Ortega Takes Home SEC Player of the Week Honors

Ortega Takes Home SEC Player of the Week Honors

Posted on April 18, 2022

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee’s Jorel Ortega has been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week after ranking among the league leaders in a handful of offensive categories last week.

The redshirt sophomore second baseman had one of the best weeks of his collegiate career, helping lead the Vols to a series win over No. 24 Alabama in Knoxville.

Vols 2B Jorel Ortega / Credit: UT Athletics

Ortega led the SEC with a .563 batting average for the week and also tied for the league lead with nine hits, recording at least one base knock in all four games played and three multi-hit performances. He also tied for second in the SEC with six runs scored last week, scoring at least once in every game. His 17 total bases ranked third in the conference, as well.

The Naranjito, Puerto Rico, native, recorded at least two hits in all three games against the Crimson Tide over the weekend, while setting career highs with four hits and four RBIs to help lead UT to a series win in Sunday’s rubber game. Ortega’s three-run homer in the fourth inning turned out to be the game-winning hit in Tennessee’s 15-4 victory on Sunday. He also homered in the series opener and had a triple in Saturday’s 9-2 win over the Tide.

Ortega is the second Vol to earn SEC Player of the Week honors this season, joining fellow infielder Trey Lipscomb, who won the award on Feb. 28. This marks the first time since 2016 (Jordan Rodgers & Nick Senzel) that Tennessee has had multiple players earn conference player of the week honors in the same season.

The Big Orange host Bellarmine on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before heading down to Gainesville for a series with Florida this weekend.
 

SEC WEEKLY HONORS THIS SEASON

SEC Player of the Week
INF Jorel Ortega – April 18
INF Trey Lipscomb – Feb. 28

SEC Pitcher of the Week
RHP Drew Beam – April 4
RHP Chase Dollander – March 28

SEC Freshman of the Week
RHP Drew Beam – March 21 & April 4
RHP Chase Burns – March 28
OF/C Jared Dickey – Feb. 28 & March 14

-UT Athletics

Cole Swindell is Glad to be Cheering for the World Champ Atlanta Braves Again

Cole Swindell is Glad to be Cheering for the World Champ Atlanta Braves Again

Posted on April 18, 2022

Cole Swindell recently released his latest album Stereotype.

Cole is very happy to have his album out for fans to listen to…but he’s also happy because his favorite sport is back, “I’ve been waiting on baseball since we won the World Series last year but also you know I’ve been enjoying it too because it’s a brand new season.”

While baseball season is off and running Swindell says until there’s a new World Series his favorite team the Atlanta Braves are still the champs, “I guess we’re world champs for several more months but you’d never know what could happen this year but it’s back!”

Baseball and the Braves have a special connection to Cole, and his late-father, “The Braves are obviously one of my favorite sports teams…grew up watching them with my dad…so this past year was so…I can’t even explain how special it was.”

While Cole has a busy schedule in 2022, he will still find some time to take in some games, “I’m planning to get to a game as soon as I can I think the Braves know that I’ll be as many as I can and I’ll always gonna be pulling forward so…it was a long time coming last year…man, that was one of the coolest memories of my life getting to be there in Houston when they won it.”

Cole recently stopped by MLB Central to talk about his music and the Braves.

Cole even showed off his own personal Atlanta Braves jersey in the music video for his number-one song “Single Saturday Night.”

“Single Saturday Night” and “Never Say Never” are from Cole Swindell’s album Stereotype – which is out now.

Did you see Cole and Lainey Wilson’s epic performance of “Never Say Never” on this year’s CMT Music Awards – watch it here…

Photo Courtesy of Cole Swindell

Ingrid Andress Wants to Know What It Takes to be a “Good Person” With Her New Song

Ingrid Andress Wants to Know What It Takes to be a “Good Person” With Her New Song

Posted on April 18, 2022

As Ingrid Andress climbs the country airplay chart with Sam Hunt and their song “Wishful Drinking” – she’s released a new song called “Good Person.”

Talking about the track, Ingrid says “I wrote ‘Good Person’ when I realized that I was starting to question a lot of things. What makes somebody good and what does that look like, and in a world of being so judgmental of other people, what makes you better than them?” 

Ingrid adds, “With the video, I really wanted to mesh these worlds of light and dark and highlight the parallels between the two. Stay tuned fam. This is just the beginning.”

“Good Person” gives fans more of a glimpse into the music that Ingrid might be planning for her follow-up album to her debut project Lady Like.

“Wishful Drinking” – the first song from Ingrid’s sophomore collection of songs, and her current single at country radio features Sam Hunt, who Andress says “added a whole new level of like swag” to the track.

Check out the music video to “Wishful Drinking” here…

Photo Credit: WMN & Ingrid Andress

Stats/Story: Lipscomb Homers Twice, Beam & Ortega Enjoy Career Days in Vols’ Win Over Bama; UT wins series, now 14-1 in SEC

Stats/Story: Lipscomb Homers Twice, Beam & Ortega Enjoy Career Days in Vols’ Win Over Bama; UT wins series, now 14-1 in SEC

Posted on April 17, 2022

Box Score (PDF) | Series Stats (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The bats were hot and the pitchers were dealing in top-ranked Tennessee’s 15-4 series-clinching victory against No. 24/24 Alabama on Sunday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
 
The Vols (33-3, 14-1 SEC) were fueled offensively by strong performances from senior Trey Lipscomb and redshirt sophomore Jorel Ortega. The duo combined to record seven hits, including three home runs, nine RBIs and five runs scored on the day.

Vols 3B Trey Lipscomb / Credit: UT Athletics

Lipscomb posted his second multi-homer game of the season, launching two long balls and adding a double to drive in five runs while crossing the plate three times himself. Ortega finished with a career-high four hits, going 4-of-5 at the plate with one home run and three singles to go along with a personal-best four RBIs.
 
The Tennessee bats were hot all day, totaling 15 hits and drawing eight walks in the high-scoring affair. With 15 runs in the game, the Volunteers have now driven in double-digit runs in 17 games this year, including five times in conference play. UT is a perfect 17-0 when scoring at least 10 runs.
 
On the mound, freshman Drew Beam paced the Big Orange behind a career-best 10 strikeouts with no walks to improve his record to 8-0 on the year. He allowed three runs on four hits in 6.2 innings pitched. In total, UT struck out 14 batters and allowed just six hits to prevent the Crimson Tide (23-14, 8-7 SEC) from gaining any momentum.
 
Alabama struck first in the game, as Drew Williamson turned on a pitch in the opening frame that stayed in the air just long enough to get over the right field wall and give the Crimson Tide an early 1-0 lead. 
 
Tennessee pulled back ahead thanks to a four-run second inning. With two outs, Evan Russell drew walk, Christian Moore floated a single into right field and Luc Lipcius walked to load the bases. Cortland Lawson capitalized on the moment, roping a ball to the left-center gap that one-hopped the fence for a ground-rule double to bring in a pair of Vols. Seth Stephenson and Ortega each added RBI infield singles to make it a 4-1 game. 
 
The Tide got one run back in the top of the third when Jim Jarvis homered to right field, but the Vols responded in the fourth with a three-run bomb from Ortega that cleared the center field fence to extend the Volunteer lead to 7-2. Once again doing damage with two outs, Lawson reached on a walk and Stephenson singled to set up Ortega’s third hit of the game and seventh home run of the season. 
 
UT struck again the next inning, as Lipscomb ripped a solo shot to right center to make it an 8-2 game. Alabama returned the favor in the top of the sixth, when Zane Denton crushed a ball over the right field bullpen.
 
Lipscomb’s day wasn’t finished, as the senior blasted his second home run of the game over the center field fence to make it an 11-3 game. Ortega and Jordan Beck scored after reaching base on singles.
 
Beck continued the offensive display in the eighth, sending a no-doubter sailing over the left field porches to extend the Vols’ advantage to 13-3. Lipscomb recorded his third extra-base hit of the game, narrowly missing his third homer, with a double off the top of the padding in right-center field in the eighth. 
 
UP NEXT: Tennessee hosts Bellarmine Tuesday, April 19 for a 6:30 p.m. contest at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols then travel to Gainesville for a series with the Florida Gators next weekend.  

NOTABLE

Vols Stay Hot: With the win Sunday, Tennessee improved to 14-1 in SEC play and won its fifth straight series against conference foes. The Vols joined elite company with their 14-1 SEC start, becoming just the sixth team all time to achieve that feat. Vanderbilt was the last team to do so in 2013, while the first program to ever do it was the Big Orange in 1951. That squad was the only one ever to start 16-1 in SEC play.
 
Lipscomb Lasers: Trey Lipscomb had another huge day at the plate on Sunday, crushing two balls for home runs and narrowly missing a third by a matter of inches that ended up as a double. He finished with five RBIs and three runs on 3-of-5 hitting for the day. On the year, he boasts a team-leading 15 home runs and 57 RBIs, and he’s driven in at least five runs in three games this season, while no other Vol has done so more than once.
 
Ortega’s Career Day: Redshirt sophomore Jorel Ortega was on fire in the batter’s box, going 4-of-5 from the plate with one home run and three singles while driving in four runs. Ortega’s four hits and four RBIs both marked career highs.
 
10 Ks for Beam: Drew Beam was dealing all game, as the freshman struck out a career-high 10 batters. He fanned multiple Crimson Tide batters in four innings on the day to keep Alabama in check.
 
Cool, Calm, Collective: Tennessee found success with two outs on the board all game, scoring 10 of its 11 runs during the pressure situations. The Vols rattled off six hits with two home runs, three singles and a double while drawing five walks with two outs. Jorel Ortega led the way, driving in four runs thanks an RBI single in the second and a 3-run homer in the fourth.

-UT Athletics

Stats/Story: Beck’s Blasts Lead #1 Vols to 9-2 Saturday Win Over #24 Alabama

Stats/Story: Beck’s Blasts Lead #1 Vols to 9-2 Saturday Win Over #24 Alabama

Posted on April 17, 2022

Box Score (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Timely hitting and a stellar day for the bullpen helped the top-ranked Tennessee Vols defeat No. 24 Alabama, 9-2, Saturday evening at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Jordan Beck was tremendous at the plate for Tennessee (32-3, 13-1 SEC) going 2-for-3 with both of his hits being home runs. The right fielder totaled three RBIs and posted the fourth multi-homer game of his career. Beck now has 25 big flies in his UT career.

Vols OF Jordan Beck / Credit: UT Athletics

After Vols’ starter Chase Dollander was taken out of the game after being struck by a line drive in the first inning, Camden Sewell came in and logged a big-time outing out of the pen. Making his 60th appearance in a Tennessee uniform, Sewell fired 4.1 innings and threw over 70 percent of his pitches for strikes en route to his fourth victory of the season. Redmond Walsh closed out the win in style, striking out four hitters in two innings of work.

Tennessee quickly scored its first run of the game in the bottom half of the first as Beck cranked a two-run blast to dead-center to put the Vols up 2-0 in the opening frame.

The Vols struck again in the third when Jorel Ortega collected his second hit in as many at bats, a triple to the wall in right. Drew Gilbert ripped a liner to right field that hung up just long enough to be caught, but was deep enough to add a third Big Orange run to Tennessee’s tally via a sacrifice fly.

Alabama countered in the top of the sixth, getting a two-run homer from Zane Denton that just barely cleared the short wall into the Tennessee bullpen, cutting the UT lead to one.

Tennessee responded immediately by pushing three runs across in the bottom of the frame, starting with Beck’s second homer of the game, a towering shot to the power-alley in left center. Luc Lipcius added a blast of his own to the opposite field on a 3-2 count later in the inning before Evan Russell raced home on a throwing error by the catcher to give the Big Orange a 6-2 advantage heading into the seventh inning.

Three of UT’s final four runs would come via Crimson Tide errors, as Russell, Gilbert and Christian Scott all scored after stealing third and coming home on an overthrown ball from Alabama’s catcher.

The Vols and Tide will square off at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the rubber game. The contest will be streamed on SEC Network+ / ESPN app.

NOTABLE

400 Ks
After punching out nine Tide hitters, Tennessee increased its season strikeout total to 407. Entering the weekend, the Vols were second nationally in strikeouts, trailing only Florida State.

TREY REACHES TRIPLE-DIGITS
Third baseman Trey Lipscomb collected his 100th total base of the season Saturday afternoon. The senior went 2-for-4 at the dish and entered the game with 99 total bases. Before the weekend started, Lipscomb had the 14th-most total bases in the country.
 
BECK BOMBS
Facing his home-state school, junior slugger Jordan Beck homered twice in Saturday’s win to increase his season total to nine.

-UT Athletics

Hoppy Easter From the Big Pink Bunny – AKA Blake Shelton

Hoppy Easter From the Big Pink Bunny – AKA Blake Shelton

Posted on April 17, 2022

Blake Shelton is always one to go to great lengths to entertain his fans – and on this Easter he didn’t disappoint.

Now it seems like if you can’t come back as a country boy…arrive as a big pink bunny.

Along with the video, Blake sent along a message, “Happy Easter everybody. You’re welcome.”
Blake also shared another video this weekend…an awesome acoustic version of his classic hit “Austin.”

Blake Shelton’s current single “Come Back As A Country Boy” is climbing the country airplay chart.

Photo Credit: Todd Stefani

Caroline Jones Joins the Zac Brown Band for the Out In The Middle Tour

Caroline Jones Joins the Zac Brown Band for the Out In The Middle Tour

Posted on April 16, 2022

Last year Caroline Jones joined Zac Brown Band on the road for their The Comeback tour…

Now in 2022 Caroline and the Zamily are getting back together!

Caroline says, “I am honored to join Zac Brown Band again this year on the Out In The Middle Tour. They keep inviting me back, so I feel like an honorary member. Every night is a master class in musicianship for me, and we have a full head of stream on, as a group, for the tour this year.”

Talking about Caroline, Zac Brown says “We are very excited to have her voice and her musicianship to perform for our fans.”

Caroline’s fans have been enjoying the music from her sophomore album Antipodes…

Antipodes includes Caroline Jones’ Top-40 and TikTok viral hit “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable).”

Caroline and Zac Brown Band set off on the Out In The Middle tour this Friday, April 22nd, in Greenville, South Carolina.

Photo Credit: Laura Tait

Carly Pearce Goes from Her Own 29 Tour to Pulling Double Duty on the Here And Now 2022 Tour

Carly Pearce Goes from Her Own 29 Tour to Pulling Double Duty on the Here And Now 2022 Tour

Posted on April 16, 2022

Carly Pearce wrapped her successful spring run of The 29 Tour this past week.

Carly shared, “We wrapped my first headlining tour this past weekend and to say it’s been a ‘dream come true’ would be an understatement. To every one of you that bought a ticket, sang along to every word, made a sign… thank you. Thank you for making me see why I had to write 29 the way I did & the good that has come from it. THANK YOU to my AMAZING band mates & team- you make my show happen every night and travel the world with me & honestly are my family.”

Carly also wanted make sure she showed some love to her tour opener Hannah Ellis, “Thank you Hannah for being the super star in the making you are & crushing it every single night. My heart is so, so full.”

Carly ended with “Hey Kenny Chesney, we’re coming for ya!!!”

That’s right- there’s no time to rest for Carly as she jumped right into rehearsal for the Here And Now 2022 tour which launches Saturday April 23rd in Tampa.

If you don’t know already – not only will Carly be on the Here And Now 2022 stadium dates with Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, and Old Dominion…but she’ll also be the only opener for the amphitheater shows that Kenny has planned for this summer as well.

This is the full schedule of the Here And Now 2022 tour dates.

April 23           Tampa, Fla.  ||  Raymond James Stadium
April 30           Charlotte, N.C. ||  Bank of America Stadium
May 5*            Noblesville, Ind.  ||  Ruoff Music Center
May 7              St. Louis, Mo.  ||  Busch Stadium
May 14            Milwaukee, Wis. ||  American Family Field
May 19*          Orange Beach, Ala. ||  The Wharf Amphitheater
May 21            Atlanta, Ga. ||  Mercedes-Benz Stadium
May 25*          Charleston, S.C.  ||  Credit One Stadium
May 26*          Huntsville, Ala.  ||  Orion Amphitheater
May 28            Nashville, Tenn.  ||  Nissan Stadium
June 2*            The Woodlands, Texas  ||  Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 4              Arlington, Texas  ||  AT&T Stadium
June 8*            Canandaigua, N.Y.  ||  CMAC
June 9*            Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio  ||  Blossom Music Center
June 11            Pittsburgh, Pa.  ||  Heinz Field
June 15*          Virginia Beach, Va.  ||  Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
June 16*          Bristow, Va.  ||  Jiffy Lube Live
June 18            Philadelphia, Pa.  ||  Lincoln Financial Field
June 23*/**     Cincinnati, Ohio  ||  Riverbend Music Center
June 25            Chicago, Ill. ||  Soldier Field
June 29*          Brandon, Miss.  ||  Brandon Amphitheater
June 30*          Rogers, Ark.  ||  Walmart AMP
July 2              Kansas City, Mo.  ||  GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
July 9              Bozeman, Mont.  ||  Bobcat Stadium
July 12*          Stateline, Nev.  ||  Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey’s
July 13 *          Stateline, Nev.  ||  Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey’s
July 16            Seattle, Wash.  ||  Lumen Field
July 19 *          Bend, Ore.  ||  Hayden Homes Amphitheater
July 20 *          Bend, Ore.  ||  Hayden Homes Amphitheater
July 23            Inglewood, Calif.  ||  SoFi Stadium
July 27 *          Boise, Idaho.  ||  Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
July 28 *          Salt Lake City, Utah  ||  USANA Amphitheatre
July 30            Denver, Colo.  ||  Empower Field at Mile High
August 6         Minneapolis, Minn.  ||  U.S. Bank Stadium
August 10*     Columbia, Md.  ||  Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 11*     Syracuse, N.Y.  ||  St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
August 13       East Rutherford, N.J.  ||  MetLife Stadium
August 18       Columbus, Ohio  ||  Historic Crew Stadium
August 20       Detroit, Mich.  ||  Ford Field
August 26       Foxborough, Mass.  ||  Gillette Stadium
August 27       Foxborough, Mass.  ||  Gillette Stadium
* lineup for these dates is Kenny Chesney and Carly Pearce only

Photo Credit: Alexa Campbell

#1 Vols miss on early opportunities on offense, UT drops series opener to #24 Alabama; suffer 1st SEC loss

#1 Vols miss on early opportunities on offense, UT drops series opener to #24 Alabama; suffer 1st SEC loss

Posted on April 16, 2022

Box Score (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 1/1 Tennessee dropped its series opener to No. 24/24 Alabama, 6-3, on Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, ending its 12-game win streak to begin conference play.

The Crimson Tide (23-12, 8-5 SEC) were opportunistic at the plate, scoring six runs on 11 hits on the night en route to winning their eighth straight game.

Vols OF JOrdan Beck / Credit: UT Athletics

Jorel Ortega and Jared Dickey both posted multi-hit efforts while five other Vols also recorded a hit on the night. However, the Big Orange left 10 runners on base in the game, including stranding the bases loaded in the second inning when Drew Gilbert hammered a ball that was caught on the warning in dead center field.

After starting pitcher Chase Burns was lifted in the third inning, lefty reliever Will Mabrey came on and was fantastic in four innings out of the pen, allowing just two hits while striking out four batters to keep the Vols within striking distance.

The Vols (31-3, 12-1 SEC) jumped out to an early lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Gilbert tripled to left center to drive in the game’s first run and scored one batter later on an RBI single to center field by Trey Lipscomb.

Alabama answered by scoring in each of the next three innings, plating five unanswered runs, including three in the fourth, to take a 5-2 lead.

The first three runs for the Tide all came via solo home runs, two by Owen Diodati and one by Jim Jarvis. A Tennessee error allowed another run to score, and a sacrifice fly brought in the UA’s fifth run of the night.

UT ended the Alabama run in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer from Ortega into the porches in left field to cut the deficit to two, but that was as close as the Vols would get.

The Crimson Tide added another insurance run in the top of the ninth on an triple off the center-field wall by Drew Williamson to make it 6-3.

Tennessee will look to rebound tomorrow night in Game 2 of the weekend series. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+ / ESPN app.

NOTABLE

MABREY STRONG AGAIN: Junior LHP Will Mabrey continued his impressive season with another strong relief outing on Friday night. The Cookeville, Tennessee, native, tossed four shutout innings against Alabama. He has allowed just one run and has not issued a single walk while striking out 13 batters in 12.1 innings during conference play.  

ORTEGA BOMB: Redshirt sophomore Jorel Ortega hit his sixth home run of the season in Friday night’s series opener, a solo shot in the sixth inning. Ortega finished the night 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

-UT Athletics

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