Tennessee
Tony Vitello Provides Tennessee Fall Ball Injury Updates Ahead Of Weekend Exhibitions | Rocky Top Insider
Tennessee baseball heads west on Interstate-40 to play a pair of fall exhibitions this weekend. The Vols face Western Kentucky in Nashville on Friday night before facing Troy in Jackson on Sunday afternoon.
The exhibitions will provide a chance for Tennessee to get some work against an opponent other than themselves while also providing fans to get a look at Vitello’s eighth Tennessee squad with an abundance of new faces.
A few of the noticeable returning faces from Tennessee’s 2024 National Championship team won’t be available for the Vols this weekend against the Hilltoppers or Trojans according to Tony Vitello. Both utility man Dalton Bargo and infielder Ariel Antigua will be out after suffering injuries.
Bargo has been out the last week with a hand injury and Vitello noted that “he’s a little banged up right now” and that he doesn’t expect him to play this weekend.
The former Missouri transfer played in 50 games and started 27 a season ago for Tennessee, hitting .280 with eight home runs, four doubles and 27 RBIs. Bargo can play a number of different positions but will be thick in the competition to start at both first base and left field.
More From RTI: Everything Tony Vitello Said As Tennessee Baseball Works Through Fall Practice
Sophomore infielder Ariel Antigua has also been out as of late with a finger injury. He’s played in the field a little bit the last week but hasn’t been hitting or throwing overhanded.
“It’s frustrating because he really loves to play and therefore plays at a hundred miles an hour all the time and you’d much rather have that as a coach and you gotta rear it in, but it definitely still needs to be reared in,” Vitello said. “So that’s my preface to a story where he slides into first base, a crazy play, defensively, not sliding in as a base runner and jammed his finger.”
A similar injury sidelined Antigua to begin last season and hampered his offensive development as a freshman where he hit .217 with two doubles and four RBIs. Antigua earned a role as a late inning defensive replacement at shortstop last season. But while he’s worked there some this fall, he’s spending more time at second base and has worked at third base.
Another player worth monitoring their availability this weekend is Louisville infield transfer Gavin Kilen. The star transfer has missed some time in recent weeks and since returning this week has only served as designated hitter and hasn’t played in the field.
The Vols will play 14 innings against Western Kentucky on Friday. The number of innings are not yet set for the exhibition against Troy on Sunday. First pitch on Friday is at 7 p.m. ET at First Horizon Park while first pitch on Sunday is at 1 p.m. ET at Jackson Baseball Stadium.
The Tennessee Volunteers are in the middle of a bye-week, after last weekend’s loss to Oklahoma.
The playoffs are out of the picture, but there is still plenty of work left to do. The Vols will use this week to work on getting some guys healthy as they prepare for New Mexico State on November 15.
It will be interesting to see if there are any changes for the New Mexico State in terms of players. Will the Vols decide to go a bit younger and work in some younger guys as a way to jumpstart some guys who may battle for playing time and/or a starting position next season.
Josh Heupel met with reporters earlier today to discuss a few things as the team prepares to move forward.
Josh Heupel’s Opening Statement
“How’s everybody doing? Uh, good work today. Um, got another day tomorrow and then some of the coaches will hit the ground recruiting this week. Big focuses again on us during the bye and how we get better. So, open it up,” Heupel said.
Balancing Act
“Yeah, I think wherever your feet are and what’s important at that moment is what you got to be doing. So, uh the development of our current players, our preparation of the opponent that we’re playing, you know, for me, at times the projection of the following year in all departments you’re looking at. So, it’s a combination of all those things. December has changed a little bit on the calendar as well. That gives you a little bit more time potentially in December as well,” Heupel said.
Rotating Young Guys
“Guys that prove that they’re ready to play and play at a really high level, championship level. They earn the right to play and compete and that’s ongoing throughout the course of this season. These guys have worked really hard, disappointed in the results Saturday and a couple other during the course of the year, for sure. But man, it’s constant and consistent growth from everybody,” Heupel explained.
Click HERE to watch and listen to everything Tennessee Football head coach Josh Heupel said during his Wednesday media availability during the bye-week.
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Tennessee
Tennessee provides $5 million emergency food funding during government shutdown affecting SNAP benefits
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee is providing $5 million in emergency funding to food banks as the government shutdown continues to block federal food assistance for low-income families across the state.
The funding comes from TennCare reserve funds and will go to Second Harvest Food Bank, which will distribute the money to food banks statewide based on the number of SNAP recipients in each community.
“It’s an initial response to an immediate need,” Gov. Bill Lee said.
The emergency measure comes as food pantries report overwhelming demand. The Well’s food pantry in Spring Hill served as many families in one hour as they typically see in an entire day.
“It’s hard to see hungry families, senior citizens who have no other alternatives except to wait in the long line at a food pantry,” said Shelly Sassen, CEO of The Well.
SNAP benefits, the federal program that helps low-income families buy groceries, stopped during the shutdown, creating a food emergency across Tennessee.
“They ought to open the government now,” Gov. Lee said.
Even if the Trump administration follows a judge’s order to unlock emergency funds that could provide at least half the normal SNAP amount, Gov. Lee warns the process won’t be immediate.
“But if they release partial funding, the complexity of loading cards with a different formula than before is going to be difficult,” Gov. Lee explained.
The state’s emergency funding represents “the sort of most streamlined way to get dollars to people out, even in rural areas,” Gov. Lee added.
Food pantry volunteers describe the emotional toll of seeing increased need firsthand.
“We’re telling some folks to come back later in the day,” said one volunteer at The Well.
“When you’re here looking people in the eyes and see that they are hungry, that they need some help. That’s what really hits,” another volunteer said.
You are invited to make monetary donations, but Second Harvest Food Bank would also greatly appreciate food donations. Here is a list of suggested items:
- Peanut Butter
- Canned Meat (Chicken or Tuna)
- Canned Vegetables
- Canned Fruit
- Canned Meals (Entree or Soup)
- Pasta
- Pasta Sauce
- Cereal
- Rice
- Beans (Canned or Dry)
You can drop off food donations at the following locations:
- Second Harvest Nashville — 331 Great Circle Road Nashville, TN
- Second Harvest Symrna — 1958 Almaville Road Smyrna, TN
- Second Harvest Camden — 69 Benton Industrial Road Camden, TN
- Any Middle Tennessee Kroger location
You can find your nearest Kroger location by clicking here.
Are you someone being affected by not receiving SNAP benefits? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@Newschannel5.com
Vandy’s band of misfits turns heads with 7-1 start
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys – young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team’s success has stolen the spotlight – what I love about Steve Layman’s story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, “we all have scuff marks.” This team proves perseverance pays off!
– Carrie Sharp
Wide receiver Chimere Dike is the first Tennessee Titans player to find the end zone on a punt return since Darius Reynaud back in 2012.
Dike returned a punt 67 yards in the first quarter to give the Titans a 14-3 lead in the first quarter of the team’s Week 9 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Dike spoke about what it felt like to get his first touchdown on a punt return.
“Oh, it’s good. I mean, I think that — I’m more happy for our unit. We talk about it all the time. So, those guys work their tail off for me every Sunday. Finally do my job and finish off the run and get into the endzone,” Dike said postgame.
Dike nearly scored a touchdown earlier in the season, but it was called back after a penalty from linebacker Cedric Gray. This time, the special teams unit prevailed as Dike got his score.
“Yeah, in a meeting him and KB (Kendell Brooks), we talked about it as a unit, we’ve been increasing teams and having explosive returns, but you know we wanted to have a spark for the offense and the rest of the team and put it in a box, so to be able to do that it felt good,” Dike said of the special teams unit.
Dike has been getting snaps at wide receiver and special teams and it has led to him leading the league in all-purpose yards over the course of the first half of the season. He has a knack for getting strong returns.
“I caught it, I saw the gunners were both split, both of the zeros did a really good job. It was a one-on-one with their net, then he got missed and then popped out to the right. And I saw about three rip by and then a bunch of blue jerseys. I knew it was a touchdown,” Dike said of his scoring play.
Despite Dike’s efforts, the Titans lost the game to fall to 1-8 on the season. They now advance to the bye week, where they will have a chance to correct some errors.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the penalties in first half were really big,” Dike said. “I think just the negative plays, right? We’re running the football really well, but getting behind the sticks is tough. And I’m sure we’re going to look back and there’s other things. But I think that comes to mind.”
Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
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