Latest news with #Volunteers
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Wake Forest baseball coach's appalling slur sparks outrage... before he faces instant karma against Tennessee
Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter has apologized after cameras witnessed him appearing to use a homophobic slur during Saturday's NCAA Regional Tournament loss to No. 14 Tennessee. 'I am very sorry for my outburst in frustration last night and I recognize the hurt and disappointment it has caused,' Walter said in a statement issued Tuesday. 'I have seen the videos and while I do not remember the specific moment clearly, that language doesn't reflect my values or the standards of this program. 'Regardless, I own the consequences and I apologize to the University of Tennessee, to Wake Forest University, and the [Southeastern Conference] & [Atlantic Coast Conference].' The incident took place during the fourth inning in Knoxville with Tennessee slugger and potential first-round draft pick Andrew Fischer at the plate. It's difficult to say what, exactly, Walter was upset about, but Fischer was seen trying to pump up the crowd as he stepped into the batter's box. ESPN announcers said Walter had a few words with the umpire before cameras coach the irate Demon Deacons coach appearing to yell: 'F***ing f*****!' Fischer responded with some instant karma by driving his 24th home run of the season deep to right field to give the Volunteers an 8-2 lead. Tennessee would go on to win, 11-5, ending Wake Forest's season to advance to a Super Regional matchup with Arkansas in Fayetteville on Saturday. Andrew Fischer fired up the crowd just moments before hitting a nuke 🐐 — Kerry Williams (@kerrywilliams_) June 2, 2025 In addition to Walter's apology, Wake Forest athletic director John Currie has also issued a statement expressing his dissatisfaction with the Demon Deacon manager. 'I am both surprised and deeply disappointed in our head baseball coach Tom Walter for his outburst during last night's baseball game,' Currie said. 'I feel badly for those most hurt by such words. I spoke with Coach Walter immediately after the game and again this morning to address this incident, which is completely out of character for him and does not meet the standards of Wake Forest Athletics, Wake Forest University or the Atlantic Coast Conference.' Walter has enjoyed success at Wake Forest since taking over in 2010. Since then, he's turned the Demon Deacons from an ACC stepping stone into a perennial contender and even reached the College World Series in 2023. He's also produced a number of first-round draft picks, such as Cincinnati Reds pitching prospects Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder as well as budding Athletics minor-league first baseman Nick Kurtz.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Vols ace Liam Doyle breaks single-season strikeout record
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle helped the Volunteers reach an NCAA Super Regional for the fifth consecutive season on Monday and wrote his name into the program history book in the process. The junior ace entered the decisive last game of the Knoxville Regional against Wake Forest in the seventh inning, recording five strikeouts over the final 2.1 innings to secure an 11-5 win and send Tennessee to a Super Regional showdown against Arkansas. Lady Vols' season ends in Women's College World Series semifinals to Texas Doyle now has struck out 158 batters in 2025. He now holds the program record for most strikeouts in a single-season, eclipsing Luke Hochevar's record of 154 set back in 2005. It marks another accolade in an impressive season for the Derry, New Hampshire native. He became the third player in school history be named SEC Pitcher of the Year and is one of 16 semifinalists for the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award. CONTINUING COVERAGE; University of Tennessee Baseball With the Razorbacks holding the No. 3 national seed, Tennessee will hit the road for the Fayetteville Super Regional as they seek a third consecutive appearance in the College World Series. It would be Tennessee's eighth trip to Omaha in program history and the fourth under head coach Tony Vitello. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
2 days ago
- Sport
Tennessee overcomes controversial call, defeats UCLA to reach Women's CWS semifinals
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Laura Mealer's RBI single in the ninth inning gave Tennessee a 5-4 win over UCLA on Sunday that lifted the Volunteers into the Women's College World Series semifinals and eliminated the Bruins. The game nearly had a controversial finish. UCLA's Megan Grant hit a two-run blast with two outs in the top of the seventh inning that appeared to tie the score at 4-all. There was an umpire review that appeared to involve whether or not Grant touched home plate. After a nearly 15-minute delay, the home run ruling was upheld because it was determined on the field that the runs were scored, and the home plate umpire announced that the play was not reviewable. Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said Tennessee noticed that Grant's teammates touched her and helped her back to home plate. Weekly believed that was illegal, which would have turned Grant's homer into the third out, so the Volunteers notified the umpires. Had Grant been called out, the game would have ended with Tennessee winning 4-2. 'I think everybody but four people (umpires) saw the play at the plate,' Weekly said. 'We saw in the dugout that she missed the plate, and then we saw that her teammates had kind of pushed her back. And by rule, that should have been nullified.' Grant said she didn't remember much after the 251-foot blast. 'It was just kind of a blackout moment." she said. 'I know going into that bat I just wanted to keep my mind right, stay aggressive. And honestly, after the swing, I did blackout indeed. After the fact, I just kind of trusted God with everything. The tensions were high and everything, and that's just where I just laid my pressure on.' Even after giving up the homer, Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens recovered and went the distance for the win. The first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American gave up four earned runs on 11 hits and struck out seven. 'Well, during that lengthy review/not review, we talked about if it comes back and it goes against us and we're tied up, then we keep playing," Weekly said. 'So we just kept putting them in that mindset — I think prepare for the worst. And then if the best happens, great.' Some of the Tennessee players were dancing near the circle during the review. 'No matter what the call was going to be, we're flushing it and worrying about the next pitch,' Pickens said. Taylor Pannell's two-run homer put Tennessee up 4-2 in the fifth to help set up the dramatic ending. She had three hits. UCLA's Alexis Ramirez and Sofia Mujica hit solo homers and Jordan Woolery had four hits. The Bruins (55-13) were trying to become the first semifinalist from the Big Ten since Michigan in 2015. Tennessee (47-16) will play Texas on Monday in the semifinals and will have the beat the Longhorns twice to advance to the best-of-three championship series. Texas will need to win just once to reach the championship series for the third time in four years. Pickens threw 148 pitches, but Weekly said her ace will be ready to go against the Longhorns. 'This is an absolute stud in volleyball and basketball and softball and could be playing D1 in any sport. So I think that works in her favor. Tonight's going to be all about recovery and hydration. There's no tomorrow. So Karlyn's going to be ready to come out tomorrow and fight for her team.'
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Tennessee overcomes controversial call, defeats UCLA to reach Women's CWS semifinals
Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Laura Mealer's RBI single in the ninth inning gave Tennessee a 5-4 win over UCLA on Sunday that lifted the Volunteers into the Women's College World Series semifinals and eliminated the Bruins. The game nearly had a controversial finish. UCLA's Megan Grant hit a two-run blast with two outs in the top of the seventh inning that appeared to tie the score at 4-all. There was an umpire review that appeared to involve whether or not Grant touched home plate. After a nearly 15-minute delay, the home run ruling was upheld because it was determined on the field that the runs were scored, and the home plate umpire announced that the play was not reviewable. Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said Tennessee noticed that Grant's teammates touched her and helped her back to home plate. Weekly believed that was illegal, which would have turned Grant's homer into the third out, so the Volunteers notified the umpires. Had Grant been called out, the game would have ended with Tennessee winning 4-2. 'I think everybody but four people (umpires) saw the play at the plate,' Weekly said. 'We saw in the dugout that she missed the plate, and then we saw that her teammates had kind of pushed her back. And by rule, that should have been nullified.' Grant said she didn't remember much after the 251-foot blast. 'It was just kind of a blackout moment." she said. 'I know going into that bat I just wanted to keep my mind right, stay aggressive. And honestly, after the swing, I did blackout indeed. After the fact, I just kind of trusted God with everything. The tensions were high and everything, and that's just where I just laid my pressure on.' Even after giving up the homer, Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens recovered and went the distance for the win. The first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American gave up four earned runs on 11 hits and struck out seven. 'Well, during that lengthy review/not review, we talked about if it comes back and it goes against us and we're tied up, then we keep playing," Weekly said. 'So we just kept putting them in that mindset — I think prepare for the worst. And then if the best happens, great.' Some of the Tennessee players were dancing near the circle during the review. 'No matter what the call was going to be, we're flushing it and worrying about the next pitch,' Pickens said. Taylor Pannell's two-run homer put Tennessee up 4-2 in the fifth to help set up the dramatic ending. She had three hits. UCLA's Alexis Ramirez and Sofia Mujica hit solo homers and Jordan Woolery had four hits. The Bruins (55-13) were trying to become the first semifinalist from the Big Ten since Michigan in 2015. Tennessee (47-16) will play Texas on Monday in the semifinals and will have the beat the Longhorns twice to advance to the best-of-three championship series. Texas will need to win just once to reach the championship series for the third time in four years. Pickens threw 148 pitches, but Weekly said her ace will be ready to go against the Longhorns. 'This is an absolute stud in volleyball and basketball and softball and could be playing D1 in any sport. So I think that works in her favor. Tonight's going to be all about recovery and hydration. There's no tomorrow. So Karlyn's going to be ready to come out tomorrow and fight for her team.' ___ AP college sports: recommended
New York Times
2 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Tennessee overcomes controversial call, UCLA to reach WCWS semis
After a controversial call at home plate helped UCLA take Tennessee to extra innings, the Lady Volunteers set out to prove one of the oldest arguments in sports: Ball don't lie. In the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, Laura Mealer singled to left field, bringing in the winning run and helping Tennessee stave off elimination with a 5-4 victory over the Bruins on Sunday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. The win set up Tennessee for a date with No. 6 Texas in the semifinals on Monday. Meanwhile, UCLA's season is over. 'I just wanted to stay simple. I have an excellent team behind me, and I was really trying to pass the bat no matter what happens,' Mealer said. this is for your appendix g 📺 ABC — Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) June 1, 2025 The Volunteers, who just won their third game of this WCWS, looked like they were going to beat UCLA in regulation thanks to a mistake on the basepaths by the Bruins. After hitting the game-tying home run in the top of the seventh, UCLA's Megan Grant overstepped home plate as she approached the teammates who had gathered around her to celebrate. Almost immediately after Grant stomped on the ground, as the Bruins started to gleefully walk back to the dugout, teammate Alexis 'Lefty' Ramirez pointed at Grant and took her by the arm, assisting her back over to touch home plate. TIE BALL GAME 🤯#WCWS x 📺 ABC / @UCLASoftball — NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 1, 2025 According to NCAA rules, a teammate cannot physically assist a runner to home plate unless that player is also a runner. Since Ramirez was not on base when Grant hit her home run, she was ineligible to help Grant home. Jordan Woolery, who was on base at the time of Grant's homer, was the only player who could've done so. Advertisement Tennessee challenged the call that the runner was safe at home. After a lengthy review, the umpire admitted that Grant did not touch home plate but said that the type of play is not reviewable. Grant was safe and the two-run homer was upheld. 'The runner did miss home plate and was assisted, however, that play is not reviewable, according to Appendix G,' the umpire said. Appendix G of the NCAA softball rulebook legislates video reviews, and which plays are subject to it. According to the section, runners missing a base and runners leaving early on a pitch are eligible for review. Rule 10 of Appendix G states that 'runners leaving the base prior to the touch on a fly ball (tagging up), runners missing a base and runners leaving early on a pitch' are eligible for review. In the 1996 Summer Olympics, Team USA's only loss of the tournament came to Australia in round-robin play due to the same play. American third baseman Dani Tyler hit a ball over the center-field wall, but after failing to touch home plate, the score remained knotted at zero. Her home run would've given the U.S. the 1-0 lead at the end of regulation, but Tyler was called out after an appeal by Australia. 'I can't imagine missing any of the plate trotting, but I was so excited I don't remember positively touching it,' Tyler said after the 1996 matchup, according to USA Today. 'I can't really tell you for sure.' Despite that play, Team USA went on to take home gold. And despite the confusion on Sunday, the Volunteers stayed alive. Tennessee advances to the national semifinals and will face Texas at noon ET on Monday. The Vols will have to beat the Longhorns twice to reach the championship series. 'We got everything left in the tank,' Mealer player. 'We're ready. We're ready to go.' This story will be updated.
