Arizona
Tennessee baseball caps Astros Classic with 5-1 win over Arizona
Jay Abernathy threw out the tying run at left in the sixth inning, Cannon Peebles followed it up with a two-run home run in the seventh and Tennessee ended the Astros Foundation College Classic with a 5-1 win over Arizona at Daikin Park in Houston on Sunday.
The No. 3 Vols (11-0), who beat Oklahoma State and Rice in the previous two games, ran into their most significant challenge of the weekend against Wildcats (7-4), trailing early and clinging to a one-run lead for three innings.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
The back-to-back sequences orchestrated by Abernathy in left field and Peebles at the plate, were the difference.
Tennessee’s lineup accounted for 12 hits, and Andrew Fischer and Levi Clark hit consecutive solo home runs to put the Vols ahead for good in the fourth before Peebles provided the cushion.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Tegan Kuhns made his first career start, but it was Nate Snead out of the bullpen that was the headliner. He struck out three and allowed four hits in 3.2 scoreless innings, while Brandon Arvidson, Dylan Loy and Ryan Combs had strong relief outings to maintain the Vols’ lead.
Arvidson (1-0) earned the win for Tennessee.
Tegan Kuhns got off to a good start in his debut.
After Smith Bailey went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, Khuns followed suit, striking out the leadoff batter looking on a 94 MPH fastball before a couple of ground outs ended the inning scoreless.
Arizona got two hits in the second, the first a Adnoys Guzman double to the wall in center that was followed by Easton Breyfogle‘s RBI triple to put the Wildcats up 1-0 and give the Vols their first deficit of the weekend.
Kuhns was able to limit the damage there and strand a runner in scoring position, and Jay Abernathy singled through the right side with two outs for Tennessee’s first hit in the third.
Abernathy moved over to second by way of an error, but the Vols were unable to take advantage of it as Bailey got out of the inning with another strikeout.
Brandon Arvidson took over for Khuns in the third and delivered. He gave up a walk, but tossed three strikeouts, two swinging and one looking to strand a runner.
Tennessee’s lineup paid it off in the fourth. After two quick outs from Bailey, Andrew Fischer homered to right to draw the Vols even, then Levi Clark added to his impressive freshman campaign with another to left to put Tennessee up, 2-1.
Arvidson remained efficient in his short outing. He got two more outs in the fourth before Nate Snead entered. Snead allowed a walk, but kept the Vols ahead through four with his first strikeout.
Manny Marin led off the fifth with a single to left, then tried to get into scoring position during the next at-bat. He was thrown out in the process, and Tennessee came away empty-handed in the inning.
Arizona tried to get something going in the bottom fifth with Brendan Summerhill on first after drawing a walk. He pulled off a successful steal attempt after Cannon Peebles was unable to get a handle on the ball in the third.
Peebles got him back in the fifth, gunning a throw to Gavin Kilen at second to end the inning with the Vols still in front.
Tennessee threatened to add to its lead in the sixth, getting two on off of bloopers from Curley and Ensley, but Clark flied out to deep center to keep it a one-run game heading into the bottom half.
Arizona carried the momentum of getting out of that jam but putting the Vols in one with two on off of two hits and two outs when Guzman stepped up to the plate.
He singled through the left side and Garen Caulfield rounded third. His attempt at a game-tying run wasn’t even close. Abernathy fielded the ball in left and threw him out by about six steps to again get Tennessee out of trouble without any damage.
Not getting that run across haunted the Wildcats in the seventh. Cannon Peebles mashed a home run into the upper deck in right that scored two runs and swelled the Vols’ lead to 4-1.
Snead held Arizona off again in the bottom seventh and Dylan Loy did the same in the in the eighth. Tennessee added some insurance in the ninth off of a Kilen single to right that paid off runners on the corners and scored Abernathy to lead 5-1 with no outs.
The Vols went to Ryan Combs to finish it off and he did, sitting the Wildcats down in order in their last go-around to keep Tennessee unbeaten.
Tennessee will play two midweek games before its final non-conference series this weekend.
The Vols host Radford and Xavier in back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, with both games slated for 6 p.m. ET starts on SEC Network+ at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee then plays St. Bonventure in a three-game series beginning Friday in its last tune-up series before opening SEC play against No. 8 Florida the following week.
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
Arizona is ranked 18th in the nation when it comes to racial equality in the classroom, according to WalletHub.
The personal finance website compiled its 2026 list of Best States for Racial Equality in Education by looking at differences between Black and white students when it comes to test scores, college attainment and high school graduation rates.
The rankings are based on a weighted average of six metrics, but did WalletHub not provide a breakdown of each category.
However, statistics from the Center for the Future of Arizona support the idea that Arizona has work to do when it comes to racial equality. African American students in Arizona have an average college attainment rate of 38%, while white students have an average rate of 54%.
That difference is also evident in other education areas, with a gap of 11 percentage points between Black and white high schoolers in graduation rate.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo called the high school graduation rate the most “alarming” data set for the Arizona. He said if the study included the state’s large Hispanic population, the results might have been different.
“It would be interesting, if those numbers were included, where the gaps would be. Again, Arizona has a high Hispanic population, as [does] New Mexico, and New Mexico was at number three. So maybe Arizona could take a look at what their neighbors are doing there to kind of bridge those gaps,” he said.
How can Arizona increase racial equality in the classroom?
Lupo said Arizona can boost its ranking and improve racial equality in schools by increasing the representation and funding for public education.
“One thing [to] do is to build more diversity within the school system. More Black administrators and more Black teachers kind of create more of a familiarity for Black students and more mentors. … Increased funding and a more concerted effort to increase diversity among the school systems, I think, would go a long way in bridging that gap,” he said.
WalletHub ranked Wyoming, West Virginia and New Mexico as the best states for racial equality in the classroom, with New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin at the bottom of the list.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
-
Michigan2 minutes agoMichigan Lottery Daily 3, Daily 4 results for June 3, 2026
-
Massachusetts9 minutes agoMass. House votes to set new rules for DiZoglio’s audit
-
Minnesota12 minutes agoMinneapolis considers closing dog park sitting on Indigenous land
-
Mississippi17 minutes agoMississippi Court of Appeals Brings ‘Court on the Road’ Prog…
-
Missouri24 minutes agoTwo airlifted after serious crash in Cole County
-
Montana27 minutes agoClark Fork River remains central to Missoula’s identity, conservation groups say
-
Nebraska32 minutes agoMiss Nebraska festivities kick off with opening ceremonies
-
Nevada39 minutes agoHillel of Northern Nevada Builds Community at the University
