KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A two-out, three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning was the difference as the top-ranked Vols fell to No. 17 Auburn, 8-6, Saturday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee (39-4, 18-2 SEC) took the lead three different times, coming in the first, third and seventh innings, but a resilient Auburn (31-13, 12-8 SEC) team kept battling back, time and time again before pulling it out in the ninth inning.
Vols 2B Jorel Ortega / Credit: UT Athletics
The Vols outhit the Tigers 10-6 and lost for the first time this season when outhitting their opponent. Seven different Big Orange batters collected base knocks and three logged multi-hit games.
Drew Gilbert and Cortland Lawson led the offense, with two hits apiece while driving in three of UT’s six runs. Lawson gave UT a jolt on offense after going down in the top of the ninth, shooting an opposite-field liner over the wall to pull the Vols within two. Tennessee brough the tying run to the plate after a Jorel Ortega one-out single, but Konner Copeland was able to get a pair of flyouts to end the game. Copeland earned the win after pitching the final two innings.
Camden Sewell turned in another strong relief outing, going 4.1 innings after starter Blade Tidwell was pulled in the third inning.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will look for its 10th consecutive series victory in the Sunday rubber match. Matinee action kicks off at 1 p.m. at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
NOTABLE
LAWSON CONTINUES BIG WEEKEND: Junior SS Cortland Lawson continued his impressive weekend with another multi-hit performance on Saturday night. The Virginia native went 2-for-3 with a pair of extra-base hits, including his ninth homer of the year. For the series, Lawson is 4-for-8 with a homer, two RBIs and a team-high four runs scored.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A two-out, three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning was the difference as the top-ranked Vols fell to No. 17 Auburn, 8-6, Saturday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee (39-4, 18-2 SEC) took the lead three different times, coming in the first, third and seventh innings, but a resilient Auburn (31-13, 12-8 SEC) team kept battling back, time and time again before pulling it out in the ninth inning.
Vols 2B Jorel Ortega / Credit: UT Athletics
The Vols outhit the Tigers 10-6 and lost for the first time this season when outhitting their opponent. Seven different Big Orange batters collected base knocks and three logged multi-hit games.
Drew Gilbert and Cortland Lawson led the offense, with two hits apiece while driving in three of UT’s six runs. Lawson gave UT a jolt on offense after going down in the top of the ninth, shooting an opposite-field liner over the wall to pull the Vols within two. Tennessee brough the tying run to the plate after a Jorel Ortega one-out single, but Konner Copeland was able to get a pair of flyouts to end the game. Copeland earned the win after pitching the final two innings.
Camden Sewell turned in another strong relief outing, going 4.1 innings after starter Blade Tidwell was pulled in the third inning.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will look for its 10th consecutive series victory in the Sunday rubber match. Matinee action kicks off at 1 p.m. at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
NOTABLE
LAWSON CONTINUES BIG WEEKEND: Junior SS Cortland Lawson continued his impressive weekend with another multi-hit performance on Saturday night. The Virginia native went 2-for-3 with a pair of extra-base hits, including his ninth homer of the year. For the series, Lawson is 4-for-8 with a homer, two RBIs and a team-high four runs scored.
Naomi Judd of the legendary country music duo The Judds has passed at the age of 76.
The news comes not more than 24 hours before Naomi and daughter Wynonna were set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame at a ceremony in Nashville.
A message from Naomi’s daughters Wynonna and Ashley Judd was shared on social media…
Along with their Hall Of Fame induction The Judds had planned a final tour this September-October.
During the 1980s Naomi and Wynonna were a mainstay on country with songs like their first number-one hit “Mama He’s Crazy.”
The Judds were multiple CMA, ACM and Grammy Award winners during their career, and accumulated over a dozen number-one hits.
Naomi’s last televised public performance was earlier this month when she and Wynonna appeared on the CMT Music Awards with an epic version of their classic “Love Can Build A Bridge.”
Naomi Judd (born Diana Ellen Judd on January 11th 1946) was 76 years old at the time of her passing, and her family requests privacy during this difficult time.
Jake Owen is going to be pretty busy for the rest of 2022 with plenty of chances to see him live in concert.
Check out his schedule here…
Fans heading out to see Jake will get a chance to see him perform his new song, “1×1.”
Talking about the Luke Laird, Hillary Lindsey, and Josh Miller written track, Jake says “One by one, year after year, song by song I’m constantly trying to improve myself and my career. This song, aptly titled ‘1×1,’ is very fitting for where I am in my life right now. It’s one of the best songs I’ve been a part of recording and something I’m really proud of. One by one, day by day, step by step, I’m working on a better me.”
Fans will also be looking forward seeing Jake Owen’s hit song “Best Thing Since Backroads” which is a Top-20 and climbing single.
LAS VEGAS – Tennessee VFLs Alontae Taylor and Velus Jones Jr., who led the Volunteers to a resurgence in 2021, fulfilled lifelong dreams on Friday night as the two were selected on the second day of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Taylor was tabbed by the New Orleans Saints in the second round with pick No. 49, while Jones Jr. was drafted by the Chicago Bears at pick No. 71 in round three.
NFL Draft / Credit: UT Athletics
“Whenever my phone started buzzing, I jumped up and quieted everyone down,” Taylor said. “It’s amazing just knowing my dream is coming true. Whenever they announced my name, my grandma is not here and passed away, and I had a picture sitting in front of me, and I gave her a kiss. She was the first person I made sure I gave a kiss to before hugging my mom.”
Taylor, who could play cornerback or safety at the next level, became the highest drafted Tennessee defensive back since Eric Berry went fifth overall to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010. Taylor continued a Knoxville to New Orleans pipeline, joining 2017 draftee Alvin Kamara and current Saints Marquez Callaway, Shy Tuttle, Ethan Wolf and Bryce Thompson.
In 2021, Taylor graded out among the top four cornerbacks in the SEC according to Pro Football Focus. He started all 12 games of the regular season and had a career-best 60 tackles, six pass breakups and two interceptions, including one for a touchdown. He improved his stock with a pick in the Reese’s Senior Bowl and clocked a 4.36 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
Jones Jr. became the third Vol wide receiver selected in as many drafts. He joins a list of VFL wide receiver legends chosen by the Bears, including Lester McClain (1971) and Willie Gault (1983).
Jones Jr. will bring his versatility to Chicago as a receiver and return specialist. The 2021 SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Year and a first-team All-SEC selection was the only player in the nation with over 800+ receiving yards, 200+ punt return yards and 600+ kickoff return yards last fall.
Day three of the NFL Draft now focuses on VFLs defensive lineman Matthew Butler, offensive lineman Cade Mays, defensive back Theo Jackson, wide receiver JaVonta Payton and defensive lineman Ja’Quain Blakely. Coverage of rounds four through seven begins at noon ET Saturday on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC.
Tennessee NFL Draft Picks Round (Pick), Name, Position, Team 2 (49), Alontae Taylor, DB, New Orleans Saints 3 (71), Velus Jones Jr., WR, Chicago Bears
Tennessee NFL Draft Notes
With the two selections on Friday night, Tennessee has had 376 all-time draft picks, which dates back to 1936. That mark includes the AFL Draft, which merged in 1967.
Tennessee was one of only five schools nationally and two in the SEC to produce a defensive back AND wide receiver drafted in the first three rounds. The others include Georgia, Penn State, Baylor and Cincinnati.
The Volunteers have now had at least one wide receiver drafted in three consecutive drafts. That’s the longest streak for the program since they had at least one wide receiver selected in four straight drafts from 2001-04.
Alontae Taylor became the highest drafted Vol defensive back since Eric Berry was selected fifth overall to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010.
Taylor is the 12th Vol drafted all-time by the New Orleans Saints and the highest by the Saints since wide receiver Robert Meachem was pick No. 27 in round one in 2007. He is the first Vol defensive back drafted by the Saints.
It’s the first time since 2007 that the Vols produced a wide receiver AND a defensive back drafted in the first three rounds.
Jones Jr. is the 19th Vol drafted by the Chicago Bears all-time and first since defensive back Jeremy Lincoln in 1992. Jones Jr. is the highest drafted Vol by the Bears since VFL legend Willie Gault was pick No. 18 in the first round in 1983.
Josh Heupel-coached teams have had at least one wide receiver picked in three straight drafts. He has had four wide receivers selected in the last three drafts combined.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee plated 15 runs and logged 16 hits in the seventh and eighth innings to dismantle No. 17/19 Auburn, 17-4, Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Jorel Ortega picked a clutch moment to deliver for the Vols (39-3, 18-1 SEC), who had fallen behind, 4-2, in the sixth inning and were struggling to get the bats going heading to the seventh.
Tennessee Vols / Credit: UT Athletics
That quickly changed as UT strung four straight hits together, scoring a run and loading the bases for Ortega. The second baseman, following a brief delay, put the Vols ahead by smashing a 1-2 fastball into the porches in left center to give the Big Orange a 7-4 lead that was just the start of a massive offensive showing.
In total, Tennessee scored 15 runs in its final two team at-bats, posting eight runs in the seventh and seven more in the eighth. The Vols smashed six homers in those two innings with four coming in the eighth.
Evan Russell supplied two of those jacks, a three-run shot in the seventh and a two-run blast in the eighth that was the 100th of the season for UT.
The Vols entered the sixth inning with just three hits as a team, but over their final six outs on offense, they compiled 16 base knocks, nine going for extra bases.
Auburn (30-13, 11-8 SEC) used a three-run blast from Blake Rambusch to take its sixth-inning lead, but were held scoreless in every other inning. The Tigers battled through two different injuries to its pitchers, beginning with its starter Hayden Mullins, who had to leave the game in second inning with an apparent arm injury.
In total, the Vols had seven players finish the game with multiple hits, racked up 10 extra-base hits and three multi-RBI performances, led by Russell, who tied a career-high six RBIs. Ortega drove in five runs, as well, which marked his most RBIs in a single game.
Mark McLaughlin earned the win, his second of the season, throwing two scoreless innings in relief while striking out three Tigers.
The Vols and Tigers will battle again under the lights tomorrow night. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
NOTABLE
CRUSHING THE CENTURY MARK: With the six home run night, the Volunteers hit their 100th long ball of the season in just the 42nd game of the year. With three weeks left in the regular season, plus the postseason, Tennessee is only seven homers away from tying the program record of 107.
HEAVY HITTERS: Tennessee, with 19 hits and six home runs, posted the highest totals in both columns versus an SEC team in a game this season. It was the Vols best offensive performance in a conference game since defeating Texas A&M, 20-7, in College Station on April 25, 2021, a game where the Vols posted 21 hits and had six big flies.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee plated 15 runs and logged 16 hits in the seventh and eighth innings to dismantle No. 17/19 Auburn, 17-4, Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Jorel Ortega picked a clutch moment to deliver for the Vols (39-3, 18-1 SEC), who had fallen behind, 4-2, in the sixth inning and were struggling to get the bats going heading to the seventh.
Tennessee Vols / Credit: UT Athletics
That quickly changed as UT strung four straight hits together, scoring a run and loading the bases for Ortega. The second baseman, following a brief delay, put the Vols ahead by smashing a 1-2 fastball into the porches in left center to give the Big Orange a 7-4 lead that was just the start of a massive offensive showing.
In total, Tennessee scored 15 runs in its final two team at-bats, posting eight runs in the seventh and seven more in the eighth. The Vols smashed six homers in those two innings with four coming in the eighth.
Evan Russell supplied two of those jacks, a three-run shot in the seventh and a two-run blast in the eighth that was the 100th of the season for UT.
The Vols entered the sixth inning with just three hits as a team, but over their final six outs on offense, they compiled 16 base knocks, nine going for extra bases.
Auburn (30-13, 11-8 SEC) used a three-run blast from Blake Rambusch to take its sixth-inning lead, but were held scoreless in every other inning. The Tigers battled through two different injuries to its pitchers, beginning with its starter Hayden Mullins, who had to leave the game in second inning with an apparent arm injury.
In total, the Vols had seven players finish the game with multiple hits, racked up 10 extra-base hits and three multi-RBI performances, led by Russell, who tied a career-high six RBIs. Ortega drove in five runs, as well, which marked his most RBIs in a single game.
Mark McLaughlin earned the win, his second of the season, throwing two scoreless innings in relief while striking out three Tigers.
The Vols and Tigers will battle again under the lights tomorrow night. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
NOTABLE
CRUSHING THE CENTURY MARK: With the six home run night, the Volunteers hit their 100th long ball of the season in just the 42nd game of the year. With three weeks left in the regular season, plus the postseason, Tennessee is only seven homers away from tying the program record of 107.
HEAVY HITTERS: Tennessee, with 19 hits and six home runs, posted the highest totals in both columns versus an SEC team in a game this season. It was the Vols best offensive performance in a conference game since defeating Texas A&M, 20-7, in College Station on April 25, 2021, a game where the Vols posted 21 hits and had six big flies.
Earlier this year Tiffany Woys‘ released her 6-track EP, All About Love.
The EP covers all the different sides of love – Tiffany thinks fans will find a song to connect with no matter where they are in their life, “Love is a universal language. It’s a feeling that everyone experiences along with heartbreak. It’s all I’ve really wanted to convey with listeners. I want people to know we are all more related than you think. That’s through love.”
Now Tiffany is also sharing the new music video for her song “I Don’t Want You Back” – watch it here…
OXFORD, Miss. — Entering the weekend winning eight of its last nine games, the 12th-ranked Lady Vol softball team travels to Oxford, Mississippi, for a three-game set against the Ole Miss Rebels. UT’s final road series of the regular season runs Saturday to Monday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Saturday’s series opener is scheduled for a 5 p.m. ET first pitch and will be streamed online via SEC Network+. Sunday and Monday’s action will be televised on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, with Pam Ward (play-by-play) and Jenny Dalton-Hill (analyst) set to call the linear broadcasts from Oxford.
Lady Vols / Credit: UT Athletics
Voice of the Lady Vols softball team Brian Rice will host an audio broadcast for all three games, available for listening on UTSports.com and locally in Knoxville on AM 990 and FM 99.1 (Sunday only).
POWER ON DISPLAY: Tennessee wrapped up non-conference play at Liberty on Wednesday, mashing three home runs off the bats of Kiki Milloy, Rylie West and Zaida Puni on the way to a 7-2 victory over the Flames. The Lady Vols have hit three or more homers in 10 games this season, outscoring opponents 84-14 in those contests.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: The Lady Vols hosted the 2022 Lady Vol Challenge last week and rounded out an undefeated weekend with a 9-1 run-rule victory over ECU in the tournament finale. UT posted 12 hits, including six for extra bases, with McKenna Gibson and Rylie West each mashing two-run homers.
Lady Vol senior Ashley Rogers opened the Lady Vol Challenge with the 15th perfect game in program history, retiring 15 consecutive East Carolina batters in the 8-0 run-rule win. She fanned a season-high 12 batters, striking out the side three times in five innings pitched.
Between its two victories over the Pirates, Tennessee picked up a 4-2 win over SoCon front runner UNC Greesnboro. Graduate lefty Erin Edmoundson racked up 10 Ks against the Spartans for her third double-digit strikeout effort this season.
LOVIN’ THE LONG BALL: Tennessee’s 76 home runs this season are the most for the program in a single season since hitting 100 in 2015. Tennessee’s 1.62 home runs per game rank fourth in the SEC and 12th in the country this year, and UT touts a 19-2 record when hitting two or more homers in a game in 2022.
WE LOVE FREE BASES: The Lady Vols lead the SEC with 78 HBP this season, led by career record holder Ashley Morgan who ranks second in the league with 16 HBP. Ivy Davis (15), Kiki Milloy (13) and McKenna Gibson (10) each sit inside the conference’s top 10 in HBP this season, and UT is the only program in the country with four players sporting 10-plus HBP in 2022.
STANDINGS UPDATE: With two weekends of conference play remaining, the Lady Vols check in at third in the standings with an 11-6 record against SEC opponents. Arkansas (14-4) and Alabama (14-7) hold the top two spots in the league, while Georgia (10-8) and LSU (10-8) are tied for fourth, battling for a No. 4 seed that will earn a double bye at the SEC Tournament.
TOP-NOTCH OFFENSE: Tennessee boasts the SEC’s top scoring offense with 110 runs scored in conference games this season. The Lady Vols also rank second in the league in doubles (32), slugging percentage (.529) and stolen bases (19) in SEC action while sitting third in on-base percentage (.499).
NOTING OLE MISS: The Rebels (34-14, 8-10 SEC) bring a five-game win streak into the weekend after an 11-0 run-rule win at Memphis Tuesday night. Last weekend, Ole Miss swept South Carolina in a three-game conference series on the road.
Head Coach (Record at OM): Jamie Trachsel (70-36)
Series Record: Tennessee leads 48-10
Last Meeting: W, 2-1 (9) on 4/28/19 in Oxford, Miss.
Key Stat: The Rebel pitching staff is tied for first in the SEC with 13 shutouts this season. Freshman RHP Catelyn Riley — a Dandridge, Tennessee, native — leads the unit with a 10-3 record in 72.1 innings.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will close out the 2022 regular season next week at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, playing host to the Auburn Tigers for a three-game series Friday through Sunday, May 6-8.
Miranda Lambert‘s new album Palomino is available now!
Miranda says “The making of this record has been one of the most fun and creative experiences of my career.”
It was the time when everything was shutdown that Miranda and her team got the musical ball rolling on Palomino, “Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby and I went out to my farm in Tennessee in 2020 and started writing songs… We figured, while we have time, let’s get out to the country and see what happens. The first one we wrote was ‘Tourist’ and that set us on a path to create something with a bit of a theme.”
Miranda adds, “‘Tourist’ was the first song we wrote for Palomino and it set the tone for the record. I’ve toured, but I haven’t really gotten to be a tourist. This is the song on the record I want to live out the most.”
Miranda says, “Since we couldn’t travel at the time, we decided to go on a journey through songs…You’ll visit 36 different places as you travel through this record. You’ll meet tons of characters like Katie with a K and the trucker Dwayne. You’ll get acquainted with old friends, like ‘Geraldene’ and visit places we’ve already been together like ‘Waxahachie’. Enjoy the trip y’all.“
When it comes to her favorites on the album, Miranda says it’s the one filled with puns that she loves, “One of the songs that to me, is so clever, and like funny, and simple, but a little complex is ‘Country Money’…I wrote that with Aaron Raitiere and Mikey Rogers and I just loved it. That song, to me, has little Easter Eggs of like puns in it, and stuff.”
Of the 15 tracks on Palomino Miranda Lambert had a hand in co-writing 14 of them.
The one song Miranda didn’t write is also the album’s only cover song – “Wandering Spirit” – which is originally a Mick Jagger tune, “I’ve loved ‘Wandering Spirit.’ I’d already heard it a long time ago, and thought it was so cool, you know, probably like on a playlist somewhere, like what is that? And so I knew the song existed and I knew what it was about. And I just never would have thought to like, cover it, you know, or that I could even find a way to do it my style but then once this record was this record, it was like we have to have it. You know? If it wasn’t a cover would probably name the whole thing Wandering Spirit because it just really encompassed what we were trying to do. Of course, Mick Jagger did it better.”
Palomino from Miranda Lambert is available now – and it includes her current single “If I Was A Cowboy” – which was the result of Lambert collaborating for the first time with someone she’d never written with before, “I’ve met a new friend in the last year and a half Jesse Fraser. Who’s really well…I mean, he just won songwriter of the year. He’s well acclaimed songwriter…we’re friends of friends, but never really hung out, and he was like, ‘hey I have a date open you want to write today?’ And I was already pretty much done with writing for Palomino. But we were still cutting. And our first time to write together. He played me this really cool Country and Western track, which I loved. And I was like, that’s fun. And we wrote, ‘If I Was A Cowboy.’ And it was like, beginner’s luck, I guess. Because it was first time we’d ever written together it was just us two. And I was like, man, this song fits this vibe, too. Like, it was kind of like the cherry on top, I guess. And it was something I was missing feel-wise. And so I sent it to Luke (Dick) and Jon (Randall). I was like, I know we have a couple more days in the studio. I’d love to give this a whirl. And, you know, it really feels like the girl that singing ‘In His Arms.’ This is also her song. You know? And it fit right in there. And I love that song. So you mean the whole record as a whole. It’s like seven writers, you know, and we didn’t do that for any reason, except it was a vibe and it was, we were keeping it tight because we had a vision of this map and we wanted to make sure we stayed on track.”
