Tag: western carolina

Tony Vitello recaps Vols’ win against Western Carolina

Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello recaps the Vols’ win against Western Carolina.

No. 3 Tennessee (34-7, 12-6 SEC) improved to 27-2 at home in 2024 on Tuesday. The Vols defeated Western Carolina (21-17, 6-6 SoCon), 12-4, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Tennessee has scored double-digit runs in each of its last six midweek games.

Billy Amick, Blake Burke and Reese Chapman recorded a multi-hit game for the Vols against Western Carolina. Burke extended his program record hit streak to 31 games.

Andrew Behnke (2-0) earned his second win of the season after pitching two inning in relief. He totaled three strikeouts.

Following the Vols’ win against Western Carolina on Tuesday, seventh-year head coach Tony Vitello met with media. Vitello’s postgame media availability can be watched below.

How to watch Tennessee-Western Carolina baseball game

How to watch the Tennessee-Western Carolina baseball game on Tuesday.

No. 3 Tennessee (33-7, 12-6 SEC) will host Western Carolina (21-16, 6-6 SoCon) on Tuesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Rankings reflect the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

First pitch between the Vols and Catamounts is slated for 6 p.m. EDT and can be watched on SEC Network+. Myan Patel (play-by-play) and Caylan Arnold (analyst) will be on the call.

Tennessee leads the all time series against Western Carolina, 26-7, including a 19-4 record in Knoxville. The Vols defeated Western Carolina, 7-0, in the last meeting on March 21, 2023.

Tennessee has won the last nine meetings against the Catamounts, including six consecutive in Knoxville.

READ: Tennessee baseball career home run tracker

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Payton Gottshall records 1,000th career strikeout

Tennessee pitcher Payton Gottshall records 1,000th career strikeout.

No. 7 Tennessee (23-4, 3-0 SEC) defeated Western Carolina (7-12, 0-0 SoCon), 6-0, Thursday at Catamount Softball Complex in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Thursday’s win is Tennessee’s 15th consecutive.

Kiki Milloy went 2-for-4. She recorded one home run, two RBIs and two runs, while Destiny Rodriguez went 2-for-4. She recoded one home run, one RBI and one run.

Rylie West went 2-for-4 and totaled one home run, one RBI and one run.

Charli Orsini started for Tennessee and pitched three innings. She did not allow a run, hit or walk.

Payton Gottshall (10-2) pitched four innings for the Lady Vols. She allowed three hits and recorded nine strikeouts, including the 1,000th of her college career.

Georgia staffer named OL coach at FCS school

Georgia staffer named OL coach at FCS school

Georgia offensive line assistant Jeremy King accepted the role as offensive line coach at Western Carolina on Saturday after one year at UGA.

King came to Athens in February of 2023 after two years at Valdosta State, his alma matter, as an offensive assistant working with the running backs.

The Macon, Ga., native had a stellar playing career at Valdosta State. King was a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award in 2018, given to the Division II lineman of the year, and he was also named an All-American.

King spent two seasons with the Green Bay Blizzard of the Indoor Football League before entering the coaching space in 2021.

Running backs stuck in neutral Saturday but alarms aren’t sounding

Arkansas’ running game never got untracked against Western Carolina, but Kent State may not be so lucky.

Western Carolina loaded the box on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium and dared Arkansas to beat it through the air.

KJ Jefferson was more than happy to oblige, but it was concerning that the Razorbacks weren’t able to get more going on the ground.

“I don’t know if it’s, I felt like we were trying to make big runs the entire day,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “Second play of the day, Jaedon goes 65, 67 something like that, then you go, ‘Man, he had a big play.’ So I felt like we were pressing a little bit trying to make some big plays.”

Arkansas was down a starting offensive lineman in Brady Latham, who didn’t make the trip, and Devon Manuel was also inactive.

But Pittman acknowledged what the Catamounts’ game plan was.

“They were going to stop Rocket and the running backs,” Pittman said. “A lot of plays were made by their safeties. We had a couple of pin-and-pulls where we wasted a two-on-one. We just had no explosive plays.”

Pittman knows that teams can typically make their biggest adjustments in between game one and game two.

“We just got to strain a little more in the running game and open up holes,” Pittman said. “We’ve been injured in camp with Devon and obviously Brady. I thought we played OK. I think we can play a lot better.”

Photo gallery: Arkansas’ season-opening win over W. Carolina

Here are some of the best photos from Arkansas’ 56-13 romp of Western Carolina in the season opener in Little Rock.

Arkansas got a three-and-out and scored on its second play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive and never looked back in a 56-13 rout of Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon.

The Razorbacks (1-0) won their season opener for the third season in a row and haven’t lost a season opener to a non-conference team since USC in 2006.

War Memorial Stadium was hot and semi-rowdy for the game, which started at noon.

Here are some of the best photos from the victory.

Arkansas football vs. WCU: How to watch, stream, listen on Saturday

Arkansas will kick off the season Saturday at Noon CT against Western Carolina.

Arkansas kicks off the 2023 football season today at 12 p.m. CT on the SEC Network, facing Western Carolina at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.

It will be the first-ever meeting between the Razorbacks and Catamounts, who hail from the Southern Conference.

Arkansas has lost just once to an FCS team, the infamous 10-3 opening-game upset by The Citadel in 1992, in which Head Coach Jack Crowe was fired the following day. Western Carolina is 0-61 against FBS teams, dating to 1977. The Catamounts are also 0-20 when they have faced current SEC teams.

Arkansas Head Coach Sam Pittman enters his fourth season with an overall record of 19-17. He is 9-1 in non-conference games and has not lost to an unranked opponent outside of the SEC. His lone loss out of conference came last season in a 21-19 loss to No. 23 Liberty.

WCU Head Coach Kerwin Bell, the 1984 SEC Player of the Year at Florida, is 10-12 overall in his two seasons with the Catamounts.

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game

  • Date: Saturday, September 2
  • Time: 12 p.m. CT
  • TV Channel: SECN+ and ESPN+
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)

Players To Watch: Arkansas vs. Western Carolina

In what looks like a mismatch on paper, look for these key players on both teams to make an impact.

NOTE: As always here on Razorbacks Wire, we aren’t simply going to pick the best players to watch on Saturday when Arkansas hosts Western Carolina. That’s too easy. Instead, this is where we try to look inside trends and storylines and give you the best idea of who could make some surprise noise in the game.

As we know throughout the history of Razorback football, even less imposing mid-major schools can never be taken too lightly, especially early in the season. But this matchup on paper looks very one-sided and should be smooth sailing for the revamped, improved Razorbacks.

Western Carolina rolls into War Memorial Stadium on Saturday as heavy underdogs, following a subpar 6-5 season in 2022, under third-year head coach Kerwin Bell, the 1984 SEC Player of the Year at Florida. ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) gives Arkansas a 99 percent chance to breeze through their opener.

Also, take into account, that many of Arkansas’ key starters may not play long in this game, which will take away their overall impact.

Know your opponent: Get to know Western Carolina

Arkansas will play Western Carolina for the first time on Saturday in Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is at noon and will be on SEC+ and ESPN+.

Arkansas has never played Western Carolina in football, so when the teams take the field at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday at noon, it will be a first.

The Catamounts hail from Cullohwee, North Carolina and are an FCS school, playing in the Southern Conference.

When they were in Division I-AA, they made it to the national championship of the playoffs in 1983 before losing to Southern Illinois in the title game, 43-7.

In 2022, Western Carolina went 6-5 and finished 4-4 in conference play. They lost 35-17 to Georgia Tech in the one game it played against Power Five competition a year ago.

The Catamounts’ head coach is Kerwin Bell. Some fans may remember him as a quarterback for the Florida Gators in the late 1980s. He had a journeyman professional career before getting into coaching.

Two years ago, Oklahoma welcomed Western Carolina to Norman and the Catamounts left with a check and a 76-0 defeat.

Notre Dame releases nonconference schedule for 2023-24

Make your plans accordingly.

Notre Dame is in a transitional period for sure. There’s a new coach in [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]. Almost the entire roster is different, and the few returning players barely have seen the floor in their careers.

Needless to say, this does not stand to be a winning season in South Bend. However, games still need to be played because how else are you going to gain experience?

To that end, the Irish have released their nonconference schedule for the 2023-24 season. They should earn a few wins simply because some of their opponents don’t come from power conferences. Such is typical in the early days of the college basketball season. The only way the Irish could lose out is if they have absolutely no talent, and these players are with an ACC program for a reason.

Here are the nonconference games for the season, not including the Legends Classic on Nov. 16 and 17 in Brooklyn that will feature the Irish, Auburn, Oklahoma State and St. Bonaventure. The first-round matchups for that will be determined at a later date. For everything else though, mark your calendar: