Florida
Tennessee baseball hammers Florida with 11-run inning to win series
Hunter Ensley’s best at-bat Saturday might have been lost to memory by the time Tennessee baseball’s onslaught ended at Florida.
The Vols outfielder battled through a nine pitch at-bat in the fourth inning, crushing the ninth offering off the wall for a two-run double. It was the first of three monumental swings for the redshirt junior, who came back with another two-run double and three-run homer in the sixth inning to swing the Vols to a series win at Florida’s Condron Ballpark.
No. 3 Tennessee (39-9, 17-7 SEC) demolished Florida (24-23, 10-14) 16-3, scoring the final 16 runs to win the finale.
Ensley was 3-for-4 with seven RBIs Saturday as Tennessee kept pace with Kentucky in the SEC East standings. UT won the opener 6-2 before falling 4-3 in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader.
Hunter Ensley leads Tennessee’s 11-run sixth inning to win series at Florida
Tennessee trailed by one entering the sixth Saturday. It led by 10 when the top half of the inning ended.
UT’s sixth-inning assault spanned 14 hitters and 73 pitches from three Florida pitchers. Ensley had the two largest swings with a two-run double and the three-run homer for a five RBI inning.
The inning started with a Kavares Tears walk and a Dylan Dreiling double. Dean Curley single in Tears to tie the game 3-3 before Ensley put Tennessee ahead 5-3. The Vols scored three more on a Blake Burke walk, a Billy Amick sacrifice fly, and a dropped third strike with a throwing error that allowed Tears to reach. Curley singled in another run before Ensley slugged his homer.
AJ Causey continues to be a star long reliever for Vols
AJ Causey worked three innings of great relief before a rocky start to the eighth. He hit a batter then gave up a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. The Vols reliever got a strikeout and a double play to get out of the threat.
Causey was on for the third time in four relief appearances. He had seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings, including setting down 11 straight. He allowed four hits and walked none before departing in the ninth.
It marked the third time in the past four weekend that Causey allowed one run or less while throwing four or more innings with at least six strikeouts.
Tennessee’s bottom of the order had a terrible Friday doubleheader
Curley singled to right in the second inning of the series opener Friday to score a run. That was the biggest contribution from the hitters in the bottom five spots of UT’s lineup in the first two games.
CHASE: Inside Blake Burke and Christian Moore’s homer-bashing, record-trading chase for Tennessee baseball
The players in those spots went 3-for-32 with 20 strikeouts in the doubleheader. They had five walks and three hit by pitches. Reece Chapman’s sacrifice fly in the opener was the only RBI beyond Curley’s RBI single. Chapman struck out five times in six at-bats. Ensley had four strikeouts.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
Florida
South Florida faith leaders call for Miami mental health center to finally open
Florida
SNAP benefits will be changing in Florida starting Monday
TAMPA, Fla – New SNAP restrictions will start Monday in Florida.
What we know:
These changes will ban the purchase of many sugary sodas, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed, shelf-stable prepared desserts.
Hunger Free America, an advocacy group, is against these restrictions.
Joel Berg, the CEO, said some regulation is a good thing, but he wants to see it support access to healthy foods as a choice.
“We do support mandates to mandate that healthier food is available in stores that do accept SNAP,” Berg said. “So, it makes a lot more sense to make it easier to get healthier food.”
Berg said these restrictions are unnecessary in achieving a healthier America.
“We should make America healthier again by making healthy food more affordable, convenient and physically available,” Berg said. “We shouldn’t micromanage the eating patterns of adults to try to achieve that goal.”
The other side:
This is part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic disease epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long.”
What they’re saying:
Berg said that these changes, on top of cuts to the program nationwide, will increase hunger.
“It’s not that low-income Americans don’t want healthier food; it’s that they can’t afford healthier food,” Berg said.
This coincides with the announcement that there will be cuts to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies food to mothers and young children.
“President Trump’s budget just announced that he’s proposing taking away fruits and vegetables from the WIC program for pregnant women and children under five,” Berg said. “So, they’re taking away healthier food.”
The WIC cuts would take away $1.4 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.4 million people.
Big picture view:
The SNAP changes come as part of the MAHA movement and include more than 20 other states that will implement changes over the next two years.
The Source: Information in this story comes from WIC, SNAP and interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.
Florida
GALLERY: Barrett-Jackson ‘Super Saturday’ takes over South Florida Fairgrounds
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The engines are revving for one final day of high-stakes bidding and family fun at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction reaches its grand finale today with an action-packed “Super Saturday” lineup, promising to close out the weekend with a full slate of collector car sales, live entertainment, and fan attractions.
“Super Saturday,” presented by Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, officially kicks off at 8 a.m. when gates, food courts, and the exhibitor marketplace open to the public.
What to expect
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: The Fantasy Bid presented by Dodge begins early, running in tandem with the automobilia auction in the arena.
- 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Thrill-seekers can catch Dodge thrill rides on the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track.
- 10:00 a.m.: New amenities open to the public, including the Stella Artois, Staging Lanes, and Food Court patios, which offer shaded seating and auction views.
- 10:45 a.m.: The national anthem will be performed in the auction arena, signaling the start of the main collector car auction at 11 a.m.
- Afternoon Entertainment: DJ sets run from noon to 5 p.m. across the various patios, and a detailing clinic by Adam’s Polishes is scheduled for 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.
For those unable to attend, the whole event will be livestreamed throughout the day on the Barrett-Jackson website and the HISTORY channel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Today’s finale comes on the heels of a high-energy Friday that saw significant sales and notable celebrity interest.
Star power was evident throughout the day, particularly with vehicles tied to the Busch family. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible owned by Samantha Busch and a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Custom Coupe were among the day’s heavy hitters, each fetching $159,500. Kyle Busch’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Custom Coupe also drew a strong bid, selling for $143,000.
Other Friday highlights included:
- 1968 Ford Mustang Eleanor Replica: $137,500
- 2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Mamba Edition: $132,000
- 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Custom SUV: $126,500
- 1957 Ford Thunderbird Custom Convertible: $121,000
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With a festival-style atmosphere and high-profile sales driving momentum, organizers expect a busy crowd for the final push at the auction block today.
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