KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A seven-run sixth inning helped No. 4 Tennessee pull away from Kentucky for a 11-2 win in Saturday’s rubber game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Big Orange blasted two home runs and had six hits in their seven-run outburst in the sixth inning, none bigger than Jake Rucker’s grand slam with one out. Max Ferguson drove in the first run in the inning with a single before Rucker’s second slam of the season. Luc Lipcius went deep for the third straight game with a two-run shot later in the inning to give the Vols a commanding 11-2 lead.
Rucker finished the day with two hits and tied a career high with five runs batted in. Jordan Beck (4-for-5, R, 2B, RBI), Liam Spence (3-for-4, 2 R) and Ferguson (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI) also had big days at the plate for the Vols as they scored double-digit runs for the third time in their last four SEC games.
The Wildcats were able to scratch across a run in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly from Coltyn Kessler, scoring Austin Schultz, who hit the first pitch of the game to straightaway center field for a double.
The Vols took the lead with a two-run second inning as Beck and Pete Derkay both drove in runs. Drew Gilbert led off the inning with a double and came around to score on an RBI double by Beck before Derkay plated Lipcius with a sacrifice fly to put UT ahead 2-1. Tennessee added another run in the third when Evan Russell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and took a 4-1 lead in the fifth on a Rucker RBI single before the big sixth inning to put the game out of reach.
Blade Tidwell improved to 5-2 on the year after giving the Vols a quality start. The freshman had five strikeouts and gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks.
Redshirt senior lefty Redmond Walsh came on in relief of Tidwell with one out in the sixth and took it home from there, tossing 3.2 shutout innings with a career-high tying five strikeouts to earn his fifth save of the year. The Louisville, Tennessee, native did not give up a hit and allowed just one runner to reach base via an error.
Coltyn Kessler was the only Kentucky player to drive in a run as the Wildcats (26-15 // 10-11 SEC) were held to just four hits for the game.
The Vols (34-11 // 14-7 SEC) will have five days between games before a road trip to Missouri next weekend.
NOTABLE
FEELING GRAND: Jake Rucker’s grand slam in the sixth inning was the fifth hit by the Volunteers this season and the second by the Greenbrier, Tennessee, native. UT has hit at least one grand slam in every month this season. Tennessee Grand Slams
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive NFL Draft, Tennessee football wide receivers are making an impact.
VFL Josh Palmer became the latest as the Los Angeles Chargers selected him with the No. 77 overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft on Friday night.
The Brampton, Ontario, native capped the best season of his career with an impressive offseason that included a 2021 Senior Bowl and NFL Combine invite. He garnered attention in Mobile with his skill set and work ethic.
Palmer concluded his Tennessee career with 99 catches for 1,514 yards and seven scores, averaging 15.3 yards per catch. He notched 16 catches of 25 or more yards. The 2020 season saw Palmer lead the Vols in receiving yards (475), receptions (33) and receiving touchdowns (4).
Palmer joins his former wide receiver teammates Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway at the next level. Jennings was selected in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, while Callaway made an immediate impact as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints. Callaway caught 21 passes for 213 yards and was a force on special teams during his rookie season.
The 2021 NFL Draft concludes Saturday with rounds four through seven beginning at noon ET. ESPN, NFL Network and ABC will broadcast it live.
2021 NFL Draft Notables
Josh Palmer became the 39th Vol wide receiver all-time to be selected in the NFL Draft.
At least one Vol wide receiver has been selected in back-to-back NFL Drafts. The first three wide receivers on the field in Tennessee’s 2020 TaxSlayer Bowl victory – Palmer, Marquez Callaway (New Orleans Saints) and Jauan Jennings (San Francisco 49ers) – are now all in the NFL.
Palmer became the 12th Vol to be taken by the Chargers organization all-time and the first since Jonathan Crompton went in the fifth round (pick 168) in 2010.
A total of 373 Vols have been selected in the NFL Draft all-time (dates back to 1936, includes AFL merger).
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 4 Tennessee dropped game two of its series against Kentucky, 8-2, after the Wildcats scored six runs over the final three innings to pull away and even the series at one game apiece.
Despite pitching well, Will Heflin was stuck with the loss after allowing three runs in 6.1 innings of work. The senior lefty gave up eight hits but also had six strikeouts and did not issue a walk.
Liam Spence and Jackson Greer both finished with two hits on the night to lead the offense. Greer hit his third home run of the season and has now homered in all three SEC games he’s started.
After four and a half scoreless innings, Jackson Greer got the scoring started with his second home run in as many days to put the Vols ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth.
Heflin gave the Vols five scoreless innings before running into trouble in the top of the sixth. T.J. Collett led off with a single to put a runner on base for John Rhodes, who hit a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left center to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.
Luc Lipcius quickly knotted things back up at two with a solo blast over the batter’s eye in dead center field in the bottom of the sixth before Kentucky retook the lead on a two-out RBI single by Austin Schultz in the top of the seventh.
The Wildcats went on to score five more runs off of the Vols bullpen in the eighth and ninth, adding two more home runs to put the game away.
Tomorrow’s rubber game between the Vols (33-11 // 13-7 SEC) and Wildcats (26-14 // 10-10 SEC) will start at 1 p.m. and be streamed on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
NOTABLE
GREER STEPPING UP: With starting catcher Connor Pavolony temporarily sidelined due to injury, ETSU graduate transfer Jackson Greer has stepped up in a major way. Greer has homered in both games in the series and has hit a home run in all three SEC games he’s started this season.
AUBURN, Ala. – The 16th-ranked Tennessee softball team defeated Auburn 2-1 Friday night in a low-scoring pitchers dual at Jane B. Moore Field.
Tennessee (36-8, 9-7 SEC) scored twice in the fourth inning, which was all the run support Ashley Rogers needed to help lead UT to the series opening victory.
Tennessee’s ace in the circle tossed a gem against the Tigers (26-17, 6-13 SEC) as she allowed just one run on two hits. Rogers struck out four Auburn batters Friday night to increase her season strikeout total to 225.
Rogers also threw her 18th complete game of the season as she picked up her 21st win of 2021.
Heading into the fourth, the game was scoreless until senior Chelsea Seggern stepped to the plate and smashed a solo home run over the wall in right center to break the deadlock and give UT a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Vols added a second run in the inning as Rylie West returned to the Tennessee lineup and roped an RBI double to center. Her double drove home Kiki Milloy from first who scored what would become the game-winning run.
In the bottom of the inning, Auburn hit back with a leadoff double from Alyssa Rivera. After a groundout advanced Rivera to third, Lindsey Garcia hit a sac fly to right that allowed Rivera to score and cut Tennessee’s lead down to 2-1.
After the three combined runs scored in the fourth, the game settled back into a pitchers dual between Rogers and Auburn’s Shelby Lowe. Rogers was extremely efficient in the fifth, sixth and seventh and she retired the final nine batters she faced.
Lowe pitched a complete game for Auburn, suffering the loss and dropping to 13-6 on the year. Her final line read two runs allowed on six hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
WELCOME BACK
The Lady Vols welcomed back two key pieces to their offense Friday night as Rylie West and Amanda Ayala both appeared in UT’s victory. West started the game at DP and went 1-for-3 with an RBI double. It was her 10th double of the season, which ranks second on the team.
Ayala made one plate appearance as a pinch hitter, seeing her first action since April 4 against Kentucky.
UP NEXT
Tennessee and Auburn take the field for game two tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+.
Thomas Rhett‘s album Country Again – Side A is available now!
Country Again is the result of the last 10 years of Thomas’ life, but more specifically, the last 15 months. It was the quarantine and time off from his usual hectic schedule that allowed all this music to be created.
Thomas says, “A lot of this record started getting written once I started to slow down. You know, I actually had time to be creative again, and I had time to be inspired and had to think about the last couple of years, and the last 10 years of my life, and all the lessons I learned from that. So, when I say this is the record I wish I could have written at 19, well there’s no way I could have. I didn’t have this kind of material to talk about. I didn’t have the struggle and the awesomeness of being a dad, or the struggle and awesomeness of married…you know, it was just me. So, I think looking back on these last 10 years, and looking at all the ways that I’ve grown and all the inspiration that’s come from being a dad and being a husband really translated into what this record is today and just something I’m proud of.”
Along with having two songs on the album with the word “country” in their title, as well as the project’s name too – “country” is a major theme throughout many of the tracks.
Thomas Rhett explains what “country” means to him, “I think the word ‘country’ is a pretty strong synonym. I think it means a multitude of things. Just like any other word in the world, it could be construed for good, or construed for bad, you know. I think ‘country’ for a lot of people means boots and fiddle and steel guitar and being in the woods, and I think those things are definitely one meaning, but for me, even in the song ‘Country Again’ it is about that stuff, but it’s more about just a simple way of life, and a lifestyle where you don’t need much to make you happy, and on a musical front the word ‘country’ to me, means an honest story.”
Telling that honest story all comes down to the songwriting. While he had a hand in writing all the songs on this project, Thomas is quick to tell you that he didn’t do it alone, “None of these songs would have happened if it was just me in a room. I’ve tried to write millions of songs by myself and I always stop at the chorus cause I can’t ever…I don’t trust myself…you know, I don’t trust myself to write a second verse, so all the cowriters on this record made this record what it is.”
COUNTRY AGAIN – SIDE A TRACK LIST:
1. “Want It Again” | Thomas Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson
2. “Growing Up” | Thomas Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson
3. “What’s Your Country Song” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley, Parker Welling
4. “Where We Grew Up”* | Thomas Rhett, Luke Laird, Josh Miller
5. “Heaven Right Now” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson, Laura Veltz
6. “To The Guys That Date My Girls” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy, Josh Thompson
7. “More Time Fishin’” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy, Josh Thompson
8. “Country Again” | Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley
9. “Put It On Ice (featuring Hardy)”+ | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson
10. “Blame It On A Backroad” | Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley
11. “Ya Heard” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill
The project is title Country Again – Side A because this is the first group of songs that Thomas is putting out. Originally he had close to 30 tracks ready to release…until he had a conversation with his younger brother, “I thank my 15-year-old brother for this split of this album because…he’s 15, and he’s super hip and he’s on the Tik Tok trend and all that kind of stuff, and I asked him, ‘If I were to put out a record that had 26 songs on it, do you feel like that’s something you could listen to?’ And he said ‘Absolutely not’ (laugh), and I said ‘How far would you get before you just switched it to something else?’ And he said ‘Maybe…maybe 8 songs.’ And I was like, ‘OK, that’s good intel.”
At first Thomas was thinking of his own personal preference when it came to getting new music from his favorite artists — like the recent triple album, Heart & Soul from Eric Church, “You know, if I love an artist…the more the better for me. You know what I’m saying, like, the fact Eric Church is releasing a triple album is like Christmas to me. I get to live with 3 and half hours of brand new Eric Church music…but I’m also 30-years-old and I have time to sit and actually do that.”
But the more he thought about it, and following the advice of his brother, Thomas Rhett started to think that splitting up the Country Again album into 2 parts was the best thing for the music, “You know I think a lot of times, songs can get really left behind when there’s too many of them at the same time, you know especially in the way that they’re sequenced. If I were to put 26 songs on the same record and I save my favorite one for number 26, how many people are actually going to get there?”
He adds, “So, I wanted to do a double album because I had too much music that I loved, and I wasn’t ready to part ways with. But that’s the reason I split it up…it’s so people can have a lot of time to digest these 11, and then when Side B comes out, they have time to digest those 12 to 15 songs…and then they can listen to it as a full project and understand why all these songs were recorded in the first place. So, if they were to listen to 26 songs straight down they’d probably just pick their favorite 4 and listen to those on repeat…rather than getting 11 and 12 to 15, they get to actually soak it in, and actually recognize each song for what it is.”
Thomas shares what the album Country Again – Side A means to him, “I’ve never been more excited about a release of an album than I am now, and I would attribute that to I’m just excited to be living for today, you know rather than thinking about what I’m doing in 10 years. So, in many ways that’s probably one of the biggest lessons I learned over the last 15 months. It allowed me to be able to write songs like ‘Country Again’ – you know that song would have never being written in this kind of fashion, had I not lived the last 15 months the way that I had. And also to be able to reflect on my last 10 years and go ‘Dang, I was living OK, but I’m not sure I was living to my fullest. You know, like I am today.’ Which is exciting to say.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 4 Tennessee exploded for seven runs in the second inning to erase an early deficit and cruise to a 14-4 series-opening victory over Kentucky on a damp Thursday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Every player in UT’s starting lineup recorded a hit with Pete Derkay (3-for-4, 2 runs), Jordan Beck (2-for-4, 3 runs, HR, 3 RBI), Luc Lipcius (2-for-5, 2 runs, HR, RBI), Jackson Greer (2-for-4, 2 runs, HR, 2 RBI) and Liam Spence (2-for-5, run, 2 RBI) all finishing with multiple hits on the night.
Chad Dallas battled through a rocky start and a 20-minute rain delay to settle in and provide the Big Orange with another quality start. The junior right hander finished with seven strikeouts in six innings of work and earned the win to improve to 7-1 on the year.
Kentucky jumped out to a quick 3-0 with a pair of home runs in the first two innings. T.J. Collett opened the scoring with a solo shot in the first, his 15th homer of the season, and Jacob Plastiak added to the Wildcats’ lead with a two-run homer in the second.
Tennessee would not be outdone, however, hitting two long balls of their own in a seven-run second inning to take a 7-3 lead. Jordan Beck tied the game with a three-run blast to left center and two batters later, Jackson Greer hit a two-run bomb to put the Vols ahead. Drew Gilbert capped the scoring in the inning with a two-run single up the middle.
After UK scratched across a run in the top of the third, the Big Orange added five more runs in the home half of the inning despite recording just one hit. Spence, Jake Rucker and Gilbert all drove in runs in the inning.
Lipcius joined in on the home run parade with a solo blast in the fourth while Spence picked up his second RBI of the night later in the inning to give UT a 14-4 lead that would hold for the remainder of the night as neither team scored over the final five innings.
The Vols (33-10 // 13-6 SEC) and Wildcats (25-14, 9-10 SEC) will square off again tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
NOTABLE
SCORING IN BUNCHES: After scoring 20 runs in last Sunday’s series finale at Texas A&M, the Vols exploded for 14 runs on Thursday night against the Wildcats, marking the first time that Tennessee has scored double-digit runs in back-to-back SEC games since 2010 at Georgia. UT defeated the Bulldogs 25-5 on May 8 and completed a series sweep with a 14-11 victory on May 9.
After scoring 15 runs over the final three innings against the Aggies, Tennessee nearly matched that output with 14 runs over a three-inning stretch from the second to the fourth on Thursday.
MORE DINGERS PLEASE: The Vols blasted three more home runs in Thursday’s win and came agonizingly close to hitting a couple more. The Big Orange have now hit multiple homers in five of their last eight games. Their 57 home runs on the year are the most since hitting 81 in 2010 and the most in a single season since the NCAA switched to the BBCOR bats in 2011.
AUBURN, Ala. – Following a third consecutive SEC series win, the No. 16 Tennessee softball team will travel south to take on SEC foe, Auburn in a three-game weekend set on the Plains. First pitch for Friday’s game one is slated for 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
BROADCAST INFO
All three games can be streamed on SEC Network+. Fans can stream the plus on any mobile device through the ESPN App or online at espn.com/watch.
Lady Vol faithful can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate or online at UTsports.com to hear VFL Brian Rice describing the action.
QUICK HITS YEAH…SHE’S STILL STEALIN’
Tennessee sophomore Kiki Milloy enters this weekend’s series with 32 stolen bases on the year. Her current total is the most stolen bags by a Lady Vol in a single season since Raven Chavanne stole 41 bases in 2013.
The current Tennessee single season record is 44, held by LVFL’s Kenora Posey in 2008 and India Chiles in 2007. Milloy’s present number is tied for ninth in a single season with Chavanne when she stole 32 bags in 2012.
CALLIE TURNS THE CORNER
Sophomore pitcher Callie Turner has been incredibly effective for the Lady Vols in her last two starts, giving up just three runs on four hits in 12 innings of work in UT’s victories over South Carolina (4/18/21) and Georgia (4/24/21).
SEC PLAY ISN’T SCARY
In its last nine SEC contests, Tennessee holds a 6-3 record with three consecutive series victories, with four of those wins coming by four or more runs. In those nine contests, the offense has also started to find a bit of its groove, plating six or more runs five times, winning all but one of those affairs.
ANOTHER SEC WEEKLY HONOR
This week, UT senior infielder Ashley Morgan has been named the league’s Player of the Week. Morgan earned the award after an incredible weekend at the plate in the Orange & White’s series victory over Georgia.
Morgan went 6-for-10 with three doubles, a home run and six RBI’s, while boasting an excellent 1.200 slugging percentage, while striking out just once. Morgan also opened the weekend by reaching base in her first six plate appearances and reached on eight of her 12 total appearances at the dish.
SCOUTING AUBURN 2021 Record: 26-16 Overall, 6-12 SEC Series Record: UT Leads, 38-27 Last Meeting: A 2-0 victory for Auburn in College Station at the 2019 SEC Tournament. Key Player/Stat: Senior outfielder Tyler King has been the most consistent player at the dish for Auburn, holding a .336 batting average and a team-leading 43 total bases and 16 runs scored. Where the Tigers have greatly struggled is with extra-base-hits, tallying just 60 multi-baggers (35 doubles, six triples, 19 home runs) compared to Tennessee’s 133 extra-base-hits (66 doubles, 11 triples, 56 home runs).
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols will take two days off, before traveling to Starkville, Mississippi for a mid-week conference doubleheader with Mississippi State on Wednesday May 5. First pitches for those contests are set for 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee rising senior Rae Burrell, who had a breakout junior campaign, is among 25 women garnering attention in ESPN’s first college basketball player rankings for the 2021-22 season.
The 6-foot-1 guard/forward from Las Vegas is ranked No. 24 in a listing compiled via votes from ESPN’s Charlie Creme and Mechelle Voepel.
Here’s what Creme and Voepel wrote about Burrell: “From spot minutes as a freshman to role player as a sophomore to surprising breakout star this past season, Burrell is now Tennessee’s best player. At times, she carried the Lady Vols in 2020-21. They might not have overcome the early season struggles of Rennia Davis without her. While Burrell’s game is primarily built on energy and outworking the opponent, all of her shooting numbers have made huge improvements, most notably her 3-point percentage, which went from 32.8% as a sophomore to a team-leading 40.2% last season.”
An All-SEC Second Team selection in 2021, Burrell helped Tennessee to a 17-8 overall record, a third-place finish in the SEC at 9-4, an NCAA appearance as a No. 3 seed and final national rankings of No. 14 and 16 in the AP and USA TODAY Coaches polls, respectively. She averaged 16.8 ppg. and 4.6 rpg., ranking second on the team in scoring and fourth in rebounding as the only Lady Vol to start all 25 contests.
Burrell scored in double figures in 22 of 25 games, fired in 15 or more points 17 times and hit 20+ on seven occasions, leading the team in the first two categories and ranking second in the third. She posted career best percentages from the field (45.8), three-point arc (40.2) and charity stripe (82.5). Impressively, she made a perfect 16 of 16 at the charity stripe in the final four minutes of games in 2020-21.
Priscilla Block‘s debut EP – featuring her single “Just About Over You” – is available now!
Since she has arrived on the country music scene Priscilla has been very open with her fans, ” I feel like everybody knows me really well through social media, because I am so much of a watch you see is what you get kind of girl.”
When it comes to the music on her EP, Priscilla says, “I hope when fans listen to my EP, they get to know me on more of a personal way. I like to write funny songs and I like to write heartbreak songs. And I want to be somebody that is so relatable and kind of with this EP it is what you see is what you get and it kind of shows every side of me.”
So, what sides of Priscilla can you expect to get to know through her songs, “You know, you got the sass, you got the trash, and you got the sad. (laugh)”
Priscilla adds, “I’m super, super excited about this EP. These songs…I’ve worked on for years with my friends and we’re just super excited that they are seeing the light of day.”
Her EP arrives today, and then tomorrow (May 1st), Priscilla will be making her debut on the Grand Ole Opry. She recalls that when she was asked to appear, it took her a moment to realize what was actually happening,“When I was asked to play my Opry debut, it honestly, it kind of felt like I was in a dream There was a video of Craig Morgan asking me to come back an make my debut. I, honestly, had one of those moments, like wait, are they talking to me? And it kind of just all sunk in after that and I started crying. I’m just, I don’t know. I’m so excited about it!”
2021 has been an eventful year so far for Priscilla, “It has been such a whirlwind. I mean, I’m like ‘It can’t get better.’ Then it gets better! I just like ‘Oh, my gosh!’ It is so crazy…I actually have to take time to really celebrate stuff, because I feel like it’s all happening at once, and it’s amazing.”
Priscilla Block’s self-titled debut EP includes,
01 “Wish You Were The Whiskey”
02 “Just About Over You”
03 “Heels In Hand”
04 “Sad Girls Do Sad Things”
05 “Bad Part of Good”
06 “I Bet You Wanna Know”
Her current single “Just About Over You” is climbing the country airplay chart…
Priscilla is giving the storyline in “Just About Over You” a little bit of a backstory, as she recently released the video for “Wish You Were The Whiskey” which is a bit of a prequel to her current hit single…
“Just About Over You” and “Wish You Were The Whiskey” are from Priscilla Block’s debut EP, which is available everywhere now.
