BEAUMONT, Texas – No. 6 Tennessee earned two more run-rule victories Saturday at the LU Softball Complex in Beaumont, Texas, defeating Lamar 13-0 in five innings and Tulsa 8-0 in six.
Alannah Leach and Karlyn Pickens led the charge for the Lady Vols, each setting career highs. Leach drove in four RBIs against Lamar, while Pickens recorded 15 strikeouts in Tennessee’s win over Tulsa.
Taylor Pannell continued her hot streak, hitting her fifth home run of the season against Tulsa and finishing with four RBIs on the day. Through 10 games, she has driven in 20 runs and posted six multi-RBI performances.
GAME ONE: #6 TENNESSEE 13, LAMAR 0 Leach delivered an outstanding performance at the plate, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs as Tennessee run-ruled Lamar in five innings. The sophomore from The Woodlands, Texas, contributed a pair of two-RBI singles in the first and fifth innings.
Leading 5-0 heading into the fifth, the Lady Vols exploded for eight runs in the frame. They did all the damage without hitting a home run, relying on a pair of doubles, two singles, five walks, and two hit-by-pitches to pile on the runs.
Freshman Peyton Tanner made her first career start in her home state, tossing four shutout innings. The Lake Jackson native allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out four to earn her second win of the season.
Junior Charli Orsini pitched one inning in relief, surrendering two hits and striking out one.
GAME TWO: #6 TENNESSEE 8, TULSA 0 Pannell got the Lady Vols off to a fast start with a three-run home run to deep left-center field in the first inning. Tennessee added two more runs in the third, with Ella Dodge lacing an RBI double and scoring on a Laura Mealer single up the middle.
Destiny Rodriguez, a native of Live Oak, Texas, knocked an RBI single in the fifth to extend the lead to 6-0. In the sixth, Tennessee sealed the run-rule victory with two runs on an error and a groundout.
Pickens threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits and one walk. Her 15 strikeouts set a career high, surpassing her previous mark of 14 set on Feb. 24, 2024, against UCF. The junior earned her third win of the season.
DUE UP Tennessee concludes its Texas and Louisiana trip Sunday with a matchup against Nicholls. First pitch is set for 11:30 a.m. ET.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The reigning national champion Tennessee Volunteers opened their 2025 season with a bang by routing Hofstra, 15-0, in front of an Opening Day crowd of 6,212 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Eight different UT players drove in runs on the day, led by multi-RBI efforts from Dean Curley (two), Stone Lawless (two), Ariel Antigua (two) and Hunter High (three). High’s pinch-hit three-run homer, the first of his career, capped a seven-run sixth inning for the Big Orange.
Curley’s two-run blast into the porches in left center was the first of three Tennessee long balls on the day as the Big Orange cruised to a run-rule win.
Cannon Peebles had a great all-around day at the plate, as well, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI from the designated hitter spot.
With the win, the No. 2/4 Vols improved to 78-36-2 all-time in season openers and 4-1 in home season openers under head coach Tony Vitello.
Dazzling Debuts
A handful of players put up impressive performances in their Tennessee debuts, headlined by a masterful outing on the mound from junior lefthander Liam Doyle. The Ole Miss transfer set a new career high with 11 strikeouts and allowed just one hit over five shutout innings to earn the win.
After getting a groundout to start the game, Doyle retired the next eight batters he faced via strikeout before giving up the Pride’s only hit of the game. Doyle ended up facing the minimum through five innings after the runner was thrown out at second on the play after recording the single.
Fellow Ole Miss transfer Andrew Fischer also put his stamp on the game by drawing two walks, scoring a pair of runs and hitting a solo homer in the third inning. Louisville transfer Gavin Kilen finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and a triple while scoring two runs, as well.
Redshirt freshman Stone Lawless got the start behind the dish and drove in a pair of runs with a double in UT’s seven-run sixth inning. Freshman infielder Manny Marin got the starting nod at third base and recorded two hits of his own in his first collegiate contest.
Rounding out the group of productive debuts was junior right hander Tanner Franklin, who stuck out four over the final two innings and did not allow a hit.
Up Next
Tennessee and Hofstra will square off again on Saturday in game two of the weekend series. First pitch, which was originally scheduled for 4 p.m., has been moved up to 2 p.m. due to inclement weather in the forecast. Sunday’s series finale has also been moved up an hour and is now slated to begin at 11 a.m.
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Redshirt sophomore Taylor Pannell had a standout performance at the plate, sparking No. 6 Tennessee to a doubleheader sweep of McNeese on Friday night at Cowgirl Stadium. The Lady Vols won the first game 12-0 before securing a 10-2 victory in game two.
Pannell went 6-for-8 with four runs, one double, two home runs, and seven RBIs across the twin bill. She has now homered in three consecutive games and in four of the last five.
Ella Dodge also had an impressive night, finishing 3-for-7 with two home runs and three RBIs.
GAME ONE: #6 TENNESSEE 12, McNEESE 0 Three multi-run home runs powered Tennessee to a 12-0 win in game one, which ended in six innings. Dodge hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Lady Vols a 4-0 lead.
A six-run sixth inning was sparked by a three-run shot from Pannell and a two-run blast from Laura Mealer.
Junior Karlyn Pickens earned the win, tossing five innings, allowing four hits, and striking out five. Freshman Peyton Tanner pitched one inning of relief, giving up one hit and one walk.
GAME TWO: #6 TENNESSEE 10, McNEESE 2 Tennessee hit three more home runs in game two, with Dodge and Pannell going deep again, while sophomore Gabby Leach hit her first career homer in the fifth inning.
Leading 3-2 in the fourth, Pannell hit a two-RBI double to extend the lead. Leach then added a solo shot in the fifth to pad the advantage.
Both Pannell and Dodge homered again in the sixth, with each hitting solo shots.
Sophomore Ryan Brown capped the scoring in the seventh, doubling down the left-field line to score Pannell and Katie Taylor.
Erin Nuwer started in the circle and pitched two innings, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks and a strikeout. She was relieved in the second but returned to finish the game in the seventh.
Sage Mardjetko threw five shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit, walking two, and striking out five. Mardjetko earned her third win of the season.
DUE UP Tennessee will play two games on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. ET against Lamar, followed by a 3:30 p.m. matchup with Tulsa. Both games will be held at the LU Softball Complex in Beaumont, Texas. The contest against Lamar will be streamed on ESPN+.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Knox County leaders have launched a proposal to acquire the site of a North Knoxville recycling facility prone to fires and currently owned by a company that owed hundreds of thousands in back taxes.
The agreement, which still needs to be approved by Knox County Commission, proposes the county take over two locations — 2742 Hancock Street and 302 North Avenue — in exchange for over $4.3 million.
County reps say they plan to use the property as a potential county-wide maintenance facility.
“We plan to use the property as a potential county-wide maintenance facility,” said county representative Chris Caldwell. “We hope to start programming soon after approval and start conversations with KCS about a possible partnership. This property will help us begin the process of vacating the Knox Central property with the hope of getting it back on the tax rolls.”
The properties are currently owned by Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling and Edstock LLC.
Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling owns the Hancock Street location which was the scene of a large-scale fire in August of last year. According to county documents from last summer, the company owed the county and city over $257,000 in back taxes.
The properties are currently owned by Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling and Edstock LLC. (Courtesy: WVLT)
A man wanted on rape of a child charges out of Alcoa is arrested in Kentucky.
U.S. Marshals and investigators checked multiple residences throughout Knoxville, Blount County and Loudon County to find Horacio Mejia-Villegas.
He was charged with rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery out of Alcoa.
Detectives found he was taken to Lexington, Kentucky to hide from the police and him at a restaurant where he worked, he gave officers a fake name. He was arrested and will be extradited back to Tennessee.
He will be held for ICE for deportation after he serves his time if he is convicted.
Murfreesboro, TN (WOKI) University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd delivered his annual ‘State of the University’ address Thursday.
Boyd says that after 230 years, the state of the university is stronger than it’s ever been.
“I’m happy to report that after 230 years, the state of the university is stronger than it’s ever been in our entire history,” Boyd said.
Multiple topics were discussed including a record-breaking enrollment rate for the entire UT system.
Currently, the school serves over 62,000 students, an over 18% increase since the start of this decade and while the higher number of students is great, Boyd says they are in need of more places to put them.
Boyd says they have 1,020 buildings that are on average 67 years old and need to be replaced.
“We need to build more infrastructure, we’re always asked to our friends in the legislature and the governor, where they gonna sit, you know, so it’s great to bring all these kids in, but we’ve got aging plant, our facilities are on average 67 years,” Boyd said. “We got 1,020 buildings on average 67 years old, so we’ve got buildings that we need to replace, we need to build new buildings to help support this growth.”
Additionally, Boyd said this week, Gov. Bill Lee and other legislators offered a record quarter of a billion dollars put toward the university’s infrastructure.
Record-breaking finances as well as enrollment helps fuel Boyd’s praise of the university. (Courtesy: WVLT)
Nashville, TN (WOKI) Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill that will give a 130% refund of property taxes to those whose home was damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene.
However, only one owner per property is eligible for the relief, and if more than one owner requests relief, the payment will be sent to the property owner who submitted all the needed documentation first.
It was unanimously passed by both the Tennessee House and Senate.
To receive the relief payment, those eligible must submit all needed and necessary documentation to the Comptroller of the Treasury by June 30th.
HURRICANE HELENE RELIEF PAYMENTS
In connection with a disaster certified by the federal emergency management agency (FEMA) occurring on or after September 26, 2024, and before September 30, 2024 (“qualified disaster”) and subject to the requirements of this bill and an appropriation by the general assembly, this bill requires the comptroller of the treasury to disburse payments directly to owners of all real or personal property that is subject to taxation in this state, excluding intangible personal property or public utility property (“property”), (i) whose property was destroyed or damaged by a qualified disaster, as determined by the assessor of property by January 28, 2025, and is located in a county included in the FEMA declaration; and (ii) who owned the affected property at the time of the qualified disaster. This bill requires such payments to be in an amount equal to the total amount of the tax levied on the property for tax year 2024 plus 30%.
By June 30, 2025, this bill requires owners of property who are eligible for such payments to provide to the comptroller of the treasury all information and correctly completed documentation necessary for payment disbursement, as determined by the comptroller. The comptroller must determine the means by which owners of property must submit the necessary documentation and information. Failure to provide all necessary information and correctly completed documentation under this bill results in forfeiture of eligibility forpayment under this bill.
This bill clarifies that the provisions of this bill apply regardless of whether the property was restored or replaced by December 31, 2024. However, the provisions of this bill are deleted on December 31, 2025.
MUTUAL AID DURING DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES
Present law generally (i) authorizes mutual aid during an imminent threat of an event or an actual event and its aftermath, whether natural or man-made, that could lead to or results in bodily injury or property damage and (ii) enhances public safety and homeland security by facilitating assistance among governmental entities in a state of emergency or declared disaster while conforming to federal guidelines relative to reimbursement of costs for assistance rendered. Specifically, upon receiving a request for mutual aid in an occurrence or for assistance from a requesting party in a municipal, county, state, or federal state of emergency, present law authorizes a governmental entity that requests or responds to a request for aid or assistance to send its personnel and equipment outside its boundaries and into any other jurisdiction necessary to respond to the request. This bill revises that specific authority by subjecting such authority to the approval of the chief executiveofficer of the governmental entity.
ON JANUARY 29, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 6007, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #2 revises the provision of the bill that excludes public utility property from the definition of “property” as used in the bill. This amendment removes that exclusion and, instead, excludes from such definition utility and carrier property that is assessed pursuant to the property tax laws of this state.
This amendment requires payments under this bill to be provided to only one owner per property. If more than one owner seeks payment for the same property, then the comptroller of the treasury must disburse payment to the owner who first submits all necessary information and correctly completed documentation as required under this bill.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 15/16 Tennessee women’s basketball team shot a season-high 55.7 percent from the field and scored its most points against an SEC foe in 14 years to roll past Auburn, 99-61, on Thursday night at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (18-6, 5-6 SEC), who carded their highest output since a 110-45 home win over Alabama on Jan. 6, 2011, were led offensively by fifth-year guard Jewel Spear, who knocked down five three-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points. The Big Orange had four others in double figures, including junior guard Ruby Whitehorn with 15, junior forward Zee Spearman with 14, redshirt freshman guard Kaniya Boyd with 11 and redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper with 10.
The Tigers (12-13, 3-9 SEC) were paced by DeYona Gaston, who recorded a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds. Yuting Deng chipped in 13 points, with 10 of those coming in the first quarter before the Lady Vols limited her to 1-of-4 shooting the rest of the way.
Auburn opened the game in good form, hitting 50 percent over the opening six-plus minutes to grab a 7-2 lead behind 3-of-7 marksmanship from Deng. A Jillian Hollingshead kiss off the glass and a Spear three-pointer, however, narrowed the deficit to three, 14-11, by the 3:44 media timeout. The Lady Vols warmed up after the break, grabbing their first lead, 15-14, with 2:35 remaining. After AU jumped up 18-15, UT finished the frame on a 7-2 burst, getting a Boyd backdoor layup, a spinning Whitehorn layup and then a trey from Whitehorn to close out the period with a 22-20 edge.
Tennessee continued its momentum into the second stanza, building a 28-20 gap by the 8:29 mark on a Spearman free throw, Cooper three and Whitehorn layup. The Lady Vols then got an Alyssa Latham bank shot and Sara Puckett inside bucket to push ahead, 37-26, by the 4:31 media timeout, shooting 66.7 percent from the field to begin the quarter. UT continued to pad its lead, moving up 41-28 on a Tess Darby trey, 44-30 on a Spear three and 48-32 on a Puckett layup before a Spearman put-back sent her team into the locker room with a 50-34 cushion behind 73.3-percent marksmanship in the second stanza. UT carved out a 28-14 advantage in paint points during the opening half.
Auburn was the aggressor early in the third frame, tallying four straight points to open the period and outscoring Tennessee, 12-8, to cut the deficit to 12, 58-46, by the 4:54 media timeout. The Tigers crept to within 11, 61-50, with 2:48 left, but a three-pointer from Hollingshead as the shot clock was winding down and an old-fashioned three-point play from Cooper moved the gap to 17. Then, a turnaround jumper by Cooper and a layup from Boyd sent the home team into the final frame with a game-best 71-52 margin.
Tennessee built its lead to 20, 74-54, on a three by Darby with 8:32 left and then extended it to 80-59 on back-to-back treys from Samara Spencer and Darby, forcing Auburn to ask for time with 5:29 remaining. A Boyd driving layup pushed the margin to 31, 90-59, with 3:15 to go, and an Avery Strickland driving layup with 39 seconds on the clock pushed her team within one of the century mark and closed out the scoring.
UP NEXT: Next on the schedule for the Lady Vols is a noon ET home matchup with RV/RV Ole Miss on Sunday at Food City Center. The contest will be streamed by SECN+ and also will be broadcast on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com. The matchup will be UT’s Black History Month game.
A JEWEL SPEAR SPECIAL:Jewel Spear tallied 17 points against Auburn on Thursday night, connecting on five of eight three-point attempts for her fourth game of 5+ treys this season. The fifth-year guard also finished with four assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals. Spear has carded 14 games thus far with 10 or more points, running her total to 108 for her career. The Colony, Texas, native has logged three consecutive games of ten points or more, dating back to Feb. 6 against UConn.
BIG ORANGE PRESSURE: The Tennessee defense forced Auburn to turn the ball over a total of 21 times. Fifteen of the Lady Vols foes thus far have committed at least 20 miscues. The Tennessee press resulted in a 10-second violation, and the inbound play defense forced a five-second infraction. The Big Orange has harassed opponents into 22 10-second violations thus far. The 10-second call happened at the 7:46 mark in the third quarter. UT forced a season-most five violations against Western Carolina on Nov. 26.
TENNESSEE TREYS: Tennessee carded its 15th performance in 2024-25 with ten or more three-pointers in a single contest, knocking down 14 against Auburn. The 14 threes tie for sixth place in program history. Previously, UT also was first with 30 vs. N.C. Central, tied for third with 15 makes vs. Middle Tennessee and tied for sixth with 14 vs. Liberty and Tulsa. The Lady Vols have surpassed the previous school best of six for most games with double-digit three-pointer production.
HIGHEST FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE OF THE SEASON: Tennessee tallied its highest field goal percentage of the season, shooting 55.7 percent versus Auburn. The previous best was 53.0 vs. Winthrop on Dec. 29. The Lady Vols made 39 of 70 field goal attempts and bottomed 14 three-pointers. The Big Orange fired off a 73.3-percent showing in the second quarter and a 64.7-percent result in the final stanza. Ruby Whitehorn led the crew in field goals, sinking seven of 11, while Zee Spearman was six of eight and Jewel Spear five of nine, including a 5-of-8 night from the arc.
Sullivan County, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: Megan Boswell, the Sullivan County mom found guilty of murdering her 15 month-old daughter, Evelyn, will now spend decades behind bars.
The jury in the case rendering a unanimous sentence on the first-degree murder charges against Boswell Thursday afternoon, sentencing her to life in prison for each of the three murder charges against her.
The jury also found Boswell guilty on various child abuse and neglect charges, tampering with evidence, 11 counts of false report and abuse of a corpse. The judge Thursday setting a formal sentencing hearing on the remaining charges for May 22 at 1:30 p.m.
ORIGINAL STORY: The verdict is in and Megan Boswell is found guilty of all 19 charges in the death of her 15 month old daughter Evelyn in 2019.
Boswell was found guilty of the following charges:
First-degree premeditated murder
First-degree murder in the perpetration of aggravated child abuse
First-degree murder in the perpetration of aggravated child neglect
Aggravated child abuse
Aggravated child neglect
Tampering with evidence
11 counts of false report
Abuse of a corpse
Failure to report a death under suspicious, unusual or unnatural circumstances
The next step will be to determine Megan’s sentence as Prosecutors have said they would not seek the death penalty but possible life in prison without the possibilty of parole.
