Tennessee

The best regional moment of every Tennessee baseball run under Tony Vitello

Published

12 months ago

May 27, 2025

Press Room

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.

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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.

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Tennessee

Memphis voters file federal lawsuit against new congressional map, claiming discrimination: ‘White control over Tennessee politics’

Published

3 hours ago

May 12, 2026

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Memphis voters file federal lawsuit against new congressional map, claiming discrimination: ‘White control over Tennessee politics’

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WSMV) – Three Memphis voters, through the American Civil Liberties Union, have filed a federal lawsuit against Tennessee leaders, claiming the state’s new congressional maps are discriminating against Black voters.

The ACLU announced the lawsuit on Monday, saying that three organizations — the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis, the Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Equity Alliance, are also part of the lawsuit that was filed against Sec. of State Tre Hargett, Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins and several others.

“In May 2026, over the course of mere days, a White-dominated supermajority of the Tennessee General Assembly redrew Tennessee’s congressional map to crack the predominantly Black city of Memphis into three pieces and destroy the only district in which Black voters are able to elect representatives of their choice, shutting Black voters completely out of power in federal elections in Tennessee,” the filing states.

The ACLU and the other plaintiffs echo arguments made by Democrats while the maps were being debated during last week’s special session: “The cracking of Memphis unlawfully targeted Black voters.”

“The new plan carves through the center of Tennessee’s second largest city, dividing neighborhoods that have voted together for decades, splitting numerous counties and precincts, and cutting the Black population into thirds with suspect precision,” the lawsuit says. “The districts then run hundreds of miles east towards the Nashville suburbs, snaking through predominantly White and rural counties to dilute the voting power of now-divided Black Memphians.”

Gov. Bill Lee signed the new congressional map into law last week. The new map splits Shelby County, home of Memphis, into three districts.

Republicans have said the map modernizes the districting process and removes “racial data from the mapmaking process entirely.” Democrats, on the other hand, say that the move is meant to dismantle the Black-majority district.

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R) told WSMV that Republicans “have been very clear” on their intention to secure a ninth Republican seat in the state. He has said the map would help “ensure the state’s representation in Washington reflects its conservative values.”

The lawsuit draws significant attention to the racial makeup of Tennessee lawmakers, describing, “White control over Tennessee politics.” Plaintiffs allege that a white majority “faction” of state leaders “gave bizarre, robotic answers to the most basic questions about the map they were sponsoring.”

“None of the sponsors of the plan would admit who actually drew it, and the lead Senate sponsor—a White legislator with over a decade of service in the Tennessee General Assembly who had attended law school in Memphis — would not say whether Memphis was predominantly Black and claimed not to know that Congressional District 9 was a majority- Black district,” the filing says.

They seem to be referencing Sen. John Stevens (R-Huntingdon), who was asked during the special session if he was aware that the majority of the residents in the ninth district are Black.

“I’m not aware,” he responded. “I know how the map is divided, but I don’t know the racial makeup of the map.”

Stevens got his juris doctorate from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

The three Memphis residents who took part in the lawsuit are Amber Sherman, a lifelong resident of Memphis and the lead Tennessee regional organizer for Black Voters Matter Fund, Rachael Spriggs, a Memphis resident for more than 20 years who is the director of Power Building for the Equity Alliance, and Kermit Moore, a nearly lifelong resident of Memphis who is the president of the Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute.

The lawsuit claims intentional discrimination in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments, as well as retaliation for protected expression and association in violation of the First Amendment.

Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the newly drawn map is unconstitutional and restore district lines before primary elections proceed.

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Tennessee

New Tennessee law allows K9 officers to be transported by helicopter, ambulance to vet

Published

15 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

New Tennessee law allows K9 officers to be transported by helicopter, ambulance to vet

Tennessee State Senators Michele Reneau of Signal Mountain and Bo Watson of Hixson spoke today about the new law supporting police K-9’s.

The act allows injured dogs to get stabilization services on-site and then be transported via ambulance or helicopter to a vet hospital.

“In the past, officers were basically putting the k9 in their car and transporting them in their in their own vehicle, they didn’t have an ambulance or an air ambulance,” said Senator Watson. “This allows for an air ambulance. It also allows for a educational program for those in EMS, who will be taught how to manage canines emergency medical condition, which is different than a human’s.”

In April, Erlanger flew a K9 officer from Clay County, to North Carolina.

It was the first time the program was used for a live transport after several training runs.

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Tennessee

What You Need to Know About Tennessee Softball’s Path to Another WCWS | Rocky Top Insider

Published

1 day ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

What You Need to Know About Tennessee Softball’s Path to Another WCWS | Rocky Top Insider

Tennessee softball’s path back to the Women’s College World Series is set. On Sunday night, the Lady Vols were named the No. 7 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will host the regional stage in Knoxville as it looks to return to the WCWS in back-to-back seasons.

The Lady Vols are matched up with Virginia, Indiana and Northern Kentucky in the regionals. It would play Georgia, Clemson, UNC Greensboro or Charleston in the super regionals.

Ahead of the tournament, here’s a look at each team in the Knoxville Regional and potential matchups for the ensuing best-of-three super regional if Tennessee advances.