With a surprise in Surprise, Arizona, this weekend Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers honored the late Charley Pride with naming their spring training field after him.
Before he was singing iconic hits like “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'” and winning CMA Entertainer of the Year (1971), Charley was pitching for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League. In 1953 he joined the Boise Yankees, a farm team of MLB’s New York Yankees…but an injury eventually sidelined his baseball career.
Charley picked up the guitar again, which he first taught himself to play at 14 years old when his mom bought him one.
While Charley was becoming a country music legend, baseball was never that far from him though – in 1980, during the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Kansas City Royals, he sang the National Anthem at game 6, where Philly clinched the series.
He had a long-history with the Texas Rangers — Charley was also part of a group that help a minority stake in the baseball team.
When Charley passed away in December, the Rangers released a statement that said, “Mr. Pride’s first love was baseball. He pitched professionally in the Negro and Minor Leagues throughout the 1950’s before embarking on his Hall of Fame singing career of more than 60 years….Mr. Pride then became a regular participant at Texas Rangers spring training camps in Pompano Beach and Port Charlotte, Florida and Surprise, Arizona, working out with the team and staging an annual clubhouse concert for players and staff, a tradition that continued through this past spring.”
Adding, “The Rangers have been honored to have Mr. Pride be a part of the team’s ownership group for the last ten years. A longtime resident of this area, he was a regular at home games when his schedule permitted… Mr. Pride was a true gentleman, and we will never forget the lasting contributions he has made to the Texas Rangers organization”
In one of his few singing performances last year, Charley sang the National Anthem in July 2020 at the first-ever baseball game played at the Rangers’ new Globe Life Field in Arlington…you can watch it here…
The Texas Rangers shared on social media the unveiling of the sign marking Charley Pride Field…
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 10 Tennessee hosts in-state foe ETSU this Tuesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in its final non-conference game before the start of Southeastern Conference play. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
The Volunteers will be looking to win their fourth straight game heading into conference play after sweeping UNC Greensboro over the weekend.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Relying on the expertise of public health authorities, the state of Tennessee, appropriate university and government agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we are implementing a number of new initiatives at Tennessee Baseball gamedays this spring. The well-being of our student-athletes, fans and staff are our top priorities and guide our decisions. Exposure to COVID-19 is an inherent risk in any public location where people are present; we cannot guarantee you will not be exposed during your visit.
The Southeastern Conference in August released several conference-wide fan health and safety guidelines for all member institutions this fall. The Tennessee-specific measures outlined on this page are in line with, and in addition to, the SEC’s guidelines.
Parking
Baseball parking is located primarily in Lots GF1, G16, and C1.
Additional on-street parking is located in C10 along Todd Helton Dr. and Chamique Holdsclaw Dr. and along West Volunteer Blvd.
Handicap parking is located in marked handicap spaces on Pat Head Summitt St. and in the G16 Volunteer Blvd. garage. The 2021 parking map can be seen HERE (PDF).
For more information and gameday info, visit the Tennessee Baseball Gameday Information page by clicking HERE.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets for this season are sold out. There are limited seating options still available for select games in the Porch and Deck areas. Fans should contact Maggie Coates at 865-974-9579 or [email protected] for more information.
There are no single-game general admission tickets being sold at the stadium this season. Single-game tickets can be purchased via Vivid Seats by clicking HERE.
In order to keep Lindsey Nelson Stadium as full as possible during a season with limited capacity, we are encouraging season ticket holders who are unable to use their tickets for a game(s) to either transfer your tickets to someone else (Instructions HERE), sell them on VividSeats (Instructions HERE) or participate in our new Seats for Student program (Instructions HERE).
BROADCAST INFO
Tuesday’s game will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app. Fans can also listen to the game on UTSports.com and the UT Gameday app, as John Wilkerson and Vince Ferrara call the action.
Overall: Tennessee leads, 67-20
In Knoxville: UT leads, 37-10
In Johnson City: UT leads, 29-10
Neutral Sites: UT leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: W, 17-5 (March 10, 2020)
The last meeting between the Vols and Bucs on March 10 of last year ended up being the final game of the 2020 season. Tennessee earned a 17-5 victory in that contest. The two programs have split their last six meetings.
NOTABLE
Bats Come Alive
After some early-season inconsistencies at the plate, Tennessee had its best offensive series of the season in last weekend’s sweep of UNC Greensboro. The Vols scored 29 runs on 38 hits while batting .373 as a team. UT recorded a new season high with 20 hits in Saturday’s 14-9 victory to clinch the series and scored nine more runs on 10 hits in Sunday’s series finale.
Ferguson Getting Hot at the Right Time
Junior preseason All-American Max Ferguson put his early-season struggles behind him with an impressive series against the Spartans, leading the team with a .545 batting average, six hits, two doubles and three stolen bases, including a career-high three hits in Sunday’s win. The Florida native is now batting .288 on the year after entering the series with a .229 average and has reached base in 10 straight games.
Gilbert Dropping Bombs
Sophomore slugger Drew Gilbert hit two home runs in Sunday’s victory over UNCG to take over the team lead with five long balls this season. It marked the second multi-homer game of the year for Gilbert, who hit a solo shot to give UT the lead in the third inning before putting an exclamation point on the series with a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away. He finished the day with a career-high five RBI.
Walsh Climbing Career Saves List
Redshirt senior closer Redmond Walsh continued to dominant opposing hitters in his lone appearance of the week last Friday. He struck out five of the six batters he faced in 1.2 shutout innings to record his third save of the season, moving him into sole possession of third on the Vols’ career saves list with 14. He needs four more saves to tie Sean Watson, who had 18 from 2004-06, for second all-time at UT.
Walsh has now posted 12 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run, a span of 24.1 innings pitched. The last earned run Walsh allowed was against Liberty on June 2, 2019 in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.
OPPONENT SCOUT
ETSU Buccaneers
2021 Record: 10-5 (0-0 SoCon)
2019 Postseason: N/A
Head Coach: Joe Pennucci (4th season) // Posted an 84-54 record and led the Bucs to their best record since 2011 with a 34-21 mark in 2019.
The Bucs were picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference Preseason Coaches and Media Polls.
The trio of Jake Lyle, Jake Madole and Matthew Mercer all earned preseason all-conference recognition.
Redshirt senior Ethan Cady has been one of the best hitters in the country so far this season, ranking fourth nationally with seven home runs and third in the nation with 24 RBI.
ETSU is coming off a series win at North Carolina Central, winning the first two games before dropping the finale on Sunday.
GAME PROMOTIONS
Upcoming promotions for all Tennessee athletics home events can be found on the UT Fan Experience page by clicking HERE.
Fans are encouraged to download the My All App for their phones and devices this season. The app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store and will allow fans to participate in in-game trivia, the custom filter selfie cam and more throughout the year.
ON DECK
The Vols open SEC play with a trip to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is set for 6 p.m. All three games will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus and the ESPN app.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After opening SEC play this past weekend, the No. 22 Tennessee softball team returns to action with a Tuesday afternoon twin bill against in-state foe Bellarmine. First pitch for game one is set for 2 p.m. ET and first pitch for game two is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET.
BROADCAST INFO
Both of Tuesday’s games can be seen on SEC Network+. Fans can stream both games on WatchESPN using the ESPN App or online at espn.com/watch.
Tuesday’s matchups can also be heard on your local Vol Network affiliate and online on UTsports.com. Brian Rice will be heard describing the action.
QUICK HITS CHELSEA CONSISTENT AT THE DISH
Redshirt-senior Chelsea Seggern, finished the opening weekend of SEC play with a .500 average, going 4-for-8 with a double, a homer, a pair of RBIs and three walks. She was also consistent in the field, concluding the weekend with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
ROGERS STAYS STELLAR
Despite the loss in Saturday’s opener of the doubleheader, junior Ashley Rogers tossed an eight-inning, complete game gem. The Athens, Tennessee native fanned 11 batters and gave up just one earned run on four hits, with no walks.
Rogers came in, in relief in the eighth inning of game two and earned the victory following the walk-off blast from senior Ivy Davis.
IVY GOES YARD
In the bottom of the eighth of game two on Saturday, senior Ivy Davis stepped to the plate with the score tied, 3-3, and went yard to give Tennessee its first SEC win of 2021 in comeback fashion.
SCOUTING BELLARMINE 2021 Record: 4-11 Overall, 0-3 A-Sun Series Record: First Meeting Key Player/Stat: Off to a slow start in its first season as a Division I member, Bellarmine is led on offense by junior Grace Werner and sophomore Sydney Young. Werner is pacing the nights with an efficient, .333 batting average and an on-base percentage of .440. When she gets on base, Young eats, as she leads the team with 14 RBI’s, tallying four doubles and a pair of homers through 15 games played.
UP NEXT
Tennessee returns to SEC play with a three-game road series with Alabama, March 19-21. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU, Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on SEC Network+ and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
While we all wait for the concert schedule to ramped back up to full strength, Reba McEntire shared with fans a full show she played in Lafayette, LA back in 2011.
While it’s not the same, it’s still great to relive an awesome night of music from one of the best country performers ever. You can check out the concert right here…
Caroline Jones‘ new song, “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable)” is letting you know exactly what to do!
Talking about the track, she says “It’s very sassy, and sexy, flirty and empowering and strong.”
With lyrics like “Come in, but don’t make yourself comfortable, because I don’t know, if I’m going to like you for long. Come in, but park your truck facing out cause I wouldn’t want to be you when I want you gone” — Caroline says the song reminds her of the music that influenced her when she was young, “Kind of reminds me of some of my heroes growing up, like Shania Twain…that had that kind of energy, and it’s a wonderful thing to tap into – especially as a woman.”
While “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable)” is from the woman’s point of view, Caroline thinks guys will also be able to relate to the spirit of the song, “Music is the universal language…as cheesy and cliché as it sounds…it absolutely touches people in a way that conversation can’t. It speaks to…directly to people’s hearts and a lot of people don’t really allow themselves to access that on a daily basis “
Caroline says, “I’m very excited for people to hear it, hopefully the energy of it will be infectious to them.”
Check out the studio video of “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable)” by Caroline Jones right here..
The Tennessee basketball program will make a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, as the Volunteers landed in the Midwest Region as the No. 5 seed.
The Vols (18-8) are set to face 12th-seed Oregon State (17-12) in the first round Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on TNT. Two days later, the winner of that game will then face the winner of the first-round matchup between Oklahoma State and Liberty.
The Vols are 1-3 all-time against Oregon State—winners of this year’s Pac 12 Tournament—with the most recent meeting coming in 1990.
This is Tennessee’s 23rd all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, while Vols head coach Rick Barnes is making his 25th appearance as a head coach and his third with the Vols.
Tennessee has played five NCAA Tournament games in the state of Indiana, going 2-3 with appearances in Indianapolis (1982 and 2014) and Evansville (1983).
Illinois is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region.
Tennessee will travel from Nashville to Indianapolis Monday.
Darius Rucker recently topped the country music airplay chart with his “Beers and Sunshine” — and now he’s following it up with “My Masterpiece.”
Darius shares the inspiration behind the new track, “One of the most common questions I got asked last year was if I had picked up a new hobby during quarantine, I always answered that I was trying to learn piano, and someone asked if I was any good yet.”
He shares that his answer to that question, sparked an idea with his “Beers and Sunshine” co-writer, “J.T. Harding heard my response in that interview – ‘I can’t play piano like Ray Charles’ – and knew we had to write a song around that line.”
Darius, and J.T. along with the other two “Beers and Sunshine” co-writers Josh Osborne and Ross Copperman, worked on the new song, which became “My Masterpiece.”
You can listen to the brand new track from Darius Rucker right here…
Kenny Chesney has released the music video for his new single, “Knowing You.”
Talking about the video, Kenny says that he is very proud of the video. and it was a blast to make…
Kenny says, “One of the things about this video I love is the way you can feel the settings, and each location – whether in Gloucester, Mass. or the Virgin Islands — was selected because it feels the way these emotions actually feel. As I’ve said, over and over lately, the people who come into your life and then are gone, it’s for any number of reasons. But beyond missing them, you have the opportunity to recognize what they brought to your life and be thankful.”
He also adds, “With all the visual ways people get information, it felt like this was a nice way to give people a taste of what’s to come… to let them see and feel everything this song holds, so that they could tell this song and this video is something more.”
Check out Kenny Chesney’s music video for “Knowing You” right here…
