.
Thompson Jr.’s mother filed the lawsuit in 2022. In the suit, she and other plaintiffs claim that KPD ignored policies on how and when officers engage with students inside schools. The suit also claims that Knox County Schools and KPD did not give officers or school administrators the proper training needed to follow those procedures.
The suit also claims that there were several operational issues specific to Thompson Jr.’s killing that, if remedied beforehand, could have saved his life. The filing claims that several people violated a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which was entered into by the Knox County Schools, the Knoxville Police Department, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Knox County Board of Education two years before the shooting.
Those listed in the suit as not following the MOA are School Security Officer Adam Willson, who was injured in the shooting, and Austin-East’s Principal Nathan Langlois. Several others face blame in the lawsuit as well.
Officer Adam Willson, Officer Brian Baldwin, Lt. Stanley Cash, and Officer Jonathon Clabough were the officers involved in the shooting. None of them faced criminal charges after District Attorney General Charme Allen found it was reasonable for Clabough to feel their lives were in danger and shoot Thompson Jr. During the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the officer-involved shooting, it was found that Clabough also shot Willson, which sparked the shooting in the first place.
In the latest filing, the court dismissed the case with prejudice, granting judgment in favor of the City of Knoxville. The plaintiffs have appealed the decision, however.
While many government offices will be closed on Monday, February 19th in observance of Presidents’ Day, all Knox County early voting locations will be open from 10 am until 6 pm.
The schedule for the remainder of early voting is as follows:
Monday, February 19 10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday, February 20 10 am to 6 pm
Wednesday, February 21 10 am to 6 pm
EXCEPTION – Clear Springs Baptist Church – 10 am to 4 pm
EXCEPTION – Meridian Baptist Church – 10 am to 5 pm
Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | February 18, 2024 | Eric Trainer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee scored a season-high 30 points in the first quarter and never looked back, racing past Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium, 86-61, on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Vols (16-9, 9-4 SEC) shot a sizzling 76.9 percent in the first frame, including an eye-popping 83.3 percent from the three-point arc, to seize a 15-point lead in the first 10 minutes en route to their eighth straight victory in the series with the Commodores (19-8, 6-7 SEC). The Lady Vols finished the game at 52.5 percent from the floor, marking their second-best percentage of the season behind a 53.3 rate vs. Kentucky on Jan. 7.
Fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson enjoyed an 11-for-15 day from the field to lead the Big Orange in scoring, with 24 points, as well as in rebounds (7), assists (4) and steals (1). Senior guard Jewel Spear connected on three of six three-point attempts and contributed 16 points, while fifth-year point guard Jasmine Powell tossed in 12.
Vanderbilt was led by Iyana Moore’s 25 points, while Jordyn Cambridge and Sacha Washington added 14 and 13, respectively.
The Lady Vols were sizzling from the field in the opening quarter, shooting 71 percent from the field early to build a 17-7 lead by the media timeout at the 4:17 mark. Jackson, Spear and Powell all drained three-pointers during that stretch, helping UT ride a 12-2 run into the first break. UT extended a 9-0 scoring spree to 12 straight with a Tess Darby trey to push the lead to 20-7 before Vanderbilt answered with a Jordyn Oliver layup with 3:52 to go. UT closed out the quarter by outscoring VU, 10-6, with Spear contributing a three-pointer and an old fashioned three-point play. Her efforts helped the Big Orange finish the period with 10 made field goals in 13 attempts (76.9), including five of six from long range (83.3), to propel UT to a 30-15 lead.
Tennessee expanded its advantage to 18 by the 6:48 mark in the second quarter, forcing the Commodores to call a timeout. Darby’s second three, sandwiched by inside buckets from Tamari Key, provided the juice for UT’s 7-4 opening surge in the stanza. Vandy scored the next seven points to cut its deficit to 11, 37-26, with 4:38 to go before Jackson answered to push the lead back to 13. Jackson would counter VU surges twice more, hitting a three and a layup to close out the first half scoring and send her squad into the locker room with a 44-29 lead.
The Lady Vols and Commodores exchanged buckets through the first five and a half minutes of the third frame, heading into the media break with UT up, 56-41. Spear drew first in the period, hitting a layup 29 seconds in, before Jackson connected for eight straight points and Kaiya Wynn added a driving layup to put her team back up by 15. Following the break, the Lady Vols increased the lead to 19, 62-43, on the strength of Jackson and Kaiya Wynn putbacks, and then headed to the fourth with a 66-48 advantage as Wynn drained a short jumper to end the stanza just before the buzzer sounded.
Vanderbilt burst out on a 6-2 run to open the final frame, but Jewel Spear drained her third three of the game to force the Commodores to call a timeout with UT leading 71-57 with 6:24 to go. A Jackson layup and Powell jumper put the game out of reach at 75-58 with 3:34 to go, and UT outscored VU, 11-3, the rest of the way on the strength of a Darby three and pairs of free throws by Powell, Karoline Striplin and Avery Strickland.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will be idle on Thursday before welcoming #13/11 LSU to Food City Center on Feb. 25 for a noon test vs. the Tigers. The game will be televised by ESPN and carried on Lady Vol Network stations statewide and via live stream on UTSports.com.
DOMINANCE ON ALL FRONTS: The Lady Vols never trailed in today’s contest and held their largest lead of 25 at the final buzzer. Tennessee possessed leads of 15,15 and 18 at the end of the first three quarters. Vanderbilt, which was shooting 41.8 percent heading into today’s game, shot 32.9 percent from the floor during the matchup. The Commodores allowed Tennessee to shoot 52.5 percent from the field, which is nearly 13 percentage points higher than Vanderbilt’s season defensive average of 39.7.
RICKEA RISING: With 24 points in today’s matchup, Rickea Jackson moved into seventh place on UT’s career scoring list, now having 2,078 points for her career. She surpassed Meighan Simmons, who tallied 2,064 points from 2010-14. Jackson also eclipsed the 700-rebound milestone for her career, tallying seven boards to bring her career total to 704.
JACKSON DROPPING 20+ AGAIN: Rickea Jackson delivered her seventh game with 20 or more points this season and the 23rd of her career. She tied Rennia Davis (2017-21) for fifth on the Lady Vol all-time list and stands four games behind Tamika Catchings (27), who starred from 1997-2001.
SPEAR RESPONDS: Jewel Spear bounced back from a tough outing vs. South Carolina to score 16 points against the Commodores. Spear, averaging 12.8 ppg. against all teams and 14.6 ppg. vs. SEC foes coming into the game, has now scored in double figures 16 times on the year.
DARBY FROM DEEP: With a trio of three-pointers made in the Vandy game, Tess Darby is now tied for seventh all-time in Tennessee history with 161 threes. She joins Brittany Jackson, who played for the Big Orange from 2001-05, on the career leaderboard.
KEY DENYING ACCESS: With two blocks against Vanderbilt, Tamari Key moved into a tie for sixth place all-time in SEC history with South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, totaling 330 total blocks for her career. The redshirt senior from Cary, North Carolina, now has 35 swats on the year.
EARLY OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: In the first quarter, the Big Orange shot 76.9 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from three-point range to jump out to a 30-15 lead at the end of the frame. That total is the most points that Vanderbilt has given up in a stanza this year, and it is the third-most points scored in a quarter, as the Lady Vols scored 31 in the third frame against Troy and 33 in the same frame versus Liberty.
VOLUNTEER STATE SUPREMACY: With today’s win, Tennessee moves to 263-62-1 in matchups against four-year in-state foes. Kellie Harper is 19-1 in those matchups, with a 3-1 record this year. The Lady Vols have now won the past eight outings against the Commodores, bringing the series total to 80-10 in favor of the Big Orange.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The runs came early and often for No. 5/9 Tennessee in Sunday’s 11-5 victory over Baylor to close out the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field.
After a frustrating night at the plate in Saturday’s extra-innings loss to Oklahoma, the Volunteers’ bats came to life in Sunday’s nightcap as the Big Orange cranked out 12 hits to improve to 2-1 on the year.
Kavares Tears and Billy Amick both homered, finished with multiple hits and three RBIs apiece on a night where eight different Vols had at least one base knock. Christian Moore also had another impressive all-around night at the dish, reaching base four times with a pair of doubles, two walks, two RBIs and two runs scored.
After falling into an early 2-0 hole in the first inning, Tennessee jumped in front with one swing of the bat in the top of the second as Tears hit a 387-foot opposite field blast to put the Vols ahead 3-2.
The Bears (0-3) briefly tied things back up with a run in the second, but UT answered right back with another three-spot in the top of the third after an Amick two-run triple and a Cannon Peebles sacrifice fly to take the lead for good.
Despite a shaky first inning in relief of starter Zander Sechrist, sophomore Nate Snead settled in nicely to give UT a solid performance out of the bullpen. The hard-throwing right hander struck out four in five innings of work while giving up two runs on four hits to pick up his first win as a Vol in his Tennessee debut.
Cal transfer Chris Stamos took over for Snead to start the eighth inning and pitched two scoreless frames with four strikeouts to close out the victory.
With four teams having finished this weekend’s tournament with a 2-1 record, the Vols were tabbed as the 2024 Shriners Children’s College Showdown Champions after having the best run differential of the four clubs (Tennessee – +6, Oklahoma – +3, Texas Tech – +3, Oregon – +1).
UP NEXT: The Vols return to Knoxville to kick off a 15-game homestand with their 2024 home opener on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against UNC Asheville. UT will also host ETSU on Wednesday at the same time before welcoming Albany to Lindsey Nelson Stadium for a weekend series starting on Friday.
STAT OF THE GAME: After being held off the board in the first inning, Tennessee scored at least one run in each of the next six frames to build an 11-5 advantage heading into the eighth inning.
The Jefferson County Police Department is searching for a man who allegedly assaulted a police officer.
Officers responded to a theft complaint at Walmart on E. Broadway Blvd. Saturday and found 53-year-old James Lee Rucker in the parking lot.
He fled in a Jeep but turned back into the parking lot at a high rate of speed and intentionally struck the patrol car head on, rendering it inoperable.
The jeep was found abandoned at exit 4 on I-81. Rucker is wanted for aggravated assault on a police officer, theft and other charges.
The officer was uninjured, if you see him please call 911 if you.
Greene County officials are investigating a deadly fire.
Crews called to 436 Robert Harmon Road last night (Sunday) and were told with someone was still inside and unfortunately firefighters did discovered a body inside while battling the blaze.
The identity of the body has not yet been determined. The remains of the body were sent to the William L. Jenkins Forensic Center for an autopsy and formal identification.
Investigators with the TBI and the fire/arson investigators with the GCSD continue to investigate the cause of the fire.
The Blount County Sheriff’s Office releases the body camera footage in the death of Deputy Greg McCowan and injuring of Deputy Shelby Eggers during a shooting following a traffic stop.
It happened on February 8th and during the stop, things escalated and Kenneth DeHart, Jr. fired shots at the deputies, killing McCowan and hitting Eggers multiple times in the leg.
The video shows Dehart refusing to exit the vehicle after repeatedly being asked by deputies after Eggers smelled marijuana. Dehart was tased then shot the deputies.
Several others are also charged in the case for giving aid to Kenneth DeHart, Jr. His brother, Marcus DeHart, girlfriend Carrie Matthews and Maurice Warren have all been charged with accessory after the fact.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team turned in a resounding 88-53 victory Saturday night at a sold-out Food City Center to complete a season sweep of its in-state foe, Vanderbilt, for the sixth time in the past seven campaigns.
No. 8/9 Tennessee (19-6, 9-3 SEC) never trailed the Commodores and led by as many as 41 points, including by 31 at halftime. All five starters scored between 11 and 14 points for the victors, with none playing even 25 minutes in the team’s second win this week by 29-plus.
The Volunteers stormed out to a 13-3 edge through four minutes, as they made their first five field goals and scored 10 straight points in just 1:57. Tennessee soon used another 11-0 surge in 2:58 to spark a 20-1 extended run over 7:19, taking full control of contest by claiming a 35-8 edge with 6:38 on the ticker.
At that time, the Volunteers were 14-of-25 from the floor and 5-of-10 on 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt (7-18, 2-10 SEC) started just 3-of-17, including 1-of-9 from deep, and went over eight minutes without a made field goal.
Tennessee stretched its advantage all the way to 51-20 at the break, as fifth-year guard Santiago Vescovi, who surpassed 1,500 collegiate points in the triumph, hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The Volunteers’ 31-point halftime margin marked their largest SEC play since Jan. 6, 1999, and their top total in any contest since Nov. 14, 2017. In addition, it matched the seventh-largest halftime edge for any SEC team in league action in at least the last 28 seasons (1996-2024).
The onslaught by the home team continued in the second half, as the Volunteers upped their edge to 40 points, 70-30, with 12:12 to go. The lead twice went up to 41, the latter occasion at 73-32 with 10:42 to play, shortly after which Vanderbilt went on a 10-0 run in 1:43 to get it down to 31 with 8:21 left.
The Commodores, though, never got their deficit below 30 in the second half, as Tennessee soon went on a 7-0 run in just 69 seconds to go back up by 38, 86-48, with 4:18 to go. The Volunteers ultimately claimed their fifth 35-point decision in SEC play in the last 24 seasons (2000-24).
Junior guard Zakai Zeigler recorded a co-team-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a 4-of-5 clip from long range, to go along with a co-game-best five assists. Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht tied Zeigler in both the points and assists column, logging 14 and five, respectively, with the latter one shy of his career high.
Fifth-year guard Josiah-Jordan James put up 13 points, seven rebounds and a game-high three steals, finishing 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 on 3-pointers. Vescovi totaled 12 points on a 4-of-5 long-range clip and he matched both Zeigler and Knecht with a season-high-tying five assists. It marked the first time in exactly three years three Volunteers had five assists in a league game.
Junior forward Jonas Aidoo compiled 11 points and a game-leading eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Tobe Awaka had nine points and freshman guard Cameron Carr scored a career-high eight.
For the second game in a row, Tennessee allowed only one double-digit scorer, with sophomore forward Ven-Allen Lubin leading the Commodores with 10 points. No one else had even nine in the setback.
The Volunteers ended the night 33-of-69 (47.8 percent) from the floor and 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) beyond the arc, good for its most makes in the latter category since Nov. 7, 2022. At the other end, they limited Vanderbilt to 18-of-54 (33.3 percent) and 7-of-25 (28.0 percent) respective clips.
In addition, Tennessee registered a 33-8 edge in point off turnovers, a 25-9 margin in fast-break points and a 30-16 cushion in paint points. Furthermore, it amassed a season-best 28 assists and just seven turnovers, while allowing eight assists and forcing 19 giveaways.
Tennessee now heads to Columbia, Mo., where it takes on Missouri, live on SEC Network, Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at Mizzou 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 now owns 798 victories in his career, seven behind Rick Byrd for No. 14 on the all-time wins list (min. 10 years at a Division I school). • The Volunteers are now 131-76 all-time against Vanderbilt, good for 31 more victories than they have against any other opponent (Georgia). • Tennessee moved to 13-1 in its last 14 outings versus the Commodores, dating back to Jan. 9, 2018, with the lone setback a one-point road defeat on a buzzer-beater. • Saturday marked the 12th time in the last 14 series meetings the Volunteers were ranked in the AP Poll and the Commodores were not, with Tennessee 11-1 in those matchups. • Tennessee extended its home winning streak against Vanderbilt to seven in a row, going back to Jan. 23, 2018, and now possesses a 77-20 all-time home mark in the series. • Since the 2017-18 season, Tennessee has swept the season series with Vanderbilt in six of seven opportunities. • The 35-point win tied for Tennessee’s second-largest ever against Vanderbilt, trailing a 38-point decision, 76-38, on March 1, 2014, and matching a 56-21 result on Feb. 22, 1947. • Saturday marked the fifth time in series history, regardless of victor, a team won by 35-plus points, with Tennessee owning three of those decisions. • The Volunteers are now 71-22 (.763) across 93 outings as an AP top-10 team in Barnes’ nine-year tenure, all in the past seven seasons. • Tennessee moved to 31-6 (.838) against in-state competition under Barnes, including 14-1 (.933) in the last 15 such games. • Over the last seven seasons (2017-24), Tennessee is now 23-7 (.767) in the second leg of regular season home-and-home matchups. • Tennessee now has five wins by 35-plus points in SEC play in the last 24 years (2000-24), with three of them in the last two seasons and two of them against Vanderbilt. • After defeating Arkansas by 29 points and Vanderbilt by 35 points, Tennessee has now won back-to-back SEC games by 64-plus points for the fifth time in the last 48 seasons (1966-2024), joining spans in 2022-23 (Jan. 3/7), 2018-19 (Jan. 5/8), 2013-14 (March 1/5) and 1998-99 (Jan. 6/9). • Over the last seven seasons (2017-24), there are just four occurrences of an SEC team winning back-to-back league games by a combined total of 64-plus points, with Tennessee logging three of them and Alabama (Jan. 31 and Feb. 4, 2023) owning the other. • The Volunteers’ 28 assists marked their top total since registering 29 on Feb. 25, 2023, versus South Carolina, with that also the last time they had a 4/1 assist-to-turnover ratio (29 and four, respectively). • Tennessee last had three players with five assists in a game on Dec. 21, 2022, when Vescovi, Tyreke Key and Olivier Nkamhoua each had that number versus Austin Peay. • The last time three Volunteers notched five assists in an SEC contest was on Feb. 17, 2021, when Vescovi, Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer all had that exact figure against South Carolina. • The 41-point lead marked the largest advantage by Tennessee in a game this season, surpassing the 40-point edge it held in the season opener against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 6, 2023. • The Volunteers last made 14 shots from 3-point range in a game on Nov. 7, 2022, when they went 14-of-44 versus Tennessee Tech. • Tennessee has allowed just two total players in its last two games to eclipse eight points: Arkansas’ Tramon Mark had 14 Wednesday and Lubin had 10 Saturday. • The Volunteers set new season bests in points off turnovers (33), points-off-turnovers margin (plus-27), fast-break points (25) and fast-break-points margin (plus-16). • After making its third field goal with 14:25 on the first-half clock, Vanderbilt did not hit another until it showed 6:22, as it missed nine consecutive attempts. • The only largest halftime lead for Tennessee in SEC play in at least the last 28 seasons (1996-2024) was a 32-point margin, 50-18, against LSU on Jan. 6, 1999. • Tennessee’s 31-point halftime cushion marked the ninth time in at least the last 28 seasons (1996-2024) and SEC team led by that many points at the break, with only six teams posting a higher margin. • The last time Tennessee led by at least 31 points at halftime was Nov. 14, 2017, when it held a 39-point edge, 52-13, against High Point. • Saturday marked the 12th time in at least the last 28 seasons (1996-2024) the Volunteers led by 30-plus at halftime in any game and the ninth time holding an advantage of over 30 at the break. • Tennessee became the seventh Division I team this season—none of the other six are in a Power Six league—to lead a conference game by 30-plus points at halftime, including the fifth hold an edge of at least 31. • The Volunteers shot 20-of-38 (52.6 percent) in the first half, good for their most makes in a frame this season after previously reaching 19 on three occasions. • Tennessee’s 51-point first half marked its eighth time logging 50-plus in a session in 2023-24, eclipsing its entire total of seven from the prior two seasons (2021-23) combined. • Freshman forward J.P. Estrella missed his second consecutive game due to a left leg injury and remains day-to-day moving forward. • Vescovi, on a 3-pointer at the 16:47 mark of the first half became the 19th player in Tennessee history to reach 1,500 points and now possesses 1,509 in his career. • Vescovi also passed Cameron Tatum (2008-12) for sole possession of third place in program history with his 139th start. • James passed Tyler Smith (2007-10) for the No. 15 spot on the program’s all-time offensive rebounding list, now with 181. • Zeigler passed Fred Jenkins (1983-87) for sole possession of the No. 10 spot on Tennessee’s all-time assists leaderboard, now with 393. • Carr, who notched his first collegiate steal, went 2-of-4 from 3-point range to double his season total in makes from beyond the arc and also scored five more points than his prior best (three). • Knecht is the 13th SEC player in the last 12 years (2012-24) to record 14-plus points in 11 straight league games in a single season and the only Volunteer to do so in at least the last 19 campaigns (2005-24). • Freshman forward Cade Phillips tied his career high with three rebounds and logged multiple assists for the first time. • Senior forward Colin Coyne recorded the second rebound of his Tennessee career, while redshirt sophomore guard Grant Hurst pulled down his first.
Clearwater, Fla. – Day one at the 2024 Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational was a tough one for No. 2 Tennessee as it dropped two games despite strong pitching and out-hitting its opponents.
In game one, UT fell to No. 9 Stanford in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel. In its second game versus No. 3 Texas, the Lady Vols again came out on the wrong end of a 2-1 nail bitter.
Tennessee (4-2) out-hit Stanford five to two before out-hitting Texas eight to six.
GAME ONE: No. 2 Tennessee 0 – No. 9 Stanford 1 Regan Krause got the start in the circle for Stanford but lasted just two outs before NiJaree Canady came on in relief. The sophomore right-hander finished out the game, tossing 6.1 innings. She allowed just two hits with five strikeouts.
Canady came into the game after Krause loaded the bases in the top of the first and was able to escape the jam and keep Tennessee off the board.
Payton Gottshall tossed a complete game for UT, giving up just one run on two hits. She struck out four and walked three. She took the loss and is now 2-1 this season.
McKenna Gibson led the Lady Vols with two hits, including a leadoff double in the third.
The Cardinal scored the game’s lone run in the bottom of the first as Ava Gall hit a double to score Taryn Kern with two away.
GAME TWO: No. 2 Tennessee 1 – No. 3 Texas 2 Texas jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after two innings courtesy of a Reese Atwood double to right field in the first frame that played Bella Dayton. In the second, an error allowed Texas’ second run to score.
Junior Sophia Nugent got Tennessee on the board with an RBI single to left in the fourth inning, scoring senior Rylie West from second.
In the circle, Karlyn Pickens got the start for UT and went the distance, throwing six innings. The right-hander allowed two runs – one earned – on six hits, with six strikeouts and three walks. She suffered the loss and is 2-1 on the year.
For Texas, Citlaly Gutierrez took the ball and tossed a complete game for the Longhorns. She surrendered one run on eight hits, struck out six and walked none. With the win, Gutierrez improved to 2-0.
UP NEXT Tennessee is back in action on Saturday as it plays Georgia Tech at noon ET before facing No. 19 UCLA at 4 p.m.
ARLINGTON, Texas – Behind a dominant pitching performance and a balanced offensive showing, No. 5/9 Tennessee opened the 2024 season with a 6-2 victory over No. 18/21 Texas Tech in the Shriners Children’s College Classic on Friday night at Globe Life Field.
The duo of AJ Russell and AJ Causey stole to show with a pair of stellar outings on the mound, pitching all nine innings while combining for 17 strikeouts. The AJ’s allowed just two runs on five hits and one walk against a dangerous Red Raiders’ lineup.
Russell got the starting nod and was nearly unhittable for the first four innings, allowing just one hit while racking up a career-high 10 strikeouts in that span. The first eight outs Russell recorded in the game were via strikeout. Causey came on in relief of Russell with one out and two runners on in the fifth, and after giving up a two-run single, was able to strand the tying run at third to end the inning and preserve the Vols’ lead. The Jacksonville State transfer allowed just one hit and faced the minimum over the final four innings while racking up seven strikeouts in his 4.2 innings of work to pick up his first win as a Vol.
Billy Amick and Christian Moore powered the offense with two hits apiece, including a two-run homer by Amick that opened the scoring in the fourth inning. Hunter Ensley and Bradke Lohry also drove in runs for UT on the night while Kavares Tears scored a pair of runs.
Texas Tech struck for their only runs of the game in the bottom of the fifth when TJ Pompey tripled to right center with two outs to plate a pair of runs, however, the Red Raiders had just one runner reach base for the rest of the game. Starting pitcher Kyle Robinson suffered the loss after giving up three runs on four hits in 3.2 innings. Owen Washburn led TTU offensively with two hits and a run scored.
UP NEXT: The Vols are back in action tomorrow night when they take on Oklahoma at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on FloBaseball and feature a live audio stream on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics App.
DID YOU KNOW?: Six players made their UT debuts on the night in Causey, Amick, Bradke Lohry, Cannon Peebles, Dalton Bargo and Robin Villeneuve. Amick, Peebles and Vileneuve all recorded base hits while Causey was the winning pitcher.
STAT OF THE GAME: Of the 27 outs recorded by Russell and Causey, 17 came via strikeout, including a career-high 10 punchouts by Russell.
