Tennessee
The best regional moment of every Tennessee baseball run under Tony Vitello
The best regional moment of every Tennessee baseball run under Tony Vitello
Tennessee baseball gets its 2025 NCAA Tournament run started on Friday as it hosts another Knoxville Regional.
The Vols are set to play their sixth NCAA Tournament under Tony Vitello with four regional wins already under their belts.
Let’s take a look back at the best moment of every regional UT has been in under Vitello.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
2019: Vols get out of bases-loaded, ninth-inning jam with season on the line
In 2019, Tennessee was down to the bottom of the ninth, up one on Liberty. Both teams had already lost a game, making it an elimination matchup.
With Redmond Walsh on the mound, the Flames loaded the bases and drew a hit-by-pitch to tie the game. With no outs, just one more run crossing would end the season a game short of the regional finals.
Walsh would force a line out then inning-ending double play to force extra innings. Tennessee added one run in the 10th to secure the win.
2021: Drew Gilbert hits walk-off grand slam
In 2021, Tennessee was off to a rocky start. The Vols trailed Wright State at home by three in the ninth.
Tennessee started to get the offense rolling with its back against the wall, though. UT loaded the bases for Drew Gilbert. After taking a hack and missing at strike one, Wright State hung a breaking ball that Gilbert clobbered.
The walk-off grand slam needed each run to clinch the 9-8 victory. The Vols went on to make the first College World Series under Vitello in large thanks to not having to climb out of this early regional hole.
2022: Tennessee rallies in the ninth to beat Georgia Tech
Tennessee entered the 2022 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the country. After winning both the SEC regular season and tournament titles, the Vols had put together one of the best years in baseball history to this point.
In the regionals, Tennessee went into the ninth inning against Georgia Tech behind 4-3, though. The Vols got two on base to start the inning before Jordan Beck roped a double to tie the game. He may or may not have signaled his excitement to the outfield, as well.
With the bases loaded, Trey Lipscomb was hit by a pitch to score another run. Christian Moore and Evan Russell added RBI singles and Cortland Lawson produced a sac-fly to provide the necessary cushion to win.
The following video is a breakdown of the inning, but it does use NSFW language.
2023: Zane Denton homers in the ninth to take the lead
On the road, Tennessee had its back against the wall in the ninth against Clemson. Down two runs, the Vols were down to their final out.
After Moore singled to keep the game alive, Blake Burke also reached on an infield single. This brought up Zane Denton with the tying run on first.
Denton uncorked a ball deep to left field to take the lead. This kept the game alive, but the Tigers did respond to tie the match in the ninth. Tennessee ultimately won in 14 innings thanks to a Hunter Ensley double.
Ultimately, the Vols made another CWS run.
2024: Kaveres Tears gives Tennessee the lead in the regional finals
Tennessee had two chances to beat Southern Miss in the regional finals and for a moment, it looked like it’d need them both. The Vols trailed 3-2 entering the sixth inning of game one of the finals.
However, Kavares Tears made up for it. He lifted a three-run shot in the sixth to give Tennessee a lead it wouldn’t surrender. The Vols added one more in the inning, as well, to provide some cushion.
This made way for a rally that pushed Tennessee to a 12-3 win to punch its ticket to the super regionals. Ultimately, the Vols won the national title.
Tennessee
Sick and tired: Counties near Chattanooga are now reporting highest flu rates in Tennessee
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn — Tennessee health officials say flu activity is rising sharply in around Chattanooga, with counties surrounding Hamilton showing some of the highest rates in the state.
Marion, Grundy, Sequatchie, Bradley, Meigs, Rhea, Bledsoe, McMinn and Polk counties are currently the only areas in Tennessee rated “very high” for influenza activity by the Tennessee Dept. of Health. Photo via the Tennessee Health Dept.
Marion, Grundy, Sequatchie, Bradley, Meigs, Rhea, Bledsoe, McMinn and Polk counties are currently the only areas in Tennessee rated “very high” for influenza activity by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These counties have flu positivity rates greater than 10 percent. By comparison, the statewide average is 6.5 percent, and Hamilton County itself is at 6.9 percent.
State and federal health experts say the surge comes as influenza A(H3N2) continues to circulate widely. The CDC reports at least 11 million flu illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths nationwide so far this season. One pediatric death was reported this week in Tennessee, bringing the season total to nine nationwide.
File photo: Getty Images.
Georgia officials are also reporting higher-than-average flu activity, signaling that the region is experiencing a particularly active season. Health authorities encourage residents six months and older to get vaccinated if they have not already and to take precautions such as frequent handwashing and staying home when sick.
Flu activity is expected to remain elevated in Tennessee and across the U.S. for several more weeks, according to the CDC. Local hospitals and clinics are urging families to monitor symptoms and seek care early, especially for children, older adults, and those with chronic health conditions.
For the latest guidance on influenza vaccination and antiviral treatments, visit the Tennessee Department of Health or the CDC at cdc.gov.
Tennessee
Tennessee launches country’s first public database tracking domestic abusers
Tennessee launched the country’s first-ever public database tracking and listing convicted domestic abusers as part of a ratified law honoring a sheriff’s deputy who was murdered by her abusive ex-boyfriend.
The database, which officially launched on Jan. 1, includes offenders’ names, photos and dates of birth and is part of Savanna’s Law. The bill was signed into law by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in May 2025 and required the state to establish the registry in Savanna Puckett’s name.
Puckett, a 22-year-old Robertson County Sheriff’s deputy, was tragically killed by her ex-boyfriend, James Conn, at her home on Jan. 23, 2022. Conn had a lengthy history of domestic assault arrests that Puckett had no knowledge of before they began dating.
Conn shot Puckett in the torso and head before he set her home on fire. He pleaded guilty to her murder in August 2023 and was sentenced to life in prison.
Puckett’s distraught mother, Kim Dodson, was determined to save other domestic abuse victims from her daughter’s fate and began pushing state lawmakers for change.
She was a staunch advocate for the bill’s passage and said that if the registry had existed sooner, her daughter might still be alive.
“I was just horrified when I finally saw all those records because I know Savanna well enough that she would have never dated him. I honestly, honestly, honestly feel that if she had known that she could still be here,” Dodson told WSMV.
The domestic abuser registry is run through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and lists anyone in the state who has been convicted of at least two domestic violence-related charges, according to the website.
However, the offender’s registration is dependent on the accusing victim. If the victim doesn’t consent to their abuser’s name being included, then the offender can bypass the registry.
The database doesn’t include info on offenders convicted before the new year, so the current list is limited. But it was made in the mirror image of the state’s sex offender registry, which is more fleshed out with decades-worth of listings.
The sex offender registry includes a rolling queue of “wanted violators” and a “map of offenders.”
Tennessee has previously ranked among the top 10 states with the most domestic violence homicides. In 2019, it tied for fifth with South Carolina in a separate list detailing the states with the highest femicide rates, WTVF reported.
Tennessee
Cam Ward injury update: Titans QB out after shoulder injury vs. Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans pre-game analysis, prediction
Florida Times-Union Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporter Demetrius Harvey breaks down what the team needs to do to beat the Tennessee Titans in Week 18.
Tennessee Titans quarterback and former Miami star Cam Ward exited the Week 18 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a shoulder injury, sustained during a first-quarter touchdown run at EverBank Stadium on Jan. 4.
The Titans initially listed Ward as questionable to return, before declaring him out late in the first quarter. Up until the injury, the rookie quarterback had appeared in every offensive snap during the regular season for last-place Tennessee.
While rounding right end and diving for the end zone, Ward absorbed a hard hit from Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun as he also struck the ground just inside the end zone pylon. The rush gave the Titans a short-lived 7-0 lead.
Ward entered the medical tent after the injury, and Tennessee medical staff subsequently escorted him to the locker room.
The rookie from Miami had completed 24 of 38 passes for 141 yards when the Titans played Jacksonville on Nov. 30, a 25-3 Jaguars win. At Miami, Ward was a finalist for the 2024 Heisman Trophy, which ultimately went to Colorado receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, now with the Jaguars but also out due to injury.
Former Jaguars quarterback Brandon Allen entered the game in Ward’s place on the next series. The Jags drafted Allen in the sixth round (No. 201) in 2016, although he never appeared in a regular-season game for Jacksonville.
With a victory, the Jaguars would clinch the AFC South and a first-round home assignment for the playoffs. The Titans were eliminated from postseason contention weeks ago.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
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