Kentucky
Tennessee struggles at the plate as Kentucky evens series
Hunter Ensley hit an RBI single in the eighth to put Tennessee on the board for the first time, but the No. 4 Vols weren’t able to rally in a 4-1 series-evening loss to Kentucky on Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee (33-6, 12-5 SEC) struggled to piece together hits against Wildcats’ starter Nic McCay, who tossed 12 strikeouts and allowed just two hits in 7.2 innings of work to force a rubber match on Sunday.
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The Vols committed two errors, both as part of a two-run third inning for Kentucky (21-15, 7-10). The Wildcats scored two more runs in the sixth to add some insurance.
Ensley, who went 1-for-4 at the plate, recorded Tennessee’s first hit in four innings with two runners on, but the Vols came away with just one run and went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Tennessee starting pitcher Marcus Phillips (2-3) took the loss after allowing five hits, two runs and striking out eight in 5.0 innings.
Andrew Fischer ran towards the ball on what was setting up for an early out at first. He slipped instead and Tyler Bell ran through the base safely.
For the second-straight game, Kentucky was threatening right out of the gate. Bell stole second, Kyuss Garrett walked. Both were in scoring position with one out.
Marcus Phillips responded with his second strikeout of the frame, then a grounder off of the bat of Patrick Herrera was fielded cleanly by Dalton Bargo at third and gunned over to Fischer to get Tennessee out of the inning unscathed.
The Wildcats were threatening to score again in the second after Dylan Koontz hit a lead-off single to left and reached third via a steal and ground out, but again Phillips stranded him, tossing his fourth strikeout to end the inning.
After mustering just one hit in their first two frames and going down in order in the bottom second, Tennessee went back on defense in the third and Kentucky took advantage of a base runner.
Following a lead-off double from Bell to right-center, Hudson Brown grounded to Manny Marin at short, but the ball missed off his glove and Bell scored to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Another error, this one from catcher Stone Lawless who was trying to catch Brown stealing at third but had his throw end up in left field, instead scored Brown and extended the Kentucky lead to 2-0 with two outs.
Another stolen base, the Wildcats’ eighth of the game, put two in scoring position, but Phillips sixth strikeout stranded both and left the Tennessee deficit at two runs.
Dean Curley notched the Vols’ second hit with out in the bottom third and it was followed by Gavin Kilen walk. Then Kentucky starter Nic McCay threw back-to-back strikeouts and Tennessee was left scoreless through three.
The Wildcats were unable to capitalize on their lead and McCay’s outing in the fourth. Ryan Schwartz doubled down the line in left and Brown walked, but Phillips left them with nothing to show for it after a career-tying eighth punch-out left them on base.
Dylan Loy pitched for Tennessee out of the bullpen in the sixth and got off to a rocky start. He gave up hits against the two batters he faced, then hit Bell to load the bases with no outs.
Brown grounded out at second in the next at-bat, allowing Luke Lawrence to score and put Kentucky up, 3-0. A fly-out to right from Kyuss Gargett scored another run for a 4-0 advantage.
Loy was pulled after that and Brandon Arvidson took over with a runner on second and two outs and stranded a runner at third with a strikeout.
Tennessee couldn’t get anything going in the bottom sixth, going down in order in the frame. Right-hander A.J. Russell came into pitch the seventh, making his first appearance in SEC game in nearly a year.
Russell delivered a strikeout and Hunter Ensley caught two fly-outs, including one that he ran down and robbed Koontz of at least a single in left-center. But the Vols’ lineup still had no answers for McCay in the seventh with another 1-2-3 frame.
Tennessee showed some signs of life at the plate in the bottom eighth. After two quick outs on strikeouts from McCay, Cole Hage followed a ball hit by Kilen towards left but drifted towards the foul line.
Hage appeared to make a running catch, the ball fell out of his glove and Kilen reached second safely for the Vols’ first base runner since fourth. Kentucky turned to its bullpen for the first time, bringing in Jackson Nove to try and get out of the inning without any damage.
Nove gave up a walk instead, putting Fischer on first to give two base runners for Ensley. He singled through the left side to score Kilen and put Tennessee on the board for the first time, but a ground out from Bargo prevented the Vols from adding more and they trailed 4-1 heading into the ninth.
Tennessee and Kentucky will play the series finale on Sunday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Right-handed pitcher Tegan Kuhns (2-1, 2.86 ERA) is slated to start for the Vols, while the Wildcats will start left-hander Ben Cleaver (3-2, 2.87 ERA).
First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
Kentucky
Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say
MUHLENBERG, Ky. (WFIE) – Kentucky officials says there are multiple people injured in a three-car accident on Western Kentucky Parkway.
According to a post made by the Central City Fire Department, three vehicles were involved in a crash between the 64 and 65 mile markers eastbound of the parkway.
They say both the eastbound and westbound lanes are closed at this time. The closure should last around 3 hours.
Two people were extricated from a vehicle. Four adults and three juveniles are being taken to the hospital. No update has been given on their conditions.
They say a mass casualty incident was declared, and Ohio County Fire and EMS were called to the scene due to the number of patients.
We will update you when we learn more.
Copyright 2025 WFIE. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
2027 top in-state prospect talks about his Kentucky unofficial visit on Tuesday
Kentucky’s recruiting efforts in the 2026 class have hit a current rough patch, but things are looking promising in the 2027 class, as the staff has already casted a very wide net in the class, with a number of top targets in the fold. As they’re continuing to pursue mostly national targets, a local star is now on the staff’s radar.
2027 in-state guard Braxton Keathley, one of the state’s top prospects even regardless of class, took an unofficial visit to Kentucky on Tuesday for the game against NC Central. Keathley is native of Martin County, KY, and has took the state by storm as he has really stuffed the stat sheet. Just recently, he dropped a triple-double of 34 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds last weekend.
The Kentucky staff has certainly seemed to take notice really quickly. He’s also getting plenty of other interest, too, including having frequent contact with Louisville, LSU, Purdue, South Carolina, and Florida State, plus offers from Eastern Kentucky, UT Martin, Ohio, and Bowling Green, among others. Keathley sat down with Kentucky Wildcats on SI to talk about his recent visit to Kentucky. What were his impressions of the staff? He shared a conversation he had with them before Tuesday’s game. He also had some interactions with others, too.
“They really talked about how well I scored it and how they’ve been hearing about me for a long time,” Keathley said of his conversation with the Kentucky staff. “One of the (Kentucky) assistants mentioned he had a coaching friend tell them that they better jump on me quick cause I was really good. I had several fans come up to me and take pictures. Jack Givens welcomed me and talked to me for a little bit and said he’s highly impressed with my game and plans on coming to a game soon. A couple of other UK players came up, they were really nice and said they been keeping up with me.”
As a Kentucky kid, Keathley says he been a fan of the Wildcats since he was little, even getting to train with Tyrese Maxey this summer, and he also had some great things to say about what he saw from fellow Kentucky natives and current Wildcats Trent Noah, Jasper Johnson, and Malachi Moreno. “I looked up to players like Tyler Herro, SGA, Tyrese Maxey, Devin Booker, Malik Monk and Reed Sheppard. I got lucky that I got to train with Maxey for a week in August,” Keathley said. “I saw Trent Noah last night having great energy and keeping a smile on his face during warmups. You could tell he loved every minute wearing that Kentucky uniform. He cares and it shows. I saw Jasper and Moreno warming up hard. The one thing about it, and my dad always told me, it’s a different place. You got to be special to play there and be willing to accept everything that comes with wearing that jersey.”
Interestingly enough, Keathley’s dad coached former Kentucky greats Anthony Epps and Wayne Turner after their time at Kentucky, so Keathley has a family history of being around all that comes with the passion of Kentucky basketball. What did Keathley’s dad learn about the two former Wildcats he got the privilege to coach? “He said they carried a chip on their shoulder and were great leaders always humble but tough. and I have to do the same.” Now, for Keathley, it’s about climbing the ranks nationally. “A couple (recruiting services) don’t have me ranked yet and that’s ok. I’m going to walk in the gym every night and know I outworked you and I’m going to outplay you,” he said. “I’m going to compete like every game is a championship. I’m going to to play with the same passion that the fans have. I’m always all in there’s no going back or in-between.”
Keathley has so much passion for his community in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, and he has plans of doing big things at Martin County. He also shared a message Trent Noah’s dad had for him during their interaction at Tuesday’s Kentucky game. “Something he said that really stuck out. ‘Us mountain people have got to stick together.’ He’s right, Eastern Kentucky has great people and basketball players. Kentucky basketball as whole, we got to stick together through the highs and lows. That’s what we do.”
That’s a great message from a parent of a current Wildcat who was in his shoes before, being a fellow native of that part of the state. The Kentucky staff is certainly going to keep an eye on him as he continues the impressive run he is on so far this season, because he just continues to catch more and more people’s attention with his play.
Kentucky
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduces legislation for U.S. to leave NATO – UPI.com
Dec. 10 (UPI) — U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican serving a House district in Kentucky, introduced legislation for the United States to pull out of NATO.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, posted on X that she would be a co-sponsor of the Not a Trusted Organization Act, or NATO Act. Utah Republican Mike Lee introduced the same legislation in the Senate earlier this year.
“NATO is a Cold War relic,” Massie said in a statement Tuesday. “We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries.
“NATO was created to counter the Soviet Union, which collapsed over 30 years ago. Since then, U.S. participation has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and continues to risk U.S. involvement in foreign wars.”
He added: “Our Constitution did not authorize permanent foreign entanglements, something our Founding Fathers explicitly warned us against. America should not be the world’s security blanket – especially when wealthy countries refuse to pay for their own defense.”
NATO was founded in 1949 by 12 members as a military alliance involving European nations, as well as the U.S. and Canada in North America. There are now 32 members, with Finland joining in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.
The NATO Act would prevent the use of U.S. taxpayer funds for NATO’s common budgets, including its civil budget, military budget and the Security Investment Program.
Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty allows nations to opt out.
“After the Treaty has been in force for 20 years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation,” the treaty reads.
During the last NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, President Donald Trump told reporters he agrees with NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense treaty.
“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here,” Trump said. “If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”
Article 5 was invoked for the first time after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, leading to NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan.
The Kentucky Republican, who calls himself a “fiscal hawk” and a “constitutional conservative,” has been at odds with Trump on several issues, including fiscal spending, foreign policy/war powers, government surveillance and transparency.
Trump has also been critical of NATO.
During his 2016 election campaign, Trump called the alliance “obsolete.”
He urged nations to spend at least 3.5% of gross domestic product on core defense needs by 2035.
In June, NATO allies agreed to a new defense spending guideline to invest 5% of GDP annually in defense and security by 2035.
Five nations were above 3% in 2024: Poland at 4.12%, Estonia at 3.43%, U.S. at 3.38%, Latvia at 3.15% and Greece at 3.08%. In last is Spain with 1.28% though Iceland has no armed forces and Sweden wasn’t listed.
Some Republican senators want stronger involvement in the alliance, including Joni Ernst of Iowa and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Wicker is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
For passage, a House majority is needed, but 60 of 100 votes in the Senate to break the filibuster and then a majority vote. Trump could also veto the bill.
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